Marine Discovery Center | News

September 12, 2007

National Estuary Day Festivities

On Saturday, September 29, 2007, from 8AM-6PM, the Marine Discovery Center of New Smyrna Beach invites you and your family to celebrate National Estuary Day and North America's most diverse Estuary - The Indian River Lagoon—at its location on the Lagoon at 162 North Causeway. This exciting celebration of our local waterways will include a shoreline clean up, kayak clinics, races, and rentals, ecotours, hands-on learning activities about sharks, plankton and other estuary topics, food, beverages and music by the Pirates. We hope to see you there.
Estuaries are extraordinary places. These bays, sounds, lagoons and sloughs are inspirational sites enjoyed by boaters, swimmers, hikers and bird watchers. They are also essential to the U.S. economy for commercial fishing and tourism. Estuaries buffer uplands from flooding and help protect coastal communities from severe storms. Our actions—even far from the coast—impact the health of our estuaries and ultimately our water quality, food supply and livelihoods.

For more information contact the Marine Discovery Center at 386.428.4828.


KAYAK RENTAL PROGRAM

The same staff that produce New Smyrna Beach’s well-know 2-hour environmental education tours including the monthly “Full Moon Kayak” and other excursions into the back waters of the Lagoon have put together the rental program complete with maps guiding your way through island bird rookeries, mangrove forested waterways, and other local attractions.

The rental program operates from 12:00 noon to 4:00 PM Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday (No rentals on Thursdays in July and August), and again on Sunday from 10:00 to 3:00 PM. Remember to bring water shoes or sandals (no flip-flops) sun block, hat sunglasses, bug spray and a plastic bag for your cell phones. Costs range from $15 for one hour to $35 for 4 hours (double kayaks are $5 an hour more). The rates include kayak, paddle, life jacket, and safety equipment.

For those who have not kayaked before, the MDC suggests taking one of its tours first. The tour guides are experienced teachers and make learning kayaking easy. Either way, kayaking is a great way to see the Lagoon, North America’s most diverse estuary with over 4,000 species of plants and animals. The rental operations are located at the Marine Discovery Center, 162 North Causeway on the way to the Flagler Avenue beach ramp. For more information call 386.428.4828.


New Roof Donated to the Marine Discovery Center

Hickson Construction Company, Inc. has donated a bit of its “Old Florida Charm” to the Marine Discovery Center’s roofing needs. Since moving back to its original site on New Smyrna Beach’s North Causeway by the Indian River Lagoon, the Center’s modular housing units have experienced roofing problems.

| Left to Right: Gabe Rook, Jake Hickson and Jason Hammock of Hickson Construction finish the roof at the Marine Discovery Center |

Marine Discovery Center Executive Director Fielding Cooley says “with no roof overhang every time it rains water pours in around windows and doors.” Thanks to Suncoast Roofers Supply and their donated materials and Mike Hickson and his roofing crew, that problem is being solved. According to Cooley, “We serve more than 5000 school children every year and now they want be standing in a puddle in the doorway when it rains.”

The Marine Discovery Center is a nonprofit marine education organization dedicated to coastal conservation in east central Florida. The Marine Discovery Center depends on the support of local businesses like Suncoast Roofing and Hickson Construction to further its Stewardship efforts in the Indian River Lagoon, North America’s most diverse estuary. To learn more about the Center’s work and how you can help call 386.428.4828.

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