Connect and Protect

Inviting environmental attractions await visitors to the Florida Keys & Key West, whether they’re interested in learning about marine mammals, sea turtles, wild birds or the plant species that add color and lushness to the island chain’s landscape. 

One of nature’s greatest wonders is a living coral barrier reef, and the Florida Keys island chain is home to the only one in the continental United States. The teeming backbone of marine life runs the length of the Keys about 5 miles offshore, and can engender memories that last a lifetime for visiting divers and snorkelers.

Grimal Grove, the 2-acre fruit farm billed as the first and only breadfruit grove in the continental United States, has begun offering 90-minute guided tropical fruit excursions at its off-the-beaten-path location on Big Pine Key.

An extensive public awareness initiative has begun to help leisure Florida Keys travelers and residents have an enjoyable, safe and non-impacting experience during both the two-day lobster sport season and the traditional lobster harvesting season.

Divers and snorkelers can explore a portion of the continental United States’ only coral barrier reef while enjoying a sub-sea concert that promotes reef preservation Saturday, July 10, in the Lower Florida Keys.

In celebration of Earth Day, staff from the Florida Keys-based Turtle Hospital released a rehabilitated loggerhead sea turtle back to the ocean off Marathon Thursday.

For Christina Wilson, hosting “Island Hopping: Florida Keys" enabled her to take a deep dive into Florida Keys adventures that even some longtime locals haven’t experienced — and share them with viewers of the syndicated television special. The hourlong program, commissioned by the Monroe County Tourist Development Council, recently began airing across the United States.

Thousands of scuba divers, snorkelers, anglers and watersports enthusiasts visit the Florida Keys annually to dive or snorkel the United States’ only living coral reef and enjoy Keys waters. In November 2020 the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary marks 30 years of dedication to protecting the world’s third-largest barrier reef and the waters surrounding the island chain.

As well as human visitors who come to the Florida Keys for rest and renewal, marine creatures in need come calling, too. Some arrive with health problems, while others are injured, orphaned or lost.