A note from our Managing Director Summer camp is in full swing! We have served nearly 7000 children a year since 2001 with hands-on, feet-wet education programs. The demand is growing and so is the hope for scholarships. Each year we provide camp and field trip scholarships for individuals and K-12 schools that could not [...]

by Coralie Gilson The Shoreline Restoration Community Stewardship grant project has ended, but the work doesn’t stop here. Hopefully, work will continue in the local communities of the IRL and Hali-fax river and nearby areas, where I spent the last 12 months giving workshops, presentations, homeowner visits, school programs and attending community meetings and events. [...]

Many of our ecotour guests are surprised to learn that the Indian River Lagoon is North America’s most diverse estuary system and has been designated as an Estuary of National Significance. Here, where salt and fresh water mingle, are more than 4,000 species of plants and animals, including 35 listed as threatened or endangered. Mangrove plants line shorelines and provide habitat for many species of animals and invertebrates. Birds such as osprey, pelicans, ibis, herons, roseate spoonbills or even bald eagles are commonly seen. In the estuary, bottlenose dolphins chase pods of baitfish, and manatees charm us with their slow-moving gentle ways as they swim with their newborns. Numerous species of fish live in the Indian River Lagoon, including mullet that leap from the water and the predators that savor them, such as saltwater trout and redfish. Sea turtles traverse the River. Each outing is a new adventure as the estuary reveals its seasonal treasures.

Is it the World’s Most Famous Beach or the world’s largest ashtray? In 2008, more than 28,000 cigarette butts and 6,000 bottle caps were removed during beach cleanups, said Jennifer Winters of Volusia County Environmental Management. Area residents will get their chance to improve the beach environment by taking part in the International Coastal Cleanup from 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Sept. 19. Last year, 633 volunteers participated in Volusia County beach cleanups removing 2,700 pounds of trash.

Chip Clark of New Smyrna Beach kayaks near Riverside Drive in New Smyrna Beach recently. Mr. Clark said he enjoys getting out on the water to exercise and admiring the beauty of nature. Kayak rentals are available at several places on the river in New Smyrna Beach including the Marine Discovery Center.

Brenden Neville (left), 11, of Edgewater Elementary helps Chad Truxall of the Marine Discovery Center (right) pull in a net filled with marine creatures during a science education program in New Smyrna Beach recently.

Volunteers from various organizations create oyster mats at the Marine Discovery Center on Jan. 18. Each mat contains 36 oysters, which will be placed with in the Canaveral Seashore boundaries.

Gerry Kollar, a 37-year-old Web designer from Daytona Beach, spent last Wednesday afternoon enjoying Sun Splash Park with his wife and 2-year-old daughter. Dressed in his best flowered beach shirt, he watched as his daughter fluttered around in the fountain with other toddlers. “They spend a lot of time and money keeping this place clean,” he said. “There’s not much else [the county] could do to make it better.” On Saturday, Sept. 15, Volusia County residents will help keep Sun Splash and six other area parks sparkling as they participate in The Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup.

Twelve-year-old Isabella Herrero of New Smyrna Beach (left) giggles with her friends as a horseshoe crab walks across her hand during the Marine Discovery Center’s summer camp program June 25.