SCENE stands for Scientific Conservation and Exploration of Nature and Ecosystems and it's every bit as hands-on as it sounds.

It’s a youth-led environmental program where students trade textbooks for snorkels, dive into field research, and take part in real-life restoration projects. Whether it’s identifying fish species, cleaning up remote coastal debris, or scrubbing barnacles off catamaran hulls, SCENE turns conservation into an immersive adventure.

Core activities include:

• Marine debris cleanups in fragile habitats like mangroves and coral patches

• Fish ID surveys and ecological monitoring

• Leadership and teamwork aboard live-aboard vessels like Day Dreamer

• Discussions on environmental ethics, marine science, and stewardship

Spring Break in the Florida Keys

Crew Chief Log — aboard Day Dreamer catamaran

Day 1: Met Captain Scott. Got promoted to crew chief. Does this mean I don’t need to clean the head and do night watch duty? Trip planning with captain. Crew briefing. SCENE training with master diver.

Day 2: Mangrove cleanup in the afternoon. Pulled a tire. Crew crushed it. Bad visibility while diving in the morning.

Day 3: Fish ID in seagrass. Parrotfish stared at me. Dropped my slate. Twice.

Day 4: Swam to a half-sunken boat. Climbed aboard. Took the flag. Captain reminds us: never drive near debris after dark.

Day 5: Scrubbed Day Dreamer’s bottom. Barnacles, mystery slime, some attitude from a sponge colony. Boat looks great. Some snorkeled while I used our scuba gear.

Day 6: Collected ghost nets. Crab shells inside. Trash traps more than trash. Night dive.

Day 7: Final debrief. Cleaned top of boat. Reflections, goodbyes, sun-faded jokes. Still salty, still proud.

What stuck: Through SCENE — Scientific Conservation and Exploration of Nature and Ecosystems — we lived on the ocean, cleaned up its mess, and studied the life it still holds.

Today, when I dive, I always pick up debris. Because no fish should live with a tire. Or get tangled with a net. Or the ghost of someone else's forgotten boat.