Danilo Alayon is a fifth-generation “Conch” born and raised in Key West, an avid diver, a self-taught artist and proud grandson of the creator-painter of the island’s famed Southernmost Point buoy.

Danilo has embraced a unique form of artistry: he converts old, nicked and rusty scuba tanks into sustainable and luminously colorful works.

Through his original creations, Danilo draws attention to the Florida Keys’ underwater marine life with brilliant paintings of marlin, whales, dolphins, grouper, sea turtles and coral.

Danilo hails from a large Key West–rooted family that includes a brother and 12 first cousins. As a student in the island city, he was known for winning school art contests.

After high school, Danilo held a variety of jobs that included working at a yacht club kitchen and his family’s plumbing business. Today, he paints during about half of his working time and also tackles landscape design projects.

Now 35 years old, Danilo began painting scuba tanks about five years ago after a client suggested it as a commission. One collector, who doesn’t dive, has purchased five. The artist also paints spearfishing guns, guitars and canvas works.

Inspired by internationally renowned marine life artist Wyland, Danilo has collaborated with Hawaii-based artist Walfrido Garcia on a dive tank project on the Big Island and Maui. Danilo also created a colorful abstract 4-by-7.5-foot painting in the lobby of the Wyvern Hotel in Punta Gorda, Florida.

“I believe art can be taught, but I also believe you are born with (a talent),” he said. “I’m self-taught, but always learning new things.”

Although he recently purchased property in Port Charlotte, Florida, where some of his family members are relocating, Danilo can be found frequently around town and at Art on Duval Key West at 714 Duval St.

He and wife Ashley have three children: Alina, 14; Danilo, 11; and Austin, 7. In the near future, he hopes to open his own gallery.

Keys Voices: When did you first come to the Keys and why? 

Danilo Alayon: I was born in Key West in 1987. My home has always been Key West.

KV: What aspects of the Keys environment or way of life matter most to you? 

DA: The preservation of our coral reefs. Without them, all life would cease to exist. The coral reefs are also what give the Florida Keys their special beauty.

KV: Who or what inspired you to become passionate about respecting and protecting the Keys’ natural world? 

DA: My inspiration for creating my artwork is highly influenced by the creation all around us. I also have been inspired to create by spending many hours with my grandfather Danny Acosta, who is a sign painter and who has made his mark in Key West for many years. He is the original creator and painter of the Southernmost Point buoy that every tourist stops to take a picture with. 

KV: How does that passion influence your work? 

DA: When I create new pieces of art, it doesn’t feel like a job. I only paint from personal inspiration, without a deadline, so that the work doesn’t feel forced.

KV: What are some ways, personally or through your work, that you connect with or help to protect the local environment and unique lifestyle? 

DA: I hope that people will fall in love with the marine life and seascape pieces I create and see the beauty this world has to offer. It may move them to recycle more or leave less of a carbon footprint. In one way, I am trying to do this personally by painting old scuba tanks instead of them being trashed into a huge landfill. I create works of art that people can enjoy in their homes for many years.

KV: What keeps you energized, challenged or focused on your path? 

DA: My family and the natural world of the Keys help to provide inspiration.

KV: What do you hope your positive environmental actions will accomplish? 

DA: Change, so that our children grow up and are able to experience the beauty of creation.

KV: What’s your favorite natural or eco-friendly activity in the Keys? 

DA: Fishing, diving and spending time with family at the beach.

KV: What message do you want your actions and example to communicate to people you encounter? 

DA: Awareness that we all can do a little — and if we all do a little, in turn we will accomplish a lot.

Captain Matthew “Matt” Bellinger grew up in Sandy Springs, Georgia, studied marine science at the University of Tampa, traveled as a divemaster after college and clearly remembers the “aha!” moment that prompted his move to the Florida Keys.

“It was during a dive trip visit to the original Mrs. Mac’s over conch fritters, fresh mahi-mahi and iced tea with lime,” Matt recalled. “I said, ‘I’m going to come to the Keys to live.’”

At age 27, Matt bought Ocean Quest Dive Center in Islamorada. He operated it until 1998, when he sold it to staff.

Today his company Bamboo Charters is known for family fishing charters out of World Wide Sportsman in Islamorada. The company specializes in family trips and fun day adventures as well as backcountry, tarpon and shark fishing excursions — and one targeting redfish, snook and trout.

Matt, who describes himself as “240 pounds of mama’s boy,” grew up in an outdoors-loving family of “water people” with four siblings at least 20 years older. He earned his dive certification in high school as a birthday gift from his parents.

He named Bamboo Charters as an “ode to his mother” after the bamboo forests of his home state. In the Keys, though, Matt is known for conducting onboard education about preservation and conservation of Florida Bay, its “sea grass prairies” and the delicate ecosystems of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

His fleet of three 25-foot Contender Bay Boats and a Parker 25 Center Console can comfortably accommodate families of two adults and four children.

The deep-voiced Matt is also known for his daily radio fishing reports on Sun103.1 and Thunder Country 100.3, two Keys FM stations.

He and wife Ana, an American Airlines flight attendant, live in Islamorada.

Keys Voices: When did you first come to the Florida Keys and why?

Matt Bellinger: I first came to the Keys Thanksgiving weekend 1981. I came to complete my dive certification as an open water diver.

KV: What aspects of the Keys environment or way of life matter most to you?

MB: The wild side of the Florida Keys. The hardwood hammocks, down to mangrove shorelines then continuing out to the reefs, along with the wildlife that inhabit this area because they’re all reliant on each other.

KV: Who or what inspired you to become passionate about respecting and protecting the Keys’ natural world?

MB: My parents and two high school science teachers fueled my wonder of the outside world. My father always stressed “Harvest only what you will eat that day and minimize any negative impact on the environment around you.”

KV: How does that passion influence your work or profession?

MB: My love and passion for the marine environment motivate me to educate my clients and imbue them, hopefully, with the same desire to protect this environment.

KV: What are some of the ways, personally or through your work, that you connect with and/or help protect the local environment and unique lifestyle?

MB: I take the approach on my boat that part of my job is to educate, inform and inspire my clients to learn and care more about this unique marine environment here in the Keys — as well as hopefully letting others know what a unique and fragile place this really is.

KV: What keeps you energized, challenged and focused on your path?

MB: Over the years, I’ve come to know individual dolphins and manatees. When I see “Croptop the Dolphin” or “Big Momma the Manatee,” it reinforces the need I feel to motivate people to become involved with and to care for this environment.

KV: What message do you want your actions and example to communicate to people you encounter?

MB: That people should try to minimize their negative impact on the environment around them.

KV: What’s your favorite natural or eco-friendly activity in the Keys?

MB: Snorkeling a mangrove shoreline or reef. On land I like to walk the trails at local state parks in Monroe County.

KV: What do you hope your positive environmental actions will accomplish?

MB: At the end of the day, I hope to motivate my clients to be inspired to learn more and care more about the environment here in the Keys and back home. Clients are seeking experiences together; more and more are also seeking education. We all have stewardship within us.

Summerland Key resident Dave Vaughan, founder of the Plant a Million Corals Foundation, is known worldwide for his “Eureka mistake” that led to a revolutionary coral fragmentation technique that enables the rapid growth of coral.

His technique is proving to be a vital tool in restoring and protecting the Florida Keys’ living coral barrier reef.

Dave is the pioneer of “micro-fragmentation” — the fragmenting or cutting of coral into small pieces of polyps. The process stimulates the rapid growth of coral tissue.

Throughout the Keys environmentalists, divers, citizen scientists and other volunteers are racing to replant resilient coral to replenish the only living coral barrier reef in the continental United States through Mission: Iconic Reefs. The mission is an unprecedented effort to restore nearly 3 million square feet of the Florida Reef Tract at seven Keys reef sites.

Dave’s Plant a Million Corals’ land-based initiatives include development of transportable coral “nurseries in a box” (a 20-foot refrigerated shipping container) at the 4-acre bayside Summerland Farms. He ships the portable nurseries to exotic islands such as Mo’orea in French Polynesia, the Maldives and Puerto Rico and conducts about a week’s worth of training on-site.

Plant a Million Corals hopes to reduce the cost of replanting of each coral to $1, compared to $10 to $250 per coral currently spent by other nonprofit organizations. Dave’s foundation is funded through private donations and other foundations.

The scientist is also an author. His new book, “The Secret Life of Corals: Sex, War, and Rocks That Don’t Roll,” released in mid-November, is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and locally at Lower Keys Bait & Tackle and the National Key Deer Refuge Nature Center.

Dave, his wife Donna, daughter Dee Dee and son-in-law Jason Smause celebrated the official launch of Plant a Million Corals in early December.

Keys Voices: When did you first come to the Florida Keys and why?

Dave Vaughan: In 1975 I accompanied a research group to visit the (University of Miami’s then existing) Library of Seaweed at Pigeon Key.

KV: What aspects of the Keys environment or way of life matter most to you?

DV: The coral reefs providing protection for our community, food for our families and jobs for our economy. Our light green flats and deep blue ocean, where fishermen share their love of the water, and the mangrove forests keeping our inshore coastline in place all depend on the coral reefs.

KV: Who or what inspired you to become passionate about respecting and protecting the Keys’ natural world?

DV: Growing up I was fascinated with Jacques Cousteau and his undersea world. His work motivated me to pursue marine science. While working for Mote Marine Laboratories in Sarasota, I was inspired by two founders, Eugenie Clark and Sylvia Earle, who influenced me to move to the Keys and help with their coral restoration efforts.

KV: How does that passion influence your work or profession?

DV: I came to the Keys to work with coral research, but here I discovered technology used all over the world to grow and restore corals at 25 to 40 times faster than they would normally grow. Our facility, solar powered and off the grid, is developing ways to make coral restoration accessible and affordable to technicians and communities all over the world. It’s a global education, training and production hub for restoration — with a capacity of producing 1 million corals per year within two years.

KV: What are some of the ways, personally or through your work, that you connect with and/or help protect the local environment and unique lifestyle?

DV: Through my commitment to the coral reefs, here and internationally.

KV: What keeps you energized, challenged and focused on your path?

DV: Hope! At my start in coral restoration, we would almost need therapy at the end of meetings because the technology was so slow. When I discovered micro-fragmentation, we realized that with all the stressors on the reef, we now had a tool that would bring that timeline into months and years.

KV: What’s your favorite natural or eco-friendly activity in the Keys?

DV: Being on or in the water! I love to take our solar-powered dingy out on weekends and cruise over the sponge beds in front of our cove.

KV: What do you hope your positive environmental actions will accomplish?

DV: Environmental action in coral restoration will also trigger a reverence for the environment. Our kids can see the kind of Florida Keys life that I’ve been able to experience and enjoy.

KV: What message do you want your actions and example to communicate to people you encounter?

DV: Coral reefs are awesome. There is HOPE.

A group of 15 young rescued sea turtles (one of them a tiny baby) was recently released in Gulf Stream waters off Key West by a dedicated duo from the Florida Keys-based Turtle Hospital — and they were assisted in this worthy endeavor by members of a powerboat racing team who were on the island to compete in the sport’s world championship.

The released reptiles included a juvenile green sea turtle dubbed “Ian” for Hurricane Ian, whose tropical storm-force winds brushed the Key West area in late September.

The little guy was found buried in about a foot of seaweed by a family cleaning up around a boat ramp after the storm — so 8-year-old Khannan Mellies and his family promptly named their unexpected “guest” Ian and reached out to the Turtle Hospital.

The Turtle Hospital’s manager, Bette Zirkelbach, reported that Ian and three other green sea turtles, three hawksbills and eight loggerheads were all released Nov. 12 into a sargassum weed line about 20 miles off Key West in the Gulf Stream. (Sargassum acts as camouflage for young turtles, so it’s an ideal habitat for their stage of life.)

According to Bette, Ian and most of his cohorts were “washbacks” — a term for turtles washed ashore from the Gulf Stream by a storm’s wind and water action. All were cared for at the Turtle Hospital after being found.

The turtles were carried to the release point by a fleet mate of the 39-foot TS Motorsports MTI powerboat that was competing in the 450R Factory Stock class in Race World Offshore’s 2022 Key West Offshore World Championship.

Helping with the release were Taylor Scism, driver of the boat during the championship series; her father Randy Scism, a veteran powerboat racer; Captain Jack Carlson; and Turtle Hospital founder and director Richie Moretti.

The world’s first veterinary facility of its kind, the Turtle Hospital has been rescuing, rehabilitating and returning turtles to the wild for over 30 years. It’s located in Marathon, at mile marker 48.5 on the Florida Keys Overseas Highway, and visiting it provides an inspiring example of environmental passion in action.

Daily educational tours introduce visitors to the resident sea turtles (some are recovering “patients,” and some are permanent inhabitants whose conditions make their release impossible), as well as the hospital’s healing programs for loggerhead, green, hawksbill and Kemp’s ridley turtles.

In addition to their curative efforts, founders and staff work tirelessly to raise public awareness about sea turtles and their needs, collaborate with state universities on sea turtle research, and work toward environmental legislation that makes the beaches and water safer and cleaner for their charges.

The longstanding relationship between the hospital and Florida Keys powerboat race organizers was built on a mutual desire to safeguard the sea turtles, manatees and dolphins that inhabit Keys waters. Before and during each race in the annual championship series, Richie and Bette scan the racecourse from a helicopter to spot any marine wildlife that might be on or near it.

Race World Offshore’s Key West Offshore World Championship wrapped up Sunday, Nov. 13 — and TS Motorsports, with Taylor Scism driving and legendary racer John Tomlinson as throttleman, won the championship in their class.

But despite that impressive victory, the biggest “winners” during the team’s Key West sojourn were clearly Ian and his fellow turtles — who are beginning a new life in the Gulf Stream, thanks to the good-hearted racers and the dedicated group from the Turtle Hospital.

Caitlyn “Caiti” Currie, who captains Key Largo water excursions for Pirates Cove Watersports and for school groups out of MarineLab at the Key Largo Undersea Park, is passionate about keeping the Florida Keys’ aquamarine waters clean.

Through Pirates Cove, located at Reefhouse Resort & Marina, Caiti enjoys captaining boats for and participating in Dive Against Debris trips.

Like many Keys environmentalists, she holds two jobs to be able to do meaningful work that she loves. At MarineLab — a Marine Resources Development Foundation program on Largo Sound at the park housing Jules’ Undersea Lodge — she educates student groups of all ages about Keys ecosystems.

The landlocked native of St. Louis, Missouri, packed her bags for Key Largo about 10 years ago. Previously she had studied marine archaeology at Southeast Missouri State University and conducted educational field research at the Sanisera Archaeology Institute in Menorca, Spain.

Caiti immediately landed a boat mate’s position at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. A couple of years later, she began studying for her captain’s license and earned it at age 25.

Her seven-year stint at Pennekamp ended when the coronavirus pandemic struck, and Pirates Cove offered her a captain’s job.

During her limited spare time, Caiti enjoys her two Labrador–Australian shepherd–mix dogs and performing with the Key Players theatrical troupe.

Keys Voices: When did you first come to the Florida Keys and why?

Caitlyn “Caiti” Currie: In 2013. I realized after college that I hated the cold weather too much, so I wanted to be somewhere it was warm all year round and where there were shipwrecks. I like water, warmth and buried treasure.

KV: What aspects of the Keys environment or way of life matter most to you?

CC: I really like how most everyone down here loves to do some activity on the water. Whether paddling, snorkeling or fishing, everyone likes to get out and enjoy our unique ecosystems. Not only do they enjoy it, they care about it! Our local community really gets involved in helping take care of our reefs, seagrass beds and mangroves.

KV: Who or what inspired you to become passionate about respecting and protecting the Keys’ natural world?

CC: Working on snorkel boats, glass-bottom boats and running eco-tours has allowed me to see firsthand how our ecosystems have been affected over the years. I can’t imagine what they looked like 50 to 60 years ago!

KV: How does that passion influence your work or profession?

CC: I try to make sure the companies I work for care about our environment and conditions as much as I do, if not more so.

KV: What are some of the ways, personally or through your work, that you connect with and/or help protect the local environment and unique lifestyle?

CC: Damage to our different ecosystems has encouraged me to educate visitors on how to properly interact with the environment they’re in, so that it can be enjoyed for years to come.

KV: What keeps you energized, challenged and focused on your path?

CC: My peers and co-workers constantly keep me energized about helping to educate others. Where I work, mainly at Pirates Cove Watersports, we do multiple Dive Against Debris trips throughout the year to help clean up the oceans. At MarineLab, we take school groups out to experience the different ecosystems and learn about them in depth.

KV: What do you hope your positive environmental actions will accomplish?

CC: The more we educate our visitors, the better our reefs can be in the future as more people realize the impact they can have on our beautiful and unique reefs — just with their everyday habits.

KV: What message do you want your actions and example to communicate to people you encounter?

CC: To encourage others to be appreciative of our environment down here and help us to preserve it.

KV: What’s your favorite natural or eco-friendly activity in the Keys?

CC: I’m not sure if I could pick a favorite activity! It’s a tie between diving and snorkeling.

In the unforgettable “Pirates of the Caribbean” films, the buccaneers were guided by a code of conduct that was originally created by the Brethren Court of pirate lords. Theoretically, its rules were strict and unbending — but before the end of the first film, heroine Elizabeth Swann convinced the crew of the pirate vessel Black Pearl that “they’re more like guidelines, anyway.”

Though buccaneers are few and far between in the Florida Keys (sometimes called America’s Caribbean), Keys residents and others who love the island chain are definitely guided by a code of conduct.

This code was designed to protect a treasure richer than any pirate gold — the region’s amazing natural environment. The Florida Keys are paralleled by the continental United States’ only living coral barrier reef, which is often called the third largest in the world. Much like a tropical rainforest, the reef ecosystem supports an incredibly diverse population of plants and animals.

The entire land mass of the Keys is surrounded by the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, which was established in 1990 by the U.S. government. Visitors to the island chain will also find land-based refuges where birds, wildlife and their habitats are protected — including the Lower Keys’ National Key Deer Refuge that’s home to shy, soft-eyed miniature deer the size of large dogs.

So what exactly IS the code of the Keys?

Its core is the 10 Keymandments. Unlike the Bible’s 10 Commandments, which advise people what NOT to do, the Keymandments advise travelers what they CAN do to have a meaningful, memorable vacation while respecting and helping preserve the Keys environment.

Lighthearted yet educational, they’re guidelines for enjoying a sustainable travel experience in the laid-back subtropical spot.

ONE: Plant a coral (or adopt one of the cute little things, but don’t touch them on the reef).

TWO: Support the wildlife (volunteer food, funds or time to a local wild bird center).

THREE: Take out the trash (especially if it’s floating in the water).

FOUR: Capture a lionfish (any time and any size — we can show you how).

FIVE: Leave a digital footprint (share pictures with fans, friends and followers).

SIX: Hike it, bike it or hoof it (it’s low on eco-impact and high on fresh tropical air).

SEVEN: Catch dinner (and release all the fish you know you can’t eat).

EIGHT: Use a mooring buoy at dive sites (save your back and leave the anchor alone).

NINE: Conserve vs. consume (reduce, reuse and recycle even on vacation).

TEN: Get off the beaten path (you can hike, bike, walk, kayak or paddleboard along Keys trails).

While the code of conduct in the “Pirates” films proved to be somewhat elastic, the Keys code should be followed at all times by everyone who cares about the area’s environment. In fact, the Keymandments are a modern-day addition to more than a century of efforts to preserve it.

Discovering the island chain’s natural world is easy with a knowledgeable local eco-tour guide or watersports operator — whether on a kayaking paddle through tranquil waters and surreal mangrove tangles, an excursion to view dolphins in the wild, or a dive or snorkeling trip in America’s first underwater park.

To explore eco-adventures in the Florida Keys, just click here. And don’t forget … to protect and preserve the Keys’ environmental treasures, always follow the code.

George Bellenger, who co-founded Key West Eco Tours with wife Carla in 2006, believes that even a five-minute commitment helps to preserve the Florida Keys’ natural backcountry and dense mangrove islands.

The company operates from the Geiger Key Marina fish camp and RV park’s Geiger Key Paddle Hut in the Lower Keys — and prides itself on educating clients about the backcountry and teaching respect for the Keys environment.

On each tour, guides and participants take part in a “5 Minute Project,” spending five minutes removing debris from the water and mangroves.

George landed in Key West after attending the University of Delaware, discovering a subtropical paradise where rent was affordable and residents didn’t need a car.

An avid kayaker, diver, windsurfer and sailor, George worked for Tropical Watersports as an instructor, teaching windsurfing and Hobie sailing at Smathers Beach. Over the years, the watersports enthusiast closely bonded with Key West’s island community and even ran for mayor twice.

A native of Wilmington, Delaware, he met future wife Carla, who hails from Alabama, on a random Key West walk in the 1990s.

“She liked my dog JoJo, the wonder dog,” George recalled.

He’s recognized for launching the Havana Challenge, the first permitted regatta since the U.S.-Cuba embargo, with government-authorized sailing from Key West to Havana. His goal was to bring boating enthusiasts from both countries together, bridging cultures through traditional maritime heritage.

George’s adventures in Cuba, where he’s visited about 30 times, were documented in Men’s Journal.

He and Carla each hold U.S. Coast Guard charter captain certifications. And their son, George Robert, is a senior at SUNY Maritime College (Maritime College, State University of New York) and is pursuing a career in nautical operations.

Keys Voices: When did you first come to the Florida Keys and why?

George Bellenger: A job offer first brought me to Key West around 40 years ago. Even back then, people told me I should have been here 10 years earlier!

KV: What aspects of the Keys environment or way of life matter most to you?

GB: Initially, the way of life and cast of characters kept me hanging around the Keys until I eventually discovered the unbound natural world on and around the island. Then I was hooked.

KV: Who or what inspired you to become passionate about respecting and protecting the Keys’ natural world?

GB: Earth Day, 1971. The Boy Scouts announced a new merit badge, S.O.A.R. (Save our American Resources), to inspire thought and action to protect the environment. Our troop, when I was 11, scoured the Brandywine River’s muddy banks, pulling out mostly tires.

KV: How does that passion influence your work or profession?

GB: Every day provides an opportunity to exert a positive influence on the world around us.

KV: What are some of the ways, personally or through your work, that you connect with and/or help protect the local environment and unique lifestyle?

GB: Thirty years ago, I wrote a phonetic Reef Relief awareness talk, highlighting dive safety and equipment protocols in six languages. Reef Relief published and still distributes it. I also initiated and led a Keys citizen response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. I’m currently a founding board member of the Crocodile Foundation, dedicated to preservation of the endangered American crocodile. We’re hoping to build nesting boxes away from civilization and relocate nuisance crocs into a preserve abutting Crocodile Lake.

KV: What keeps you energized, challenged and focused on your path?

GB: We collaborate with the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, Turtle Hospital, Reef Relief and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to mitigate and affect positive change. Caring about future generations keeps me in the game every day. Good news helps. As an example: the terrific work Mote Marine Laboratory is doing replanting corals.

KV: What do you hope your positive environmental actions will accomplish?

GB: To inspire future leaders. Saving the planet from environmental degradation is a multigeneration endeavor. Our generation is just “passing the torch.”

KV: What message do you want your actions and example to communicate to people you encounter?

GB: Don’t give up. Every little bit helps. Together we do make a difference.

KV: What’s your favorite natural or eco-friendly activity in the Keys?

GB: Kayaking, of course!

Marine artist Lisa Lee Herman, owner of Gallery of the Arts Islamorada, is known throughout the Upper Keys for her gyotaku — the ancient Japanese art form for recording a catch.

Lisa greets her gyotaku-seeking clients, and the prized fish they want to preserve, at the dock following their angling excursions. She uses nontoxic inks to painstakingly press the fish on kozo paper, or traditional Japanese mulberry paper, and later details colorful embellishments at her studio-gallery in Tavernier.

She also expresses her creative talents in ways ranging from acrylic painting to teaching piano.

Lisa graduated from the University of Central Florida with a degree in psychology and music. In addition, she studied color photography and abstract painting at Scotland’s Edinburgh College, and studied and performed classical piano throughout Belgium and France.

After college, Lisa moved to Chicago and managed an art materials store — until the cold winters motivated her return to Florida. In late 2016, she opened her Florida Keys gallery.

Today, Lisa’s work can also be seen at Islamorada’s Green Turtle Inn and Kaiyo Grill & Sushi, and through Oct. 3 at the Florida Keys History & Discovery Center.

Lisa married Islamorada boat captain Jeff Tharp in a California vineyard in late August. They live in historic Tavernier, and she plans to expand her gallery.

Keys Voices: When did you first come to the Florida Keys and why?

Lisa Lee Herman: My family has been part of Islamorada since the early ‘60s — so since I was born. I was raised in Fort Lauderdale, and we visited our little spot in paradise nearly every weekend.

KV: What aspects of the Keys environment or way of life matter most to you?

LLH: I grew up fishing with my family, so I absolutely have to live near the water. What I love most about the Keys is the community. We’re all here because we share a common love for the ocean. The Keys’ environment is so unique — from the adorable Key deer, all the birds, flowers, insects, all alongside stunning coral reefs.

KV: Who or what inspired you to become passionate about respecting and protecting the Keys’ natural world?

LLH: My dad always showed us the coolest reefs to snorkel and the best spots to fish. I learned quickly how to respect the ocean and its creatures. Being able to handle fish, and release them, had me hook, line and sinker!

KV: How does that passion influence your work or profession?

LLH: My passion for the ocean and its influence on my art are 1000% connected. My art is produced mainly from species we get to then enjoy at the dinner table. Celebrating your catch with friends and family is so wonderful; keeping a piece of art made from that fish is really special. 

KV: What are some of the ways, personally or through your work, that you connect with and/or help protect the local environment and unique lifestyle?

LLH: I’ve always been a friend to all critters on land or at sea. I feel most called to protect and spread the love and knowledge of our increasingly fragile oceans. I contribute time, art and donations to local causes. I bring a small bag every time I walk my dog and try to pick up any little pieces of plastics or trash. I know it’s cliché, but it’s so true: if we all do a little, we can do a lot.

KV: What keeps you energized, challenged and focused on your path?

LLH: The love and support from my family, my husband Jeff, the community and charter boat captains. Gyotaku, a challenging and ever-changing form of art, is never boring! Each species of fish is completely different from the next.

KV: What message do you want your actions and example to communicate to people you encounter?

LLH: My goal is to capture the beauty and uniqueness of each fish onto paper for all to enjoy. That translates to conservation: only take what you need. It breaks my heart to see people limit out, day after day after day, just for the sport of it. Everything in the ocean is connected to us. I want our next generations to see that.

KV: What’s your favorite natural or eco-friendly activity in the Keys?

LLH: Paddleboarding! It’s such a fun and peaceful way to get up close and personal with our natural world without any disturbances.

KV: What do you hope your positive environmental actions will accomplish?

LLH: To spread my knowledge and appreciation for this style of art and its origins, and how important our oceans are to each of us. Looking at the fishes preserved in this unique way hopefully strikes a chord in us all to find joy and respect for all species.

Erin Muir, a sixth-generation Upper Keys native, is descended from two founding Florida Keys families — the Albury and Lowe families that settled in the Keys in the 1860s — whose roots run as deep as those of the mangroves lining the island chain’s shoreline.

Erin, Mote Marine Laboratory’s newly named Upper Keys engagement manager, handles outreach and engagement with locals and visitors at Mote’s new land-based coral nursery. Located near Reefhouse Resort & Marina’s conference center in Key Largo, it’s to be unveiled in mid-August.

Mote opened its first satellite land-based coral nursery at Bud ‘N Mary’s Marina in Islamorada in 2021. The two nurseries have a combined capacity of 40,000 coral fragments.

Erin’s knowledge of state and local government and Keys benefactors is extensive. She’s a former state legislative aide to Holly Raschein, now a Monroe County commissioner, and led fundraisers for the Florida Keys History and Discovery Foundation.

At Mote, Erin is developing small-group eco-tour packages to include participation in hands-on coral fragging, or propagation, activities.

Mote is in the midst of a 10-year, science-based Florida Keys Coral Disease Response & Restoration Strategic Initiative. The program uses genetic strains of coral that demonstrate enhanced resiliency to rising water temperatures, increasing seawater acidity and coral disease. The initiative includes multiyear monitoring to assess survival and ecosystem health.

Erin has lived most of her life in the Keys, except for six years at the University of Florida.

She and husband Sam, a Florida Power & Light engineer, also spent 18 months in southern Alabama. Now, with young children Violet and Charlie, they live surrounded by her close-knit family in Tavernier.

Keys Voices: When did you first come to the Florida Keys and why?

Erin Muir: My family emigrated here from the Bahamas in the 1860s to farm limes and tomatoes. We are lucky to call this unique place home.

KV: What aspects of the Keys environment or way of life matter most to you?

EM: Living in a community that has such a great appreciation of our area’s natural beauty and a deep understanding of the need to protect our environment.

KV: Who or what inspired you to become passionate about respecting and protecting the Keys’ natural world? 

EM: My mom inspired me and decades of students she taught at Key Largo School. She made learning about the delicate balance between our unique and interconnected marine ecosystems engaging and fun — whether it was learning about the shelter red mangroves provide to young fish, seeing what tiny creatures you can shake out of a handful of sargassum or identifying bird species in the Everglades.   

KV: How does that passion influence your work or profession?

EM: It is a source of pride to know that the small part I play with Mote contributes to such positive impacts on our local environment.  

KV: What are some of the ways, personally or through your work, that you connect with and/or help protect the local environment and unique lifestyle? 

EM: I’m focused on helping others to connect with and engage in Mote’s science-based reef restoration efforts in the Upper Keys. I help people understand perils facing our reefs and the hope that Mote’s restoration efforts bring for revitalizing this precious ecosystem.

KV: What keeps you energized, challenged and focused on your path?

EM:  Our children, Violet and Charlie, keep me motivated. My grandfather, who grew up in the Upper Keys, tells us about quality of the reefs and abundance of marine life when he was young. That abundance has declined for my parents’ generation and my own. Changing that course, and making sure my kids get to experience more beautiful and resilient reefs and plentiful fisheries, keeps me focused on my path.

KV: What’s your favorite natural or eco-friendly activity in the Keys?

EM: We recently took the kids to stroll/scoot the Old Seven Mile Bridge out to Pigeon Key. It was exciting to see sharks, rays and other marine life from the bridge. My mom and I got our Keys history fix with our visit to the island. It was a wonderful day!

KV: What do you hope your positive environmental actions will accomplish? 

EM: Mote’s coral disease response and restoration initiative will add over 1 million corals back to our local reefs, which will be an incredible accomplishment for all of our scientists, staff, volunteers and supporters.

KV: What message do you want your actions and example to communicate to people you encounter? 

EM: Everyone can play a role in helping restore our coral reefs. You don’t have to be a marine biologist or scuba diver. Just channel your passion into action because, whether those actions are small or large, they collectively lead to positive impacts.

Hundreds of divers and snorkelers explored part of the continental United States’ only living coral barrier reef Saturday, July 9, while rocking to a unique sub-sea concert that promoted reef protection. (Yes, a concert. And it’s unlike any other dive or snorkel experience on the planet.)

It’s called the Lower Keys Underwater Music Festival, and it takes place each year about 6 miles south of Big Pine Key at Looe Key Reef — one of the most spectacular areas of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

Established in 1990, the sanctuary is an environmental blessing that protects the waters surrounding the entire Keys island chain.

And the concert? Created to encourage coral reef protection and environmentally responsible diving, it’s presented each year by the Lower Keys Chamber of Commerce and coordinated by Keys radio station US1 104.1 FM. Now in its 38th year, the marine-themed music fest debuted in the mid-1980s — and ever since, attendees have agreed that it makes the already wonderful Keys underwater experience even better.

This year as in the past, the incomparable concert drew several hundred divers and snorkelers to enjoy the sound of music while discovering the ecosystem that lies beneath the sea.

The festival began Friday night with a kickoff gathering at Mote Marine Laboratory’s Lower Keys facility, where attendees learned about Mote’s coral cultivation and reef restoration efforts that are underway in the island chain. Saturday morning, they grabbed their gear and boarded boats heading for Looe Key Reef.

How did the festival work? Music broadcast by the radio station was piped underwater via special speakers suspended beneath boats above the reef, providing a “submerged soundtrack” for participants. And because sound travels faster in water than it does in the air, it had an ethereal and multidirectional aspect that was fascinating to hear.

Swimming among colorful tropical fish and coral formations, divers and snorkelers listened to sea-focused offerings that included the Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine,” the Zac Brown Band’s “Island Song,” and the themes from “Gilligan’s Island” and “The Little Mermaid.”

The latter was particularly appropriate, because some divers spotted several “mermaids” beneath the waves. Joined by other costumed participants dressed as sea creatures, they mimicked playing musical instruments underwater —adding an appealing visual component to the soundscape.

But it’s not just divers and snorkelers who appreciated the enhanced marine environment. Even fish on the reef reacted positively, according to fest-goers, seemingly swaying to the music as they swam.

While enjoying the aquatic experience, enthusiasts also received valuable insights into preserving and protecting the Keys’ rich coral reef ecosystem.

Diver awareness announcements throughout the broadcast stressed the importance of not touching corals or leaving litter underwater, using mooring buoys instead of anchoring when boating, respecting dive flags, and other ways of minimizing environmental impacts while exploring the reef.

“The Underwater Music Festival is a one-of-a-kind event that immerses snorkelers and divers in the beauty and splendor of the third-largest coral reef in the world,” said Steve Miller, executive director of the Lower Keys Chamber of Commerce and programmer of the festival’s playlist.

“Equally important,” Miller advised, “the music underwater, along with the mermaids and other visual attractions, helps draw attention to the message: how to protect and save the reef while there’s still time.”