Overview

On Sunday, April 23rd, 2023, The International SeaKeepers Society hosted a floating classroom with We Are Wild Wonder, an organization focused on guiding people in exploring the relationship between the mind, body and spirit through tales, ritual and travel, with the goal of demystifying and democratizing holistic practices. We met with four young yogis and three chaperones at Pelican Harbor Marina before boarding our DISCOVERY Yacht River Queen. We headed out into Biscayne Bay while discussing Miami’s watershed and sources of pollution that often flow into Biscayne Bay through our canals and rivers. As we cruised through Little River, we pointed out contributors to water pollution such as construction runoff, and we thought of ways this would impact the ecosystem of the river and the bay. We were lucky enough to see a manatee, one of Miami’s most common charismatic megafauna, grazing on the side of the river. We reentered Biscayne Bay to begin our water quality testing using our trusty EarthEcho kits, and introduced the concepts of pH, turbidity, dissolved oxygen level and temperature. Our yogis and chaperones all participated in testing a water sample for these parameters, and we compared results within the group to test our precision. Our luck continued as a small pod of dolphins joined us in the Bay, showing off for us with some breaches! We ended our day with a cleanup at Pelican Island, and despite the small size of our group, collected an astounding 17.1 pounds of trash which we removed from the island. We gathered under a gazebo on the island to participate in a meditation lead by We Are Wild Wonder’s founder Kristen, and after clearing our minds we headed back to Pelican Harbor Marina. We had a wonderful time with We Are Wild Wonder, and a special thanks to the help of DISCOVERY yacht River Queen for making it all happen!

Outing Goal

We hope that the participants from We Are Wild Wonder walk away with more knowledge about ocean pollution and the ways in which water quality is tested, as well as an appreciation for Biscayne Bay and the beautiful ecosystem it contains.

Partner Sites

We are Wild Wonder

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