2026 Florida Keys Challenge Recap & 2027 Dates

We have returned from a fabulous trip to the Keys! A huge thank you to our incredible group of paddlers, speakers, caterers, and volunteers who made these glorious days on the water a success.

Our guest speakers were instrumental in fulfilling our non-profit mission of place-based learning. Key highlights included:

• Environmental Stewardship: A deep dive into the Coupon Bight Aquatic Preserve history and its current clean-up action plan.

• Marine Science: An exploration of shark biology and the "Golden Age" of shark research.

• Coral Restoration: A critical review of coral health and modern strategies for reef improvement. 

Mark Your Calendars for 2027!
The next Florida Keys Challenge will be held January 18–24, 2027. Registration opens May 1st, 2026.

What’s Next?
We are heading to the Blackwater River and Coldwater Creek this February! Stay tuned for highlights from that trip. 

Safety First:

As always, please prioritize safety on the water. Ensure you are following USCG Life Jacket Requirements and always wear your PFD!

In This Issue:

Coupon Bight, Sharks, Florida Coral Restoration, and How to Pick a PFD.

We hope to see you in the Keys in 2027!

Unique Features: Coupon Bight Aquatic Preserve is recognized as an exceptional water resource of the state. The aquatic preserve encompasses 5.400 acres of seagrass meadows, hard bottom communities, mangrove wetlands, and coral patch reefs that provide nursery and settlement habitat for a wide variety of marine species. In addition to marine areas, the Coupon Bight Buffer Preserve, managed in collaboration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Key Deer Refuge, has added more than 1,900 acres of saltmarsh, pinelands, hammocks, and beach/berm communities to resources of the aquatic preserve. Both the terrestrial and marine environments offer valuable habitat for more than 100 animal and plant species that are rare, threatened, endangered, or species of special concern.

Archaeological/Historical Sites: The Florida Division of Historical Resources has documented 12 historical structure and archeological sites that fall within or adjacent to the aquatic preserve, including artifacts, prehistoric campsites, and prehistoric shell scatters. The Henry Flagler railroad closed in 1935, where the state then purchased the residual infrastructure and used […Read More…]

There are more than 500 species of sharks swimming in the world’s ocean. Yet when most people think of these cartilaginous fish, a single image comes to mind: a large, sharp-toothed and scary beast. That generalization does sharks a huge disservice, as they have far more variety than that. They range in size from the length of a human hand to more than 39 feet (12 meters) long; half of all shark species are less than one meter (or about 3 feet) long. They come in a variety of colors (including bubble gum pink), and some feed on tiny plankton while others prefer larger fish and squids. They are found in just about every kind of ocean habitat, including the deep sea, open ocean, coral reefs, and under the Arctic ice.

Wherever they live, sharks play an important role in ocean ecosystems—especially the larger species that are more “scary” to people. Sharks and their relatives were the first vertebrate predators, and their prowess, honed over millions of years of evolution, allows them to hunt as top predators and keep ecosystems in balance.

But sharks are in trouble around the world. […Read More …]

Coral reef restoration in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary has grown from a small-scale project involving the outplanting of a few hundred corals a year to a large-scale effort involving outplanting of hundreds of thousands of corals. Mission: Iconic Reefs is a large-scale NOAA-led and partner-driven coral restoration initiative within Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary to restore seven ecologically and culturally significant coral reefs to self-sustaining levels by 2040. In addition to the production and outplanting of corals, the project includes the reintroduction of herbivorous crabs and urchins and other activities designed to improve environmental conditions of the reef and enhance coral survival.

The reefs in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary are part of a larger coral reef ecosystem known as "Florida's Coral Reef," which extends over 350 miles from the Dry Tortugas in the Gulf of America to the St. Lucie Inlet in Martin County. While Mission: Iconic Reefs focuses on restoring seven iconic reef sites in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, coral restoration is expanding in other locations along Florida's Coral Reef throughout the sanctuary, southeast Florida, and the Dry Tortugas. Many non-profit, government agency, university, and private industry partners are involved in restoration projects throughout the South Florida-area. […Read More…]

How To: Choose the Right PFD

Click here for the video