Atala Butterfly on Coontie Palm - Nicole Nichols
Have you been enjoying our changing headers? Want to showcase one of your Floridian nature photos? Then email the MRC by clicking here! Please only send landscape orientation (horizontal) photos! |
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Science Fun in the Summer Time! |
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MRC's Lagoon Castaway Summer Camp engaged 160 young people in lagoon-focused STEM lessons and experiences over the summer! Each day, our campers participated in different hands-on activities - investigating animal species, exploring natural habitats, and participating in challenges where campers had to work as a team and think critically to solve problems. It was a blast! This was the MRC's first full-day, 8-week-long camp and we cannot thank our sponsors, supporters, interns, and volunteers enough!
Next year will be even better so make sure to check out our website in Spring 2022 for more information.
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The MRC is pleased to introduce our new Administrative Assistant, Renee Odom! Renee was born and raised in Melbourne, and spent a lot of her youth at the beach. She moved to Chicago after earning her Masters’ Degree from the University of Central Florida, but has recently moved back to Brevard County. Renee is looking forward to getting reacquainted with all that Florida, and specifically Brevard County, has to offer. She loves spending time with friends and her sweet jack russell terrier, and trying out new recipes. Renee is excited to join the team (and we are excited as well!) and get involved with the programs and initiatives here at MRC!
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LID Conference
Free for Elected Officials!!
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If you are currently sitting on a governing board for a city or county, we want you at MRC Low Impact Development/Green Infrastructure (LID/GI) Conference! One council or commission representative from each city and county in the lagoon watershed can attend the conference for free!
MRC's is bringing world-class leaders in sustainable stormwater management to the Lagoon watershed to change our future from gray to green.
Stormwater is one of the leading sources of pollution to the Indian River Lagoon. To save our estuaries, we must change the way we are handing stormwater by moving away from concrete and impervious structures and toward green, vegetated infrastructure that permits rain to percolate into the ground - recharging our aquifer and improving coastal resiliency.
It is imperative that elected officials are conversant and knowledgeable about innovate LID/GI techniques so they make informed decisions about land use planning, policies, and pollution reduction strategies.
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Do you have beautiful pictures of the Indian River Lagoon or of the astonishing animals that live there that you want to showcase? Then this is your chance to enter the 17th Annual IRL Photo Contest! The deadline has been extended to August 20th, but don't hesitate to submit photos to Kathy Hill through email [email protected] or to call 321-536-6039 with any questions.
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The Campobello Whale Rescue Team was able to make two close approaches, cutting some of the rope entangling Snow Cone. |
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North Atlantic Right Whale - Snow Cone Summer |
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In February 2021, a right whale named Cottontail was spotted off Melbourne Beach with a severe entanglement that cost him his life about a week later. Only three week afterwards, Snow Cone (Right Whale Catalog #3560) was spotted about eight miles off Plymouth Harbor, MA with an entanglement of the same nature. Rope was embedded in her rostrum (upper jaw) and had trailing line from the left side of the mouth. She has been seen eight times since the initial discovery of her entanglement, some of those times by rescue teams actively working to free her (see above photo). While some of the gear has been removed, rope is still embedded in the top of her head. Recently, she has been seen in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in Canada, which is an area known for entangling fishing gear and vessels traveling at high rates of speed.
The MRC has previously documented Snow Cone off Vero Beach in Feb. 2020 as she took her first and only calf southward before heading into the Gulf of Mexico for a few weeks. Unfortunately, in July 2020, that calf died off the coast of New Jersey as a result of being struck by two different vessels a few weeks apart.
Snow Cone has endured considerable hardships in her life, but it is our hope that she will get her fill of copepods in the feeding area, leaves unscathed, and return to Florida eventually with another calf. We will keep you posted on her situation.
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Happy National Honey Bee Day! |
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Join Brevard Backyard Beekeepers in celebrating National Honey Bee Day on August 21st, from 9:00am-2:00pm at the UF/IFAS Extension Brevard County Complex in Cocoa. The event free to the public and is aimed to educate people of all ages about honey bees and their critical role in global environmental health and food security. There will be lectures, demonstrations, food, music, and a variety of activities. So come see what all the buzz is about and see why these pollinators give us so much to celebrate! |
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September Lunch & Learn
In the Bedroom of the Shark: Underwater Dating and Mating in the Florida Keys
Presented by Dr. Jeffrey Carrier
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Join us for our September Lunch & Learn! This month we are pleased to introduce Dr. Jeffrey Carrier, who has studied the natural history of nurse sharks in south Florida and the Florida Keys for over 50 years. For the last 20 years he has investigated the mating behaviors of sharks and his work is the only systematic study of shark mating that has ever occurred for any species, anywhere in the world. In this presentation, Dr. Carrier will share rare underwater photographs and video of mating activities, his research results, and describe their critical importance to protecting shark populations at risk. Dr. Carrier will conclude by outlining his current efforts to extend his study to the Indian River Lagoon system and our local shark populations.
This is a free event, but you must register to receive the Zoom link and password or to reserve a in-person space (limited seating). We will also be live streaming the presentation through the MRC's Facebook page and will be recording the presentation for future viewing!
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4th Location Added for this Year's
International Coastal Cleanup!
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We are excited to be partnering with Keep Brevard Beautiful (KBB) and the Ocean Conservancy for this year's International Coastal Cleanup. The International Coastal Cleanup began 30 years ago when communities rallied together with the common goal of collecting and documenting the trash littering their coastline.
This year's event will be hosted on Saturday, September 18th from
8am-12pm.
The 4 clean up sites along the Lagoon will be:
- Melbourne Causeway
- Eau Gallie Causeway
- Pineda Causeway
- 520/W. Cocoa Beach
To register you or your group, please click the button below!
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The Lagoon House will continue to remain closed to the public as COVID cases have increased.
We are still here doing the hard work of saving the Lagoon and we can be available by telephone if you need us.
Stay safe Lagoon Lovers!
Call us at 321-725-7775 to schedule an appointment.
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October 5 - Lunch & Learn
November 9 - Lunch & Learn
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