Hello from Florida! New diver!

[bryyyzeee]

Hi everybody! I was recently certified with my open water diving certification (PADI) this past weekend in key largo, fl!
Did a 2-day intensive course (8 hours each day), got to dive: Snapper Ledge, Pickle Barrel Wreck, City of Washington Wreck, and Christ of the abyss

Being newly certified, I would love to jump right into helping out the other 71% of our beautiful earth by meeting up with any local clean-up or restoration groups! Like dive against debris peeps or going together on dives specifically for picking up trash, searching for rogue hooks n lines, etc.

I’m hoping that there are groups like this out there! If you are apart of anything like this or know of anything like this, i'd love to find out more info!

 

[drrich2]

So you've hit Key Largo; good diving! Welcome to ScubaBoard. I don't know what trash cleanup organizing may happen in your area, but some of the local dive shops might.

Richard.

 

[goldfishtornado]

Hey saw your post on the social news aggregation site, but don't have an account there. Glad you posted here!

I think most dive shops in Florida have at least an occasional cleanup dive, as do most clubs in the area. I would just look up my local shops/club activity calendar. Depending on where in Florida you are, I also see people trash picking Blue Heron Bridge, almost every time I'm there. Not sure if they are affiliated with anyone, but I'm sure any of the three shops next to the park would be able to point you in the right direction. I pick up anything directly in my path, but don't have the dedication to haul around the massive nets of trash I see some of the them get there. I'm pretty sure I saw a diver hauling a pile of trash bigger than they were one time there.

There is also a coral restoration program, I've never tried it but looks like it could be fun.

Also various invasive lion fish removal drives/dives that run through the year, if you like subtractive processes more than additive.

 

[Jaan]

We have volunteered with Rescue a reef (UoM) and they have something coming up Sept 17th for beach cleanup. Rescue a Reef | University of Miami

They also have a citizen scientist program that we've done where you can help them clean and plant staghorn coral which they are putting into biscayne bay. Here is an early write up of one of our outings. A lot of fun. Volunteer Diving with Rescue a Reef

We're recently done a couple of pier cleanups with dxdivers DXDIVERS POMPANO BEACH UNDERWATER PIER CLEAN-UP They also have a 'trashy Friday' dive where there are prizes for heaviest trash, most trash .. not sure where you are in Florida but as others have said, check in with your local dive shop, many shops organize these types of events for their piers, beaches, and popular dive sites.

We are also lucky to have Louis Aguirre from local 10 news here in Miami who is very active. Check out his page for more local activities. LIST: Get involved with beach cleanups in South Florida for various cleanup activities.

Happy to see you wanting to get involved @bryyyzeee and wanting to help out. Very rewarding and every bit does make a difference. Thank you !!!

 

[Parbon]

Hi everybody! I was recently certified with my open water diving certification (PADI) this past weekend in key largo, fl!
Did a 2-day intensive course (8 hours each day), got to dive: Snapper Ledge, Pickle Barrel Wreck, City of Washington Wreck, and Christ of the abyss

Being newly certified, I would love to jump right into helping out the other 71% of our beautiful earth by meeting up with any local clean-up or restoration groups! Like dive against debris peeps or going together on dives specifically for picking up trash, searching for rogue hooks n lines, etc.

I’m hoping that there are groups like this out there! If you are apart of anything like this or know of anything like this, i'd love to find out more info!

Congrats on your certification! (This is a great idea, and I will follow this thread for more info.) Our son and daughter will be doing their check-out dives in Key Largo after Christmas. Would you mind sharing who did your certification and if you were pleased with them?

 

[Tripp]

Welcome to ScubaBoard and Howdy! from Texas! You are so fortunate to have trained in the Keys! You've already gotten some great diving in. In addition to trash clean-up, you may be interested in getting involved in Coral Restoration, which is also located in Key Largo. They do relatively shallow dives attaching pieces of coral to reefs to increase the amount and diversity of coral in the Keys.
Coral Restoration Foundation - Florida's Coral Reef
Even if you don't live in the Keys, you can schedule learning dives and plan to help in the future.
Video of a project:
Coral Reef Restoration Project May 2016 - Florida's Coral Reef

 

[TheWacoKid]

Key Dives at Bud n Mary's does scheduled trash cleanups. If you find a scubapro flashlight on Crocker that's mine- I dropped it getting into the boat.

Happy hunting!