SEPTEMBER 2025

Image courtesy of EveryKidOutdoors.gov

A LETTER FROM OUR PRESIDENT

It has been said, “Don’t just tell your children about the world. Show them.”

And it also has been said, “The mud will wash off, but the memories will last a lifetime.”

That is so true and even now, as a senior adult, I can still hear the leaves crunching under our feet when I walked with my father in the North Carolina woods where I grew up. I can still smell the running cedar we collected to decorate our fireplace mantel at Christmas. And I can still hear the Bobwhite quails and Northern flickers calling in the woods and the sound of breaking branches as a fat opossum climbed the backyard persimmon tree in pursuit of that sweet, sticky fruit each autumn.

These are all sensory memories imprinted in my brain because I spent most of my childhood outdoors and because I learned very early that being outdoors was where I wanted to be to feel alive, free, creative and entertained by so much natural beauty around me. Those walks in the woods were the best gifts I could have ever been given!

And to help get more kids outdoors, the National Park Service offers a fabulous program called Every Kid Outdoors. This program offers free access to U.S. fourth graders and their family members to more than 2,000 federal lands and waters, including National Parks, National Forests, Wildlife Refuges and Conservation and Marine areas. That free exploration is offered for one year, starting on September 1 through August 31 the following year.

And there’s no “catch.” According to the NPS website, fourth-grade students only need to visit Every Kid Outdoors website, participate in a short educational activity and then download a paper voucher to print and bring along with them to visit public lands and waters throughout the United States.

So, if you want to be that parent or grandparent who gives the youth in your life a gift that lasts forever, consider visiting everykidoutdoors.gov and let them take you outdoors for an adventure in a special place. You can wash off your feet and you can shake the sand off your shoes, but trust me, your heart will never be the same.

Lisa D. Mickey

President, Friends of Canaveral

Lisa D. Mickey is a Florida Master Naturalist / Florida Land Steward

CANA NESTING COUNTS

Here's the latest tally for the 2025 monthly sea turtle and shorebird nest counts at Canaveral National Seashore. While the Leatherback and the Kemps Ridley numbers haven't changed, the Loggerheads and the Greens have been busy this month.

CONSERVATION CORNER

Image recorded by trail camera

Biodegradable Restoration Materials Support Bird Populations on Oyster Reefs

By Tara Blanchard and Linda Walters

University of Central Florida

Coastal and Estuarine Ecology Lab

Oyster reefs play an important role in coastal ecosystems, offering shelter and feeding grounds for a wide range of wildlife, including threatened and endangered species. However, these reefs are disappearing at an alarming rate across the globe. As oyster populations continue to decline worldwide, restoring these reefs has become increasingly important.

To help rebuild these vital ecosystems, researchers from the University of Central Florida have turned to biodegradable oyster reef restoration materials as an alternative to traditional plastic materials. These new materials have shown great success in recruiting oysters, but their impacts on other wildlife, such as threatened and endangered birds, have remained unclear.

ACE interns help maintain the park’s canoe trails.

(Photo courtesy of the National Park Service)

American Conservation Experience (ACE) Interns Lend Hand

In Canaveral National Seashore

By Lisa D. Mickey

Six interns in the American Conservation Experience (ACE) program spent time working at Canaveral National Seashore this summer. They were at the park through August under Canaveral’s maintenance division, but also had opportunities to work with the resource staff.

The American Conservation Experience / Environmental Service Corps is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing environmental service opportunities for young adults and emerging professionals of all backgrounds. ACE partners alongside federal and state agencies, nonprofit/ non-governmental organizations and other groups for essential conservation tasks. The program allows participants to explore and improve public lands, while gaining practical professional experience.

Interns in this year’s program worked with park staff on canoe trails, general park maintenance and dune restoration projects.

ACTIVITIES AT THE SEASHORE

September 2025

APOLLO BEACH VISITOR CENTER HOURS

Open Daily * 9 am - 5 pm

For a full list of activities offered this month, click on the buttons below.

APOLLO PROGRAMS

PLAYALINDA PROGRAMS

Trash collected on beach during cleanup

(Photo courtesy of the National Park Service)

Pitch In to Help Clean the Park During International Coastal Cleanup

September is the month to participate in the International Coastal Cleanup -- the world’s largest annual coastal clean-up event.

There will be two cleanup locations in Canaveral National Seashore.

The Apollo Beach cleanup will be held on September 20, from 8 to 11 a.m.

The cleanup at Playalinda Beach will be on the same date, September 20 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Trash bags provided at each site. Bring gloves, sunscreen, a hat and water.

Commemorative T-shirts will be given out to the first 100 participants. These shirts are handed out IN PERSON on a first-come, first-serve basis and is not correlated to the online sign up. This applies to both locations in Canaveral National Seashore.

The Apollo Beach address is: 7611 S. Atlantic Avenue, New Smyrna Beach, Florida, 32169.

Playalinda Beach does not have a street address, but is located east of Titusville, Fla., off Highway I-95, exit 220. Volunteers may enter the name Playalinda Beach into a computer mapping system for travel directions. Once at the park entrance gate, inform the ranger at the gate that you are participating in the International Coastal Cleanup.

A volunteer agreement must be signed to participate, which may be done in person on the day of the event or in advance online by clicking HERE.

More than 500,000 individuals have volunteered worldwide in previous years, cleaning 13,000 beaches and collecting more than 16 million pounds of trash.

For more information about International Coastal Cleanup at Canaveral National

Seashore, please call 386-428-3384.

Postcards from Canaveral

Friday, September 26

Doors open: 6:30 p.m. Start time: 7 p.m.

Location: Atlantic Center for the Arts main campus, Harris Theater

1414 Art Center Ave, New Smyrna Beach, FL 32168

Atlantic Center for the Arts will host a film documentary premiere about the Young Sound Seekers program and the students’ journey to create an audio tour for Canaveral National Seashore.

Set for Friday, September 26, at 7 p.m., the New Smyrna Beach community is invited to be among the first to see "Postcards from Canaveral," filmed and edited by local videographer, Brent Eite of Focal Point Photography. The film highlights how visually impaired individuals experience and interpret the natural world of the national park

The event is free and open to the public and will be held on the main campus at Atlantic Center for the Arts in the Harris Theater. This film was made possible by a generous grant from the National Park Service, as well as community partners Stetson University, Conklin Davis Center for the Visually Impaired and Canaveral National Seashore.

FRIENDS IN THE COMMUNITY

Friends of Canaveral participated in the Daytona Tortugas’ celebration of turtles on August 17 at Jackie Robinson Ballpark in Daytona Beach.

DID YOU KNOW?

Understanding Living Shorelines

Living shorelines can provide many benefits to coastal communities. Credit: NOAA.

A living shoreline is a nature-based method for stabilizing a shoreline and protecting it from erosion. Living shorelines are sometimes referred to as green or soft shorelines. Unlike traditional “hard” shoreline stabilization techniques, such as concrete seawalls, living shorelines are made of natural materials such as plants, sand, rock, or oyster shells.

LET'S BE FRIENDS!

Join Friends of Canaveral Today

DISCOUNTS - 15% discount at the Canaveral National Seashore Gift Shop
SUBSCRIPTION - Subscription to the Friends of Canaveral e-Newsletter
INVITES - Notification and invites to special events sponsored by the Friends of Canaveral or Canaveral National Seashore
OPPORTUNITIES - Learn about or volunteer for projects supporting sea turtle conservation, plant and sound ecology, environmental education, and endangered species.

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