Seagrasses are flowering plants that live underwater. Like land plants, seagrasses produce oxygen. The depths at which seagrasses are found is limited by water clarity which determines the amount of light reaching the plant. Although seagrasses occur throughout the coastal waters of Florida, they are most abundant from Tarpon Springs northward to Alalachee Bay. Seagrasses also occur in protected bays and lagoons as well as along the continental shelf in the Gulf of Mexico.

Florida's estimated 2.7 million acres of seagrass meadows are important natural resources that perform many significant functions including:

• maintaining water clarity by trapping fine sediments and other particles in their leaves.
• stabilizing the bottom with their roots and rhizomes in much the same way as land grasses retard soil erosion.
• providing habitat for many fish, crustaceans, and shellfish.
• providing food for many marine mammals in and of themselves as well as through the smaller organisms that live on their leaves.
• and most importantly by providing a nursery area for much of Florida's recreationally and commercially important marine life.

Seagrass leaves provide excellent protection for young marine animals from larger open-water predators. Some animals, including manatees, eat the seagrass blades. Still others derive nutrition from eating algae and small animals which colonize the seagrass leaves. The colonizing organisms provide an additional link in the marine food chain.

The partners of the Florida Keys Seagrass Outreach Partnership (SOP) were first organized in 1998 in response to an alarming increase in boater impacts to seagrass habitat in shallow water. As concerned managers and educators, the Florida Keys SOP determined that we alone cannot realistically reach everyone in the State of Florida with the information that seagrass is ecologically and economically important and steps need to be taken to protect it. In 2001 we asked partners across the state to join us in taking this awareness to a statewide level. We are continuing the Seagrass Awareness effort in 2007 and have asked our statewide partners to join us.

A Seagrass Awareness Month was initiated in 1999 as a tool to "spread the word". Across the state in March 2008, environmental groups and agencies will be sponsoring press releases and articles, PSAs, displays and a host of other seagrass awareness activities.

This “Seagrass Toolbox” was designed to help residents, visitors, and resource protection managers and educators better understand the important role our vast seagrass community plays in the health of the marine ecosystem. We are pleased to provide you with these tools, and invite you to use them to further the awareness of seagrasses and the importance of responsible boating while enjoying our water world. Share this information with anyone who can use it for teaching, training, background information, and interpretation.

Seagrasses are “alive” and their health is essential for the health of our ecosystem. Boater impacts to seagrass are a statewide problem and everyone will benefit from this statewide awareness campaign.

Note: All documents contained in the Seagrass Toolbox are in the Adobe Acrobat PDF format.

• Coloring Page: A fun coloring page.
• Critter Puzzle: A fun educational word-find puzzle.

• Bullets: Five half-page fact sheets that document the five messages that the Seagrass Outreach Partnership addresses. There is a set using data for only Monroe County (Florida Keys) and a set for the entire State of Florida.
• Facts: A fact sheet targeting the importance of seagrass and the damage being done by boats. There i8 a set using data for only Monroe County (Florida Keys) and a set for the entire State of Florida.

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Photos of healthy and damaged seagrass

2003
Seagrass Awareness Month Celebrated in Florida Introduction: Seagrass Outreach Partnership Cousteau Kicks off Seagrass Celebration Damage Assessment Team Surveys Groundings Prop Scarring - More than a trace left behind Handout: Seagrass Damage Diagram Scientist Shares Research on Restoration
2002
Renowned Oceans Advocate Helps Ring In Seagrass Awareness Month
2001
Local Partnership Takes Seagrass Awareness Month Statewide A Flight Over the Shallows Seagrass Restoration Efforts at Lignumvitae Key State Botanical Site
2000
Fishing Guides Join Effort to Protect Seagrass Habitat Tallying Up the Costs of Seagrass Damage Monroe County Observes Seagrass Awareness Month Research Into Prop Scar Recovery, It's For the Birds! Seagrass: Every Square Foot Counts
1999
Boating Tips in Seagrass Beds Monroe County Leads State in Seagrass Damage: Boat Propellers Cut Into Vast Seagrass Resources of the County Monroe County Observes Seagrass Awareness Month Boating Brings Fun and Responsibility Seagrass Outreach Tool Box

• Tips: Tips and tricks for working with the media.
• Radio
  • PSAs: Samples of Radio PSAs used by the Florida Keys Seagrass Awareness Partnership.
  • Tips:Tips and tricks for working with radio stations and writing PSAs.

• State of Florida Governor's Proclamation
• World Wide Web: A listing of seagrass web sites.

• Seagrass PowerPoint Notes
• Presentation: Life in the Seagrass
• Presentation: Seagrass Awareness Month