Floating Classroom with Surf Skate Science

On June 15th, 2026, The International SeaKeepers Society hosted 11 students and 4 educators from Surf Skate Science for a Floating Classroom experience aboard our DISCOVERY Vessel River Queen. After departing from FIU’s Biscayne Bay campus our students listened to a quick safety briefing before diving into several South Florida ecosystems, including seagrass meadows, mangrove forests, coral reefs, and The Everglades. Our students were quick to answer all our questions delving into the specifics of coral and native species identification. On this beautiful day our students continuously pointed out the bay’s crystal clear waters allowing us to segue into our next activity. Using our Earth Echo Challenge kits, we introduced the water quality concepts we would be testing for- temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen level, and turbidity. Our team was delighted to see ongoing trends of high dissolved oxygen levels amongst the warming water temperatures this summer. To wrap up our day, we completed a short island cleanup at Sandspur Island where in just twenty minutes our students managed to collect 63 pounds of trash, well surpassing their initial goal. We want to give a huge thank you to Surf Skate Science for their continued collaboration with our team and wonderful work throughout our sessions!