Mangrove Rangers

Become a Mangrove Ranger and help us inventory vulnerable mangroves

Suncoast Waterkeeper is committed to environmental protection through environmental monitoring. We regularly monitor water quality but want to expand our efforts to monitor ecosystems promoting clean water. One of the most important ecosystems on our coasts is mangrove forests. Unfortunately, mangroves in Manatee County are under enormous development pressure. Using drones annually, we aim to map the extent and health of mangroves in vulnerable areas. We need your help!

We must assemble 5-7 teams of 4 to map mangroves from May 4 through early June 1 to accomplish our goal. Each team will consist of

a licensed drone pilot,
a boat owner, and
a spotter (no experience necessary)
data manager

We will kick off this Mangrove Ranger program with two training meetings:

Saturday, May 3, 9:30 - 11 am
Tuesday, May 6, 6 - 7:30 pm

Location:

Resilience Incubator
1760 Mound St
Second Floor
Sarasota, FL
34236

During the meeting, you will receive a training manual, be assigned to a team if you haven’t already assembled your own, and be given instructions and a location for conducting your mangrove mapping project. Also, during the meeting, you will work with your team to schedule your drone flight. Set up and flights should take no more than 1 hour once you arrive to the location.

Thank you so much for your support! Together, we can protect what we love about the Suncoast.