(WSVN) – When you consider vacationing within the Florida Keys, relaxation and rest most likely come to thoughts, however one group has added work to the itinerary, and hundreds of volunteers have already pitched in. Karen Hensel explains in tonight’s 7 Spotlight.
They name themselves the Conch Republic Marine Army.
They usually are not the army, however group founder Brian Vest and his volunteers are still on a mission.
Brian Vest, CRMA founder: “Our goal is to try and clean the shallow water habitats of the Florida Keys, the entire Florida Keys, one time.”
But earlier than we get to how huge of an enterprise that is, now we have to return to 2017 when Hurricane Irma made landfall within the Lower Keys.
The Category 4 storm destroyed houses, leaving their contents blown all over the place.
Brian Vest: “The best analogy is if you were to take a bulldozer and go right through your garage, right through the back of your garage, and shove it into your swimming pool, everything that went in there.”
In this case, the “swimming pool,” is the water that feeds into the ocean.
A couple of months after Irma hit in 2017, a bunch of about 25 individuals helped Brian clean up a canal behind his Big Pine Key dwelling.
But what began small, rapidly grew.
Brian Vest: (*5*)
The Marine Army was born.
In the previous 5 years, Brian says 4,000 volunteers have pitched in to pluck “you name it” out of the water.
Brian Vest: “We’re talking about sofas, motorcycles, grills, we have found a total of 88 refrigerators out in the back country as far as 25 miles away. We’ve pulled out 214 tons of trash. I think we’re at 2.5 million feet of trap line and rope, which is the distance from Key West to Jacksonville.”
Our cameras had been on board as Brian and 4 volunteers made the trek to a small island the place the Marine Army had stacked these lobster traps. The energy from Hurricane Ian in September moved the traps from deep water — the place they had been set — to the shallows the place the boats of lobster fisherman can’t journey.
Brian Vest: “The storm moved all these traps 3, to 6, in some cases 30 miles.”
One by one, they lifted the practically 100-pound traps onto paddleboards, into the boat and introduced them to land the place the house owners of the traps might choose them up totally free.
Ryan Fisher, volunteer: “It feels like a drop in the bucket, but at the same time, you know, it’s two boats full of traps that are going to get, you know, going to be reused and get back to the people they belong to.”
Connor Fisher, volunteer: “Super rewarding, though bringing them all out and everything but definitely hard work, definitely hard work.”
Scat Fisher, volunteer: “We live here. This is my home, so to come out here and do this kind of work feels really good to me.”
But regardless of all the great work, there’s still a protracted method to go.
Brian Vest: “The Florida Keys are a beautiful place, but there’s sections of the Florida Keys that are in really bad trouble.”
The Conch Republic Marine Army has attracted volunteers from world wide.
If you wish to study extra about spending a day within the Keys helping out, click on here.
Karen Hensel, 7News.
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