Photo Credit: Caitlin Bagnall |
|
Please send only landscape orientation (horizontal) photos that are uncropped/unedited.
|
|
Come See MRC at Indian River Lagoon Day |
|
Join MRC on November 5, from 10 AM until 2 PM at Indian River Lagoon Day, located at Front Street Park in Melbourne. This fun-filled day for the whole family features environmental exhibitors, free kayaking, food trucks, music, arts and crafts vendors, and fun activities for kids. Make sure to register for the "Hook Kids on Fishing" clinic, which begins at 9 AM and a rain barrel workshop which begins at 11 AM. Admission is free! |
|
MRC Receives Grant from the Hilton Global Foundation |
|
The Marine Resources Council is proud to announce we’ve been recognized by the Hilton Global Foundation and the Hilton Cocoa Beach Oceanfront for our work to restore health and balance to the Indian River Lagoon. The Hilton Global Foundation Action Grants are provided to local organizations that have demonstrated a meaningful commitment to destination stewardship by improving travel destinations and creating a positive impact on the people and communities they serve. Thank you, Hilton! |
|
Another Day In the Life of the IRL |
|
On October 6th, MRC participated in the 5th annual "A Day in the Life in the Indian River Lagoon" event, educating hundreds of students on the state of our lagoon and measures they can take to help restore it to balance. Students were taught hands-on field techniques to gather water quality data, which are available to the public and can be used in lesson plans and projects throughout the school year. MRC was grateful to partner with St. Mark's Episcopal Academy in Cocoa for this amazing event. Click below to read the event's press release. |
|
MRC's 2nd Low Impact Development Conference
Focuses on Changing Building Codes
|
|
MRC’s 2nd Low Impact Development conference held last month was an amazing demonstration of community commitment and excitement as over 150 attendees worked in 23 planning teams to prioritize how to revise and update land development regulations and building codes to accommodate the use of Low Impact Development (LID) and Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI). Dr. Eban Bean of the University of Florida and Ms. Lesley Bertolotti of The Nature Conservancy presented and facilitated a group workshop, guiding attendees through a new audit tool funded by the FDEP that helps identify areas of existing building codes and land development regulations that could be modified to accommodate LID/GSI. Teams worked together to answer 40 questions about community issues and public support for implementation of innovative stormwater tools. MRC will be sharing the audit tool and other resources that came out of the conference in the coming weeks. Look for the next LID conference coming in 2023 to focus on engineering design, modeling and maintenance of LID and GSI. These are the tools we need to change the stormwater pollution paradigm and stop our communities from flooding!
|
|
Low Impact Development to Reduce Flooding |
|
On October 17, 2022 the National Science Foundation announced that it has awarded Stetson University's Institute for Water and Environmental Resilience, located in DeLand, Florida, a Stage 1 Civic Innovation Challenge Planning Grant for a project designed to address flooding and improve water quality in the face of rising seas. The Marine Resources Council is proud to be a partner on this project being piloted in Cape Canaveral and will continue to work closely with partners as the project builds resilience through green stormwater infrastructure throughout the region. Click the button below for more information about this grant and what it will accomplish for our coastal community. |
|
Volunteer with Surfrider at Space Coast Music Festival |
|
Come out and listen to some great music while helping Surfrider spread the message of clean water and healthy beaches. If you are passionate about our ocean and beaches, and you can give an hour or two of your time, please click on the button below. Surfrider will send you an email with available time slots and other details. The Space Coast Music Festival will be held on Saturday, November 5th from 10:00AM to 5:00PM |
|
Approaching Winter, Manatees Once Again in Danger |
|
All of us have it within our power to help manatees. Simple changes such as decreasing or eliminating fertilizer use, or washing your car at the car wash help reduce the amount of nutrients polluting our lagoon. Click below to watch an informative video on the current state of the Florida manatee crisis. |
|
Aimee moved to Florida from New Jersey in 2021 to pursue her Master's degree in Conservation Technology at FIT. As a way to make friends in an unfamiliar place, she joined an ultimate frisbee team. While fun, frisbee led to a broken leg last Spring, disqualifying Aimee from both field classes she needed to complete during the summer to graduate. Looking for a way to complete her credits, Aimee found MRC to spend her needed internship time with!
Aimee has helped create MRC PowerPoints, worked in our mangrove nursery and on our trails, and provided assistance during tabling events and conferences. Her favorite activity at MRC, though, is working with concrete! She enjoys the process of getting messy while making oyster volcanoes and mangrove anchors.
Thank you, Aimee, for your dedication and willingness to take on any project!
|
|
Water Quality Facts - Share the Science! |
|
- MRC partners with Surfrider's Blue Water Task Force to test water quality in a variety of areas around our Indian River Lagoon. Samples are collected biweekly throughout the year.
- 15 sites were sampled in 2021. At four sites, over 50% of the samples exceeded health standards for bacterial counts - Goat Creek, Turkey Creek at Ais Trails Park, Turkey Creek at Port Malabar, and Ballard Park. Higher pollution at these sites (all of which are creeks or river mouths) may be attributed to runoff or groundwater seepage.
- Toxic algal blooms have impacted the Space Coast's waterways and harmed Florida's beach tourism economy valued at more than $50 billion a year.
|
|
The Lagoon House is open to the public by appointment only
Call us at 321-725-7775 to schedule an appointment
|
|
November 4 - Love Our Lagoon Celebration
November 5 - Indian River Lagoon Day at Front Street Park, Melbourne
November 5 - Space Coast Music Festival
November 12 - Boater's Exchange, Rockledge
November 12 - Mangrove Workshop - Sebastian Greenhouse
November 19 - Eco Fest at Sand Point Park, Titusville
November 24 - Thanksgiving Day
|
|
Marine Resources Council
3275 Dixie Hwy NE, Palm Bay, FL 3905 | (321) 725-7775 | www.SaveTheIRL.org
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
