Floating Classroom with Miami Waterkeeper
and Project T.H.U.G

Overview

On Saturday, January 21, 2023, was the official start to 2023’s SeaKeepers' Floating Classrooms, carefully curated lessons and activities performed aboard DISCOVERY Yachts to teach youth about the importance of our oceans and how to protect them, always focusing on areas and practices with direct impact on our community. This weekend we worked with Miami Waterkeeper to host Project T.H.U.G, "Transforming Hope, Unifying Generations," a nonprofit that provides middle and high school-aged black and brown youth opportunities to serve their community through their 8-month intensive program.

We absolutely loved having all these students on board with us. Starting at the Pelican Harbor Marina aboard DISCOVERY Yacht River Queen, we made our way down Biscayne Bay to the mouth of Little River, where we discussed different types of pollution and the ways they make it into the bay. They were all very bright and identified various sources of pollution by observing their surroundings and making inferences.

Using EarthEcho kits, they all had the opportunity to get their hands on some real science and measured water quality according to various parameters, like temperature, acidity, and salinity. Additionally, they were able to operate an underwater drone to look at the coastal ecology around the Marina. But that's not all - in typical SeaKeepers style we had a small beach cleanup on Pelican Island, where they collected 15 pounds of trash!