Florida Bay Watch is a Conservancy program that trains volunteers to collect water quality and provides support for scientists working to understand the complex ecology of Florida Bay. Current projects of Florida Bay Watch include collecting water quality data for scientists at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science at the University of Miami and lobster settlement data for scientists at Florida State University, Old Dominion University, and Florida's Department of Environmental Protection's Marine Research Institute. They visit both reef sites several times each year to observe and measure changes. They are collecting data on damselfish and sea urchin populations twice a year n addition to more general observations of reef health. The Nature Conservancy owns several preserves in the Keys.
Volunteers assist with exotic plant control, trash removal, and habitat restoration.
Each spring and fall, volunteers, Monroe County school teachers, and staff members of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary take Monroe County eighth graders out on the water to learn about coral reefs firsthand. The Ocean Conservation Education Action Network is an on-water educational and information service of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary in which volunteers are stationed at popular reefs providing information to visitors about enjoying our reefs without harming them. The Task Force, a consortium of 16 public and private agencies, is working to remove invasive exotic species county-wide and using volunteers to do it. Volunteers are trained to identify and remove invasive exotics and to replant with native species. Volunteers assist researchers in collecting monthly data on lobster larval production at seven sites in the Keys.