Outreach Toolkit

Here we share with you two of our loves, seahorses and protected areas. What better way to inspire people to care about the oceans, creatures and habitats in their backyard?

Within a stone’s throw of Miami you will find the Biscayne National Park – the largest marine park in the US National Park system.  Our outreach toolkit –  Seahorses: Magical Creatures in Our Backyard – helps you to engage tourists and locals alike to explore the exciting biodiversity next to our thriving city and take action to support management efforts. We invite you to be part of the adventure and to use the resources we have developed and assembled here in your own outreach and education initiatives as you see fit.

We intend this toolkit to engage ocean users and residents of South Florida in a deeper appreciation of, and support for, Biscayne National Park through its seahorses and pipefishes. The toolkit provides information about the value and importance of Biscayne National Park and the seahorses and their relatives that inhabit South Florida. It provides opportunities to harness the power of ‘citizen scientists’ — anyone, anywhere in the world who sees a seahorse in the wild — while engaging people to take action to protect local wildlife and habitats. (Please don’t handle seahorses, and other wildlife, unless under the supervision of trained professionals.) Together we can improve the fate of seahorses and their habitats while engaging more people in ocean conservation.

The toolkit and supporting material are living documents (continually updated) so please check back here regularly for new versions, and contact us at info@projectseahorse.org with any suggestions for improvement. We would love to hear from you.

Outreach Toolkit: Table of Contents

• Why care about Biscayne National Park (BNP)?
• Why care about seahorses? *
• 12 easy things you can do for South Florida’s oceans and BNP *
• Project Seahorse’s 2016 BNP Field Research Summary *
• Photos from Project Seahorse’s 2016 BNP Field Research *
• Biscayne National Park map
• Map of Global Seahorse Distribution
• Southern Florida Syngnathid Identification Guide *
• Seahorses of the Americas Identification Guide
• Seahorse Superheroes: Making Art from Trash (Youth Art Project) *
• Magical creatures in our backyard – general public 30 min presentation
• Magical creatures in our backyard – scientific presentation
• iSeahorse Citizen Science Factsheet
• 8 fun facts about seahorses
• iSeahorse community science fact sheet
• iSeahorse promotional poster
• Seahorse training videos & Online courses
• Project Seahorse video of male seahorse giving birth in the wild

Important note: Please do not handle seahorses, and other wildlife, unless under the supervision of trained professionals.

* These resources were developed especially for this campaign, with the generous support of the Herbert W. Hoover Foundation.