Blue Water Task Force:
About the Blue Water Task Force

This project is part of Surfrider’s nationwide water quality monitoring program, the Blue Water Task Force. This task force seeks to not only monitor water quality across the nation’s beach, but also to educate the public about marine conservation and pollution prevention issues. The Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center has adopted water quality testing as a component in their marine science education programs, which serve over 6000 students annually.

“Here at the Biscayne Nature Center, we never sit students down in a classroom. The ocean is our classroom and we allow students to explore the marine environment – to learn by experience,” states Catherine Bliss, a marine educator at the Center.

The Educational Program Coordinator, Lindsey Johnson, believes that, “This partnership will provide value to both the public and students on their educational journey. Students will benefit because they directly participate in the collection, recording, and testing procedures, while learning what the causes and effects of pollution are to human health and the environment.” The public will benefit being informed of water quality testing results in a real-time format via the Surfrider Organization’s website. See our water test results here: www.surfrider.org/whatwedo3c.asp

The Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center has offered environmental education programs to students in public and private schools in Dade and Broward Counties for over 20 years. The Center’s mission is to encourage greater citizen participation in the protection of the natural environment. To accomplish this purpose the MSD Biscayne Nature Center was established as a regional environmental learning and resource facility which enables the integration of environmental education into the core curriculum of public and private schools.

Students typically visit the Center for one day as a class field trip and are engaged in interactive, experiential field science programs in order to learn about Biscayne Bay, mangrove communities, sea grass beds, fossil rock reef, the hardwood hammock and, of course, pollution. Efforts to include pollution prevention and conservation in every field science program at the MSD Biscayne Nature Center have allowed students to incorporate these concepts in their everyday lives.