July 23, 2002 —

Twelve new mini reefs were added under resident docks in Siesta canals as part of SKA’s Siesta Key Grand Canal Regeneration (SKGCR) Project. Every new mini reef brings improved water quality in the canals. Over 200 mini reefs have previously been installed. ABC recently covered the recent installation.

July 8, 2022 ABC Local Channel 7 – Rick Adams SK Grand Canal report

To purchase a mini reef, go to the SKGCR Project page on SKA’swebsite. You can donate to SKA’s non-profit Siesta Key Environmental Defense Fund to support our work and pay for project expenses including testing equipment and administration fees.

The program began with an initial install of 24 reefs in November 2020. We are currently working on two grants: Sarasota Count NIGP (Neighborhood Initiative Grant Program) and the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program (SBEP). For the Sarasota County NIGP project, we concentrated 30 mini reefs in two dead-end canals with stormwater drains to jump-start building a juvenile sea life population at the mouth of the canal. The SBEP grant aims to introduce dissolved oxygen to the water in a lower, south end of the canal area that is also a dead-end canal with low water flow.

The SKGCR team includes citizen scientists who volunteer and are trained through the Center of Anna Maria Islands project team from Eckerd College. These vlolunteers regularly measure and document water quality in the canals.