Who we are
My Pet Mangrove is a youth-led environmental initiative dedicated to restoring Florida’s coastal ecosystems through science-based education and hands-on action. Founded along the Indian River Lagoon, our mission is to empower the next generation of environmental leaders to understand, nurture, and restore one of Earth’s most vital carbon-sequestering habitats: the mangrove forest.
We bridge the gap between classroom learning and ecological restoration, turning scientific curiosity into measurable impact. Through our four-step program—propagule collection, classroom cultivation, environmental education, and community replanting—students gain firsthand experience in the principles of marine ecology, blue carbon dynamics, and sustainable resource management. Each seedling they grow becomes both a research opportunity and a living contribution to coastal resilience.
By transforming classrooms into climate laboratories and students into environmental scientists, we are cultivating a generation capable of tackling the planet’s most urgent challenges—one mangrove at a time.
our Founder
Alex Webster
Alex Webster is an internationally recognized marine researcher, ocean advocate, and youth leader whose lifelong commitment to protecting coastal ecosystems was shaped by growing up along Florida’s ever-degrading Indian River Lagoon.
By age eight, he had logged over 150 volunteer hours dedicated to coastal preservation, emerging as a small, yet powerful, voice for sustainability. Throughout middle and high school, Alex was conducting cutting-edge research in collaboration with the top oceanographic institutes and universities in Florida and presenting his novel findings around the world. His research centers on identifying and addressing anthropogenic stressors in marine systems to directly influence state legislature and contribute to broader conversations on pollution, ecosystem health, and environmental justice.
Recognizing that conservation requires both science and community, Alex founded My Pet Mangrove, with the mission to empower young people to take an active role in environmental restoration through hands-on science—bridging the gap between learning and real-world impact.
Under Alex’s leadership, My Pet Mangrove reimagines environmental education by transforming classrooms into microcosms of restoration. By enabling students to grow, study, and replant mangroves, the initiative not only teaches ecological principles but also instills agency—the belief that young people can generate measurable change. Alex envisions a future where every student becomes both a scientist and a steward, proving that sustainability begins not in policy or theory, but in curiosity, care, and the simple act of planting a seed.
