West Palm Beach, Florida (November 10, 2026) – Calling all citizen scientists! ANGARI Foundation is asking the community to join its 16th Lagoon Drift Card Study on Tuesday, November 10, 2026. The Foundation needs assistance from the public to locate 4-by-6-inch, eco-friendly drift cards that have been deployed into the water at 14 different sites across Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River and Brevard Counties. In Palm Beach County, 320 bright orange drift cards were deployed at 12 p.m. On the Treasure Coast, 240 plywood and yellow-colored drift cards were deployed at various times.
Initiated in 2017, the ongoing study helps ANGARI and its partners better understand water movement and pollutants in the Lake Worth Lagoon, Palm Beach County waters and the Indian River Lagoon. ANGARI Foundation and its partners use the study as a tool to engage the community in discussions about human environmental impacts such as plastic pollution and marine debris. Each Lagoon Drift Card Study brings ANGARI closer to identifying debris hot spots, empowering the community to target cleanup efforts where they can make the greatest impact.
If a drift card is found, it is crucial to report the specific location, date, and time found, and a photo of both sides of the card, then email it to [email protected]. Please keep the drift card and do not throw it back into the water.
During prior experiments, drift cards traveled 276 miles north and have been reported north of Jacksonville, and 40 miles south as far as the Hillsboro Inlet.
ANGARI maintains a digital ArcGIS Online Lagoon Drift Interactive Dashboard and Map for the public to access data from all previous drift card experiments from 2017 to 2026. Users can explore and analyze individual data points, learn about each specific drift card report, and examine results from a particular drift card deployment site or experiment. They can also view daily environmental observations from each deployment day, and informative charts and graphs. The dashboard can be accessed through ANGARI’s website at angari.org/lagoondrift-data.
This experiment is supported by the Great Charity Challenge. Partners for the 16th Lagoon Drift Card Study experiment include Coastal Connections, Cocoa Beach Jr/Sr High School, Emerald Cove Middle School, Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Indian River Lagoon Aquatic Preserves, Flotilla Club, Friends of Manatee Lagoon, Friends of Palm Beach, Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, Independence Middle School’s SciQuest Academy, Lighthouse Elementary School, Manatee Center, Manatee Lagoon, ORCA, Palm Springs Community Middle School, Pura Vida Divers, School District of Palm Beach County Sustainable Schools, School District of Palm Beach County Sustainability Symposium, Sea Turtle Adventures, Somerset Academy Boca, The Benjamin School, UF IFAS Extension Martin County, UF IFAS Extension St. Lucie County, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 5-4, VoLo Foundation and Wellington High School. Staff, members and students from these organizations and schools have assisted with the creation, decoration and/or deployment of drift cards, or participated in Lagoon Drift educational programming.
The Benjamin School students show off their decorated Lagoon Drift cards.
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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.
MEDIA CONTACT
Chelsea Casagrande
Venue Marketing Group
(561) 844-1778, ext. 120 [email protected]
I am an ocean enthusiast that has worked previously and continue to help at Local Ocean Conservation which is a non-profit organisation based in Kenya. I helped with the efforts of protecting sea turtles that have been caught as by-catch in the Indian Ocean. I help them digitalise and manage over 20 years worth of data that they have collected. Currently I am a remote intern here at ANGARI and very excited to help with the amazing work they conduct.
ANGARI Foundation is inviting the public to help take part in their 15th Lake Worth Lagoon Drift Card Study experiment, which helps us better understand marine debris transport in and around the Lake Worth Lagoon.
This philanthropic event marked the Foundation’s 10-year anniversary and raised more than $150,000, a new record, to advance STEM education and marine science research.