Thirteen-year-old Elijah Evans did backflips off the boat, learned to snorkel and helped plant seagrass on the floor of Tampa Bay. By the end of the day, he had a new fishing rod and a new sense of what he could do.

He earned it.

Evans is one of the at-risk youth working with AMIkids, a nonprofit that has operated in Clearwater since 1972. The organization's seagrass restoration program puts young people in the water alongside adult volunteers to rebuild one of the bay's most critical habitats, one acre at a time.

After two years of scientific analysis to identify viable planting sites, AMIkids students and volunteers planted their first acre of seagrass in Tampa Bay, according to a Tampa Bay Times photo feature published Monday, Aug. 3. Students spent one day attaching seagrass to U-shaped garden stakes with biodegradable twist ties, then returned two days later to plant them underwater.

"Today, I learned that I can plant seagrass and try new things," Evans, 13, of Tampa, told the Times during the early August planting trip, responding to a closing question from Jorge Mahauad, AMIkids' director of marine education.

The program matters for Tampa Bay's ecology. The bay holds roughly 31,500 acres of seagrass, up about 5% over the past four years but still well below the 40,000-acre peak recorded between 2014 and 2018, according to Forbes. More than 5,400 acres vanished between 2018 and 2020 alone. Seagrass meadows shelter manatees, sea turtles and fish, stabilize shorelines and filter pollutants.

Clearwater roots

AMIkids Pinellas, based in Clearwater and led by executive director Wanda Walker, serves foster care youth ages 11 to 21 with alternative education, pre-apprenticeship and workforce development programs. The seagrass initiative adds marine science to that mix, engaging students in every phase: GPS and GIS site mapping, hands-on planting and post-planting monitoring.

Mike Thornton, AMIkids president and CEO, started his own career in 1990 as a remedial education instructor at the Clearwater location before rising through the organization over three decades. He told the Times that community support is essential to the students' success, whether through donations or volunteering.

The Community Foundation of Tampa Bay funds the program through its Youth Marine Stewardship for Environmental Resilience grant, according to AMIkids' website. Nationally, AMIkids reports that 73% of its graduates meet their goals and 98% maintain positive behavior with no law violations while enrolled.

How to get involved

Clearwater residents who want to volunteer for upcoming seagrass planting events or become restoration partners can sign up at amikids.org/seagrass-restoration. AMIkids has also published a free guide, "Growing the Future: A Youth-Led Seagrass Restoration Model," for other youth-serving organizations interested in replicating the program.

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