Students from Redeemer Lutheran School worked with Ecological Associates Inc. scientists during Ocean Research & Conservation Association’s (ORCA) 8th annual A Day in the Life of the Indian River Lagoon, Oct. 9, 2025, at Sandsprit Park in Martin County. ORCA is the nation’s first technology-based marine conservation association dedicated to the preservation of the Indian River Lagoon and other coastal waterways.

This annual event, ADIL for short, is a large citizen science project designed to help students (grades 4-12) and community members develop an appreciation for, and knowledge of, the Lagoon and the current health issues and stressors facing the estuary. For the day Students at the Redeemer Lutheran School became volunteer citizen scientists and used hands-on field techniques that real biologists use. The students got into the water to practice seine netting and capture organisms that live by the shore line. They measured physical conditions such as wind speed and direction, tides, and current. They made observations about the many species of animal and plants discovered at their specific site.

All images were taken from the TCPalm article:  ORCA’s annual ‘A Day in the Life of the Indian River Lagoon’

Participants were spread out across more than 40 locations along the 156-mile estuary all on the same day to take a “snapshot” of the lagoon’s health. Other major data collected by the citizen scientists included water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH, and nitrate and phosphate concentrations. All of the data taken from these sampling locations are available to the general public, including decision makers. To learn more about this project visit: A Day in the Life – Team ORCA