Alex Waters

Waters' "Marine Habitat Restoration" project increases student knowledge about natural reef ecosystems and lets them coordinate materials and community resources to help the local marine environment. The first goal is to construct artificial reef modules to enhance the reef system in the waters off Jacksonville; the second is to collect underwater data to be used by the state of Florida in fishery management programs. Students learn basics of water quality analysis and fish identification, and the constructed reef serves as a unique research tool for other schools in the area.