Monday, April 25, 2011

Dive into science at MarineQuest 2011

Always fun and educational!

From FWC News:

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) will open its doors to the public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 30, for MarineQuest 2011. During the 17th annual open house, visitors of all ages can explore the fascinating world of science at the FWRI headquarters, 100 8th Ave. S.E., in downtown St. Petersburg.

MarineQuest features more than 30 exhibits with interactive displays designed by FWRI scientists.

Last year, thousands flocked to FWRI for a hands-on learning experience. From touch tanks with live critters to face painting and crafts, there is something for everyone. Participants can learn about cutting-edge research and join FWRI biologists as they demonstrate how they rescue distressed manatees, tag fish and monitor red tide. Several touch tanks will allow visitors to get up close and personal with critters from the Tampa Bay area as well as the Florida Keys. Other live animals on display include alligators, bass, sharks, rays and hatchery-reared redfish.

Visitors also can talk one-on-one with some of Florida’s top scientists and law enforcement officers and attend presentations on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Florida panthers, sharks and more.

More than 30 organizations, including government agencies and conservation groups, also will have displays at the event.

Free parking for the Saturday open house is available at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg parking garage at the corner of 5th Ave. S. and 3rd St. S.

Sponsors include the St. Petersburg Times, the city of St. Petersburg and the University of South Florida St. Petersburg.

For more information about MarineQuest 2011, visit MyFWC.com/Research.

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To view this press release online visit http://myfwc.com/news/news-releases/2011/april/25/marinequest/.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

License-free weekends ahead and more!

From FWC:

FWC establishes license free fishing weekends, expands bay scallop season;
DEP to offer reduced admission at state parks
Panama City, Fla. – Florida is the fishing capital of the world, bringing more than $5.4 billion to our economy. Today at the Cabinet meeting in Panama City with the support of Governor Rick Scott and the Cabinet, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) announced an exciting resource for anglers. FWC announced two weekends in June when a saltwater fishing license will not be required statewide. The license free weekend of June 4 and 5 is the first weekend red snapper season opens in the Gulf, and the second weekend of June 18 and 19 is Father’s Day weekend.
FWC also announced that it will expand bay scallop season to open a week early on June 25 and extend the season by two weeks to end on September 25. Small Gulf Coast communities from Steinhatchee to St. Marks to St. Joe Bay will have three extra weeks for visitors and residents to explore and enjoy this low cost, fun family activity.
In addition, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Florida State Parks will offer half off admission on both Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 8, and Father’s Day, Sunday, June 19. There are 160 parks throughout the state and 74 unique saltwater fishing facilities, including piers, boardwalks and jetties. Shore fishing at St. George Island, Big Lagoon and St. Joseph Peninsula state parks yields redfish, trout and whiting. Boat ramps at St. Joseph Peninsula and St. Andrew state parks allow fisherman to head out for a day of fishing in the Gulf of Mexico to catch red snapper, grouper and amberjack, to name a few. For more information, visit www.FloridaStateParks.org.
“Florida’s beaches and waters are beautiful, pristine and ready for visitors to enjoy, whether you are here for business or a family vacation,” stated Governor Scott. “I encourage Floridians and visitors to our state to make plans now to enjoy Florida fishing and seafood during the upcoming free-fishing weekends in June. Whether you catch it yourself or get it from a market or restaurant, our seafood is the best in the nation.”
For more information, please visit http://myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater/.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Camp Bayou Spring Open House

Camp Bayou Spring Open House
 
Join us for a day of FREE fun family activities while enjoying the beauty of Camp Bayou's 160 acres of trails, riverfront and exhibits.

Stop in at the Paleo Preserve Fossil Museum for the unveiling of their huge fossil tortoise (see photo of shell held by Frank Garcia). Camp Bayou's resident gopher tortoises look tiny in comparison!

The Open House runs 8am- 2pm on Saturday, April 16, 2011. This year' theme is Sustainability- Act Locally!
 
Schedule of Activities:
8am: Great American Cleanup begins– register at Keep Hillsborough County Beautiful 9 am: Nature crafts and activities begin with our teen volunteers!
9:30am: Recycled Rainbarrels– make a barrel from throwaways w/ Frank(30 min)
10 am: Composting the Worm's Way– gardening naturally demo (30 min)
10:30 am: What is in an Egg? w/ Erik Schramm of  Twenty– four Rivers, a pastured poultry farm in Plant City .  (30 min)
11 am: My Wildlife Yard based on the natural Fl habitat at Camp Bayou , by Diane S. Alvarez, Ph.D. (30 min)
Noon: Spring BBQ- $10/couple, $20/family
1 pm: Butterfly Survey Walk (30min)
2 pm: Have a safe trip home!
 
Registration appreciated but not required at http://campbayouopenhouse.eventbrite.com
 
On-going through the day:
- Fossil Museum open
- Fossil pit dig (for small fee)
- Nature Center open
- Nature activities and games
- River critters touch table with a trip or 2 to the river to net more critters with George
- Nature photo 2010 winners plus 2011 contest info
- Trail walks through varied habitats with Becki, Florida Master Naturalist
- Butterfly Habitat
- Fishing Heritage cabins restoration in progress 
- Canoe launch open
- Native People's Camp
- Geocaching and Letterboxing
- Native plants for sale at the membership table
- Sustainability vendors (space available)
- Cart tours on half hour begin at 9:30 am with Jeri.
 


Camp Bayou is nether a campground nor a summer camp. It was an RV park before the County's ELAP program purchased the land but it is now open for day use only, open to the general public. Through volunteers, donations, membership and grants, the RCDF offers pre-scheduled programs to schools, youth groups, adult groups and families plus it's open from Thursday- Saturday from 9am-2pm for passive recreational pursuits such as wildlife watching, nature photography and trail walks. General admission is still FREE.

The Camp Bayou Outdoor Learning Center is a public- private partnership between the non-profit
Ruskin Community Development Foundation, Inc. (RCDF) and Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation and Conservation. Camp Bayou is located 3 miles south of SR674 at the end of 24th St SE in Ruskin. More information is on the web at http://www.campbayou.org or call 813-641-8545.
 
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Sunday, April 3, 2011

NASA celebrates Earth Day

April’s topic for NASA’s Year of the Solar System (YSS) – Water, Water Everywhere: Celebrating Earth Day!
Planetary scientists once thought Earth was an oasis in a dry solar system, as early missions to our neighbors revealed desert-like conditions on the Moon, Mars, and Mercury. Missions in recent years have overturned this view, returning mounting evidence of ample water from a vast array of locations.
Comets from the remote corners of our solar system are made of water and other ices. Orbiters, landers, and rovers reveal Mars as a watery world in the distant past - a world that today may contain entire underground oceans of frozen water. The Moon, once thought dry-as-a-bone, has a water cycle-with small amounts of water moving across its surface-and voluminous quantities of water ice locked into frozen crater floors at its poles. Rings of ice orbit the gas giants, and several moons of these distant worlds have immense oceans of liquid water beneath their frozen crusts. Even Mercury has ice in the dark craters at its poles, as revealed by the ongoing MESSENGER mission.
Water is critical to life and to future human forays into space. While we now know that Earth is not the only place with water, it is the only oasis that contains life. As we celebrate Earth Day 2011, we should remember to take care of our water resources on our home planet, even as we are discovering water almost everywhere in our solar system!
Join us this month as we celebrate Earth Day (http://www.earthday.org/earth-day-2011)! Share with NASA how you and your family help our planet (http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/earthday/). And don’t forget to join the world space party and celebrate Yuri’s Night (http://www.yurisnight.net/), with marks the first time a human orbited Earth.
Visit the YSS website (http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/yss/display.cfm?Year=2011&Month=4) to find activities for classroom and informal learning environments, night-sky viewing events and mission milestones, recommended resources, and downloadable materials connected to this month’s theme of Water, Water Everywhere!