Join us on a monitoring Dash through Florida's Cemeteries!

With HMS Florida officially accepting volunteers, you might be wondering how to get involved. It's easy: join us on a Cemetery Dash!



For years, we have been offering our Cemetery Resource Protection Trainings (CRPTs) and urging people to help us get these sites listed on the Florida Master Site File. But what if the cemetery is already listed - shouldn't we still keep an eye on these sites? Of course we should! And now with HMS Florida, we have the perfect means to do so.

Check out our Cemetery Dash basics below - and don't forget to keep an eye on our HMS Florida website as well as the CRPT Alliance and EnvArch Facebook groups to learn about upcoming cemetery events and Scout opportunities. You can follow #CemeteryDash on social media to keep track of our monitoring goal, read great resources on cemeteries, and learn about sites in Northeast Florida.

The Dash has already started in South Florida - Rachael is working on the second cemetery at a CRPT in Naples.


Why: Florida Cemeteries at Risk 
Over 1000 cemeteries across the state, both inland and coastal, are currently threatened by sea level rise, storm surge and flooding, development, and more. Other coastal states like Louisiana have already seen huge impacts at historic cemeteries from recent events like these.

What: HMS Florida in Cemeteries
Monitoring historic cemeteries will help collect data about potential impacts and threats from natural and human causes. We hope to have 50 sites monitored in the Northeast Region and all 48 historic cemeteries in South Florida.

Who: Heritage Monitoring Scouts 
Anyone can be a part of the Dash! You can fill out a Scout application at our website and join us at our next Scouting event to learn how HMS Florida works.

Where:  Historic Cemeteries near you
We will host training and monitoring events throughout the state. At each event, we will provide Mission Sheets with cemeteries that need monitoring. But even if there's not a training near you, you can still monitor cemeteries in your area - contact us at hmsflorida@fpan.us for more information.

When: October 2016 through March 2017
The Cemetery Dash will kick off in October and carry on until March.

How: Training Days and Mission Sheets
Join us at an upcoming CRPT workshop or cemetery monitoring day to learn how to verify site information, assess threats and document the site with photographs. You can pick up a Mission Sheet to guide you to your next cemetery or go check in on one of your favorites.

Unless otherwise noted, words and images by Emily Jane Murray and Sarah Miller, FPAN staff.