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.

The Marine Discovery Center is on a mission to involve New Smyrna Beach residents in marine projects to enhance the environment. Topping the list is the building of 4,500 wire-mesh-based oyster shell mats that will become the base of a 40-acre habitat for oysters in the Indian River Lagoon in the Canaveral National Seashore, south of Oak Hill.