ANGARI Foundation Calls on the Public to Take Part in 11th Lagoon Drift Card Experiment

West Palm Beach, Florida (April 25, 2024) – ANGARI Foundation is calling on the public to help study the motion of water and marine debris during the 11th experiment in their Lagoon Drift Card Study. At 1:45 p.m. on Thursday April 25th, Lagoon Drift partners and volunteers from ANGARI Foundation, Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 54, Friends of Manatee Lagoon, Friends of Palm Beach, Manatee Lagoon, and Palm Beach Day Academy synchronously deployed small eco-friendly wooden drift cards into the Lake Worth Lagoon and Intracoastal Waterway from six different sites. Once released, the cards float on the water’s surface and are carried by local currents and tides.

Members of the public are encouraged to participate in the citizen science experiment by taking to shorelines in the region to recover the eco-friendly, degradable wooden drift cards. By locating, recovering and reporting found drift cards, community members help ANGARI Foundation and its partners gain a better understanding of how marine debris is transported and accumulates in the area. This experiment’s drift cards are 4-by-6 inches, purple, and have been decorated by Palm Beach Day Academy students, Friends of Manatee Lagoon volunteers and School District of Palm Beach County student participants in Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens’ Earth Day event.

Community members are relied on to recover and keep any and all found drift cards, reporting the location, date, and time found, along with a photo of the card, to the email address [email protected]. During prior Lagoon Drift experiments, drift cards have been reported as far north as New Smyrna Beach, and as far south as the Hillsboro Inlet. Historically, drift card recovery rates for the Lagoon Drift experiments have been above average for studies of this nature. ANGARI Foundation and its partners use this long-term program as a tool to engage the community in conversations about human impacts on the environment, including plastic pollution and other types of marine debris, and the effects they have on marine life. To learn more about this citizen science study, visit angari.org/lagoondrift.

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About ANGARI Foundation
ANGARI Foundation is a 501(c)(3) private operating foundation established in 2016 and headquartered in West Palm Beach, Fla. The Foundation is dedicated to creating a global community that is interested, knowledgeable, and invested in marine and environmental sciences by directly supporting research initiatives that foster a greater trust and dialogue between scientists and the public. ANGARI Foundation uses innovative technology, film, and other media to raise awareness and strengthen science education. Many of the Foundation’s primary initiatives involve R/V ANGARI, a 65-foot vessel that serves as an exceptional research and education platform.

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