Get Into Your Sanctuary

Exploring and Restoring Deep Gulf Corals
August 5, 2023

The sanctuary hosted an event at Lasker Community Pool in Galveston, where visitors could discover the wonders of the Gulf of Mexico. Opportunities were available to learn about corals and fish living in Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, swim over submerged canvas images of sanctuary reefs, discover techniques used to explore and restore deepwater corals, and operate a small Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV).

Event Partners included NOAA's Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Communities Portfolio (part of the Deepwater Horizon Open Ocean Restoration effort), the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, Artist Boat, Urban Strategies, Inc., and City of Galveston (Lasker Community Pool).

Cheers to 30 Years
June 4 and July 9, 2022

The sanctuary hosted two Cheers to 30 Years events in celebration of the its 30th Anniversary. Both events were held at local beer gardens, where guests were able to sample a sanctuary-themed beer (UnBeREEFable) created by Bakfish Brewing Company. The sanctuary booth at each event featured new games and giveaways for all participants.

Event Partners included Bakfish Brewing Company and Penny's Beer Garden.

Fish ID Fun
June 29, July 20, July 26, 2022

The sanctuary also offered three separate Fish ID classes, two in-person and one virtual, to help divers better enjoy their diving experiences at the Flower Garden Banks and beyond. Participants learned how to identify different fish families and species common to the sanctuary, played a few rounds of FISH-O, explored fish survey techniques to use on any dive, and received a free REEF Survey Project Starter Kit.

Event Partners included Bakfish Brewing Company and Penny's Beer Garden.

Photo Safari Scavenger Hunt
June 21-July 26, 2021

Over a period of five weeks we shared ten different clues and invited people to find images from our website that best represented each one. A final bonus clue invited them to find a specific post on our social media. After all submissions were received, we selected our favorites and identified our winners.

The clues we posted were Something Spotted, Something Harmful, Something Squishy, Something Protective, Something Curly, Something Old, Something Venomous or Poisonous, Something Mesophotic, Something Funny, and Something Research-related. The Bonus Clue was Know Before You Go.

The resulting photos were then used to create an online presentation called Photo Safari Stories on August 5, 2021. We talked about the animals, habitats, and situations that the photos brought to mind, including some funny stories and encounters we've had during the course of our work. A recording of this webinar is available on our Educational Videos page.

Lionfish: From Reef Raiders to Tasty Treats
July 31, 2020

On Friday, July 31, 2020 we partnered with The Kitchen Chick in Galveston, TX to help you Get Into Your Sanctuary in a mouthwatering way. Over 75 people joined us on Facebook for a live event to learn about invasive lionfish and why we are removing them from the sanctuary’s coral reefs. Then, we showed them what a tasty treat they can be, by cooking up the recipe below. As the folks at REEF say, let's Eat ‘Em to Beat ‘Em!

You can still watch the program video on the sanctuary Facebook page, any time.

The recipe we cooked was Lionfish Veracruz from The Lionfish Cookbook created by Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) and the result was quite tasty!. If you can’t get lionfish, that’s okay, other flaky, white fish will work too. Some sustainable seafood alternatives include vermilion snapper and golden tilefish.

Vet Into Your Sanctuary
August 4, 2019

A team of four boats from the Galveston Professional Boatman's Association and volunteers from Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing volunteered their time to take military veterans for a day of fishing in and around Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary on Sunday, August 4, 2019. This was part of the nationally coordinated “Vet Into Your Sanctuary” event hosted by the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and funded by the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation with support from Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).

Anglers caught a variety of species on fly rods, including greater amberjack, cobia, strawberry grouper, mangrove snapper, barracuda, and king mackerel. Many of the vets used fly rods and flies they had created themselves.

Get Into Your Sanctuary
May 20, 2018

at Lasker Park Pool in Galveston

On May 20, 2018, Get Into Your Sanctuary Day was held at Lasker Park Pool giving us the opportunity to interact with people who already love being in the water. We set up display and activity tables near the pool where guests could learn about the sanctuary, scuba diving, fishing, sea turtles, and making reusable bags out of t-shirts.

The most popular activity involved identifying and counting laminated fish cutouts that were submerged in the shallow end of the small pool. Kids could dive down and try to identify the fish after viewing a basic fish id board set up nearby.

Get Into Your Sanctuary
August 12, 2017

at Moody Gardens Aquarium

On August 12, 2017 the Aquarium at Moody Gardens hosted Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary for Get Into Your Sanctuary Day once again. This time, our goal was to give everyone a 3D visit to the sanctuary. Virtual Reality goggles allowed visitors to 'see' the sanctuary up close and personal via several different photo sets they could access on their mobile phones.

In addition, Moody Gardens hosted an exhibit of dive gear used in the aquarium and in the sanctuary when their staff helps out with sanctuary research needs. Guests also had the opportunity to visit the aquarium's new Flower Garden Banks aquarium display. Volunteers and staff talked to more than 400 visitors during the event.

Get Into Your Sanctuary
June 25, 2016

at Sea Center Texas

Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary celebrated it’s second annual Get Into Your Sanctuary Day at Sea Center Texas in Lake Jackson, TX on Saturday, June 25th. About 500 visitors to this Texas Parks & Wildlife facility were treated to a fish scavenger hunt through the aquarium to locate species also found in the sanctuary; scuba gear demonstrations provided by local dive clubs; ocean conservation messages about marine debris and the need to reduce plastics; the sanctuary's Reef on the Road traveling exhibit on display at the aquarium; and, presentations about sanctuary expansion.

Visitors also received a sanctuary themed reusable shopping bag to encourage more eco-friendly shopping practices.

Get Into Your Sanctuary
June 27, 2015

at Moody Gardens Aquarium

Since it's not easy to "Get Into" Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, we hosted our first Get Into Your Sanctuary event in the Aquarium at Moody Gardens, where we invited guests to pose in front of a sanctuary mural and interact with the sanctuary's Reef on the Road traveling exhibit.

The same day we took some local guests and volunteers out for a quick trip offshore on R/V MANTA to release some rehabilitated Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtles for NOAA Fisheries. (All sea turtle activities were conducted under appropriate permits.)