by Education Coordinator | Sep 15, 2023 | Blog, Latest News
If you’ve visited Pigeon Key before, you’ve probaby noticed we have a few resident Nurse Sharks in our saltwater pool. The nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) is one of many species of sharks we see in our waters in the Florida Keys. They are typically...
by Education Coordinator | Aug 25, 2023 | Latest News
The 2023 education season for Pigeon Key has come to an end, and what fun it has been! It’s been another amazing year on the island filled with tidepooling, snorkeling, learning about Florida Keys marine life, and much more. Over the education season, we had...
by Education Coordinator | Jul 29, 2023 | Blog, Latest News
If you’ve been to the Florida Keys, you’ve almost certainly seen trees growing along the coast, sometimes with their roots fully submerged in the saltwater! These are called mangroves, which are trees specialized for living in saltwater environments and are very...
by Education Coordinator | Jul 15, 2023 | Blog, Latest News
On Pigeon Key, when doing debris cleanups, one of the most commonly found items is fishing gear. Discarded fishing gear is a huge problem for our oceans, as it harms thousands of our favorite marine animals every year through ghost fishing, which happens when animals...
by Education Coordinator | Jun 30, 2023 | Blog, Latest News
The Portuguese Man O’ War, Physalia physalis, is a highly specialized marine organism with fascinating biology and ecology. This species is found in waters all around the world, including in the Florida Keys. The Portuguese Man O’ War is often mistaken for a...
by Education Coordinator | Jun 14, 2023 | Blog, Latest News
In the 1950s, tourists were once able to drive onto Pigeon Key and eat at the old restaurant and tap house, and swim in our pool. The saltwater pool on the south end of the island was built in 1951 during Pigeon Key’s “glory days,” when Pigeon Key was once named “the...
by Education Coordinator | May 31, 2023 | Blog, Latest News
Coral reefs are some of the most diverse and important ecosystems on the planet, providing habitats and shelter for countless species in the ocean. Despite making up only 1% of the ocean’s landscape, coral reefs around the world provide a habitat for approximately 25%...
by Education Coordinator | May 15, 2023 | Latest News
The Paint Foreman’s House, a large wood-framed rectangular building, on Pigeon Key was originally built in 1908 as a kitchen, then repurposed to a house in 1912, and is one of the oldest buildings on the island. It featured board-and-batten style shearing on the...
by Education Coordinator | Apr 30, 2023 | Blog, Latest News
Atlantic Tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) are large, silvery sport fish commonly found throughout Florida and the Florida Keys. Tarpon can grow up to 8 feet in length, weigh up to 350 pounds, and live over 50 years. It’s no wonder they are called the “silver king!” A...
by Education Coordinator | Apr 15, 2023 | Blog, Latest News
The Florida Keys are home to a wide variety of habitats and marine life. One of the most fascinating, yet understudied habitats in the Florida Keys is the shallow hardbottom, making up approximately 30-40% of South Florida’s coastal waters. The shallow hardbottom...
