The Rose Bay Legacy Project began 8 years ago as an extracurricular water quality-monitoring club with only fifteen students and one teacher. Rose Bay is a 33-acre salt marsh estuary system located on the east coast of Florida. The students noticed that the environmentally sensitive wetland appeared to be adversely affected by a causeway that blocked the flow of water to and from the ocean. The students made a commitment to monitor the environmental quality of Rose Bay and protect it from further destruction. Now, the project involves over 100 students, 25 teachers, and a number of local agencies and community volunteers.

In the early stages, the students recovered several tons of trash and worked to remove a number of introduced plant species. The group reclaimed nine acres of land dominated by Australian Pines and carried away ten truckloads of Brazilian Pepper. The students monitor several different parameters including dissolved oxygen, nitrates, phosphates, temperature, pH, turbidity, and overall biodiversity. In order to increase local awareness about the plight of Rose Bay, the students created informational brochures and species checklists. They have also made the estuary more accessible to the community through the building of bridges, kiosks, and nature trails.

The group has discovered that Rose Bay can be a powerful place to teach. The students design their own lesson plans and use these plans to teach students, community visitors, and even other teachers! Summer tours and educational programs are offered and provided by the students. Statewide, the students provide state agencies with documentation about the environmental changes in the wetlands. The Rose Bay Legacy Project has already been recognized as a National Service Learning Leader School and has officially presented its project in Washington, D.C.

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation had the following statement, "The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation is pleased to support the Rose Bay Legacy Project in restoring critical salt marsh estuarine habitat in southern Florida. This student-led effort embodies the Foundation's mission of promoting the conservation of native ecosystems through an array of partnerships. The Foundation applauds the commitment of Mainland High School to community-based restoration and outreach."