As most of you know, our first Spoil Island Enhancement Day was October 18th, and it was a huge success. The event was on IR36 which is going through a major transformation. On Thursday, a small group of our own “chainsaw maniacs” and I went out and felled some of the Australian pines around the island. Saturday, that same group cut the trees into campfire sized logs, while the volunteers toted the wood to the campsites and stacked it. Thanks to Graves Brothers Citrus, about 50 plants total, including Wax Myrtles and beautiful Red Cedars, were planted around the campsites, the west side, the north end of the island and the interior for some much needed shade. One Gumbo Limbo had to be stood up and staked; another victim of the recent storms. Thank you Rodney for bringing it to our attention. Speaking of which, Rodney Robinson brought in an astounding 11,640 pounds of assorted wood, planks, deck wood, pilings, you name it, for the International Coastal Cleanup Day, September 26th. From my understanding, all of this wood came off of the islands and out of the Indian River Lagoon itself. Every piece was a potential hazard to navigation. Way to go Rodney! More mangroves were planted on the south end of the island replacing some high water victims and a few other plants were planted to replace some of the ones that didn’t make it initially. Although it was quite warm, a good time was had by all. Our thanks go out to all of the volunteers who helped. It was a good day.

We will be having another event, November 1st, when we will be needing volunteers to help clean up after the chain saw crew. We will be carrying wood to the campsites and stacking it. We may be planting more plants around the island also. It will be a later start than usual meeting at Riverside Park boat ramp in Vero Beach, Saturday the 1st of November, at 9:00am. We’ll have you back to the ramp by about 2:00pm. This time, I promise that we will have plenty of shade.

Finally, to the chain saw crew, (you know who you are), just a reminder that we’ll be leaving from Riverside Park boat ramp at 9:30am Friday the 31st. To all of the volunteers, I know that it’s hard work, but, you’re really making a big difference with the islands and it is greatly appreciated.

Thanks to all,

Mark McGee

On Thursday October 16th, we will be going to IR36 in preparation for Spoil Island Day, Oct. 18th, and will be in need of a few volunteers with chainsaw experience to help us cut down some of the dead, standing trees. We will not be cutting them up at that time as that will be the function of the volunteers on Saturday as well as taking the cut up material to the campsites. We will also be installing more informational signs and planting more plants on Saturday. Thursday’s activities will be short and sweet beginning at 9:30am at the Riverside Park boat ramp in Vero Beach, continuing on to IR36 where will fell trees and return. Chain saw experience is necessary as this will be the only function of the day. If interested, please give me an R.S.V.P., ASAP.
Thanks,
Mark

Indian River Lagoon Spoil Island Volunteers: The Southeast Indian River Lagoon Spoil Island Enhancement season is about to begin. This year our office will be enhancing two long-term, grant-funded, enhancement sites – one in Indian River County and one in St. Lucie County. Many of you have already been to our Indian River County site (known as IR36) as we have been focusing most of our effort here over the past two years (many thanks to Florida Inland Navigation District). The Southeast Aquatic Preserve office has also recently partnered with St. Lucie County Mosquito Control District to initiate another full-island enhancement on St. Lucie County spoil island SL3. SL3 is immediately adjacent to FAU at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution. We will be alternating between the two sites as our dedicated St. Lucie volunteers have been driving to Vero Beach the past couple of years. Mark McGee will be coordinating the enhancement events. He will be assisted each month by either Brian Sharpe or me. Our October event is one of the most ambitious so all three of us will be there to kick off the season.



You will see in the schedule that we have allotted time for replacing our paper kiosk and adoption signs with new metal signs. Our office has been requesting the funds to purchase these signs for the past three years so we are excited that they have been completed. We hope to have all of our signs at the boat ramps and all but one on the islands (a new Eagle Scout-produced kiosk on IR43) replaced within the next month. If anyone is interested in helping us replace the boat ramp signs in St. Lucie and south Indian River Counties (a total of six), please give Mark a call. His contact information can be found below.

Greetings all Volunteers!



It is with great pleasure that I can now announce our volunteer opportunities for the month of September and beyond. This month has some different events planned. We will be assisting our good friends of the Shoreline Restoration Project as well as our friends at Florida Atlantic University/ Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute with shoreline and Spoil Island planting and restoration events. These are very worthwhile projects in need of your support and help. We also have the International Coastal Cleanup Day this month; another worthwhile endeavor. So, let’s get to it.



1. September 11th We will be departing from the boat ramp at Riverside Park in Vero Beach at 9:30am and proceed to IR36 where we will assist the Shoreline Restoration Project folks planting mangroves around the shoreline of the island. We’ll supply water and beverages along with the appropriate tools and gloves. As always, we’ll shuttle everyone to and from the island. We could really use your help.



2. September 20th International Coastal Cleanup Day We need volunteers to staff booths at Round Island State Park and North Causeway Island boat ramp ( that’s the one at the east end of North Bridge in Ft. Pierce) handing out trash bags and informational packets to participating boaters and interested individuals. Volunteers with boats are urged to participate as we will be focusing on the cleanup of the Spoil Islands and the shoreline of the Indian River Lagoon. We will furnish a tent for shade, water, beverages, and t-shirts for those volunteers staffing the booths. This is a Saturday event and should be a lot of fun. If you’re interested, please contact me by phone, e-mail, or just show up with boat in tow on the 20th at either of the two boat ramps. If you do not have a boat but still wish to participate, please contact Tessa Sheridan at the Ft. Pierce Inlet State Park. She will be handling the ocean side beach cleanup.



3. September 25th&26th This is another shoreline planting event. The location is dependant upon weather, water and wind. One of our locations is Blind Creek which is beautiful with it’s wide, sandy beach. We’ll be planting a good amount of mangroves so again, we could really use your help. Please stay tuned for details.



4. September 27th This is also a Saturday event and a very special one at that. We will be meeting at the North Causeway Island boat ramp at 9:00am and travel one island north to SL15 where we’ll be assisting the good people from F.A.U./ Harbor Branch in a planting experiment. This is part of the restoration effort on SL15. We’ll need lots of volunteers for this event especially students who want to learn about how experiments are conducted. Calling all volunteers; Boy Scouts, students, experienced volunteers, wanna’ be scientists, we need you! SL15 is a very special island and it’s your opportunity to witness scientific improvements in action and to see first hand what has been done and what is being done to restore that island. As always, we will shuttle you to and from the island in DEP boats and supply water and beverages.





As many of you know, we are getting closer and closer to the Spoil Island Enhancement Days. We have much work to do especially after the pesky storms blew through. Our work on IR36 is far from completed because of those storms. Our first Spoil Island Day is October 18th and we will need everyone. We’ll need experienced chain saw people and lots of folks to tote wood to the campsites. Also, we need volunteers to tend our mangrove nursery in Sebastian. We need people to weed pots, weed eat under the tables and do routine chores there. This nursery is a vital part of present and future shoreline restoration projects, so, if you can spare an hour or two here or there, we’d really appreciate your help. If any of these opportunities appeal to you, please let me know because without you the volunteers, it just doesn’t happen.



Thank you so much,



Mark McGee

As most of you have figured out, our wonderful webmaster has just finished redesigning the website. I would like to take this opportunity to thank him for all of his hard work. As Mark mentioned in the previous post, the new island enhancement season is fast approaching and our schedules will be posted soon so keep a look out.

As for news from the Cocoa office, our recent construction and restoration efforts are almost complete and Sharon and I are trying to get things back inorder so we can actually work from here again. And in the spirit of our historic building's restoration I would like to invite all to participate in our Summer Social BBQ and Outhouse Raising. Sunday August 17th, 2008 from 1 to 5 pm we will be holding a BBQ for all East Central Florida Aquatic Preserves, Volunteers, Neighbors and Friends. So stop on by, visit, get a look at the recent restoration of the Brevard County Environmental Field Station (City Point Community Church), and pitch in for the relocation of the church’s outhouse. Bring the whole family to enjoy the food, friends, and pride for lending a helping hand.

This is to be the first event to relocate the church’s historic three-hole outhouse to a stable platform where it can be preserved and positioned for the education of future generations to the Environmental Field Station. Activities may include building disassembly, framing a new support structure, and/or bead-board application. While you are there you will be treated to a pot-luck BBQ and you can check out the progress on the recent restoration on the inside of the City Point Community Church. Bring a side-dish or desert to share, and equipment such as hammers, saws, and gloves and we will provide the main course and drinks. Parking will be available at the Glory of God Church located ¼ mile south of the Brevard County Environmental Field Station (formerly the City Point Community Church) and someone will be shuttling people between the two.

Organizers: East Central Florida Aquatic Preserves office, Brevard County Natural Resources, and the North Brevard Heritage Foundation
Where: Brevard County Environmental Field Station, (City Point Community Church), 3783 N. Indian River Drive, Cocoa, FL 32926
When: Sunday, August 17th, 2008, 1-5 pm (come when you like, leave when like)
What to bring: a side dish or dessert to share and equipment for construction efforts
Contact: Jeanene Bengoa at 634-6148 or jeanene.bengoa@dep.state.fl.us