Eco-Friendly Travel - Sustainable Expeditions - Florida Keys

Minimum Contribution: $700

2012 Expedition Dates:

January 23 – 26
March 26 – 29
May 21 – 24
September 24 – 27
December 3 – 6

Project Partners:
National Park Conservation Association
Florida Bay Stewardship Fund

Gateway City: N/A

Trip Highlights:

• 3 Night Accommodations at Amoray Dive Resort

• Kayak rentals during volunteer project

• Breakfast and Lunch each day

Optional add-ons:

Adventure tours are available. These include:

• SCUBA Diving

• Snorkeling

• Parasailing

• Jet Skiing

• Sailing

• Fishing

And so much more. Contact us for details.

Please note:

• Add-on flights from any departure city available at an additional charge.

• Airfare portion of package not guaranteed until ticketed.

• No changes to the trip as shown and no refunds will be granted for unused services.
  

The Project:

Kayak-based expeditions in the Florida Keys mangrove estuaries to remove debris and discarded fishing line and other hazards to marine life in the area surrounding Florida Bay. In 2012, the project scope will expand with the addition of boating expeditions in Florida Bay to participate in Seagrass Restoration in Everglades National Park.

Background:

Our partner for this project is the National Park Conservation Association (NPCA), an advocacy group whose mission is to protect and enhance America's National Parks for present and future generations. In partnership with the NPCA, the South Florida National Parks Trust launched The Florida Bay Stewardship Fund to protect Florida Bay in Everglades National Park. The Fund provides a source of private funding for resource protection programs in Florida Bay while seeking to educate boaters and the public at large about the fragile nature of the bay and damage done to seagrass beds by frequent boat groundings and propeller scars.

Our expedition focus includes assisting the NPCA in monitoring work in the dense mangrove estuary systems off the shores of the Florida Keys, using kayaks to document the health & condition of the habitat, and conducting clean-ups of debris and discarded fishing line from the root systems. An additional project includes restoration of damaged seagrass beds in the Florida Bay system. Finally, we will participate in on-going improvements to the NPCA headquarters.

The trip starts with the group arriving in Key Largo at Amoray Dive Resort on Monday evening. On Tuesday morning we will travel south approx. 10 miles to Green Turtle Hammock in the Village of Islamorada. There, we will meet with the Marine Outreach Coordinator for the NPCA, who will brief our group on the challenges that threaten the local ecosystem of the Upper Keys and Florida Bay. After our educational briefing, the team will head to the launch point for our kayaking mission in the mangroves surrounding Islamorada. The Kayak mission continues on Wednesday and on the Thursday the group will conduct building rehab projects and facility clean up at Green Turtle Hammock.

The Florida Keys "Mangrove Madness" tour will include volunteer projects on Everglades National Park Seagrass restoration once the NPCA's new project is officially launched in 2012. The Seagrass project will include hands on restoration alongside marine life experts as well as education on monitoring the progress of restoration efforts already conducted by the NPCA staff for the past 12-18 months. After project duties are completed, there will be time for optional local adventure activities like SCUBA diving, snorkeling, jet skiing, sunset sails and fishing.