The dark water sends shivers down our spines. As we look, we start to find many species of animals, particularly parrot fish. It is fully dark now. The surge rocks us back and forth as we swim forwards. There are so many shells! We look under the ledges and find crabs and lobsters.

Overall, I thought the cleanup dives were not only an amazing experience but also a great learning opportunity. They allowed me to contribute to ocean conservation while developing new diving skills and gaining a better understanding of the impact marine debris has on our environment.

Collecting Caribbean King Crabs at night was unlike any dive I had done before. It combined scientific research with adventure and showed me how creative restoration efforts can be. With this trip being my first ever SCUBAnauts trip, I couldn’t have asked for a better introduction to the organization. 

One of the highlights of my Key Largo dive trip was the opportunity to visit and dive around FIU’s Aquarius shore base and underwater habitat. On Thursday, the Scubanauts and I were given a tour of FIU’s Aquarius shore facility, where we learned about the history of...

I loved this whole experience, but especially seeing the finished product. It was like seeing a whole new perspective on the change you can make for our home, Earth. To then go around the reef again, after finishing our outplanting, was incredible because you could see what we had just outplanted, as well as the past efforts that are bringing our reefs back to life.