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Countryside High School Students Plant Bay Grasses Along Tarpon Key |
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Tuesday, 23 September 2008 |
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A team of students from Countryside High School’s “Bay Grasses in Classes” program recently planted plugs of Spartina alterniflora, salt marsh or smooth cord grass, along Tarpon Key, just west of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge near Tierra Verde.
Visiting Tarpon Key is a rare opportunity since it is a National Wildlife Refuge managed by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and can only be accessed via boat. The planting project is intended to help replenish the eroding shoreline while offering wildlife secure places for nursery areas and foraging habitat on the island.
The planting was sponsored by The Laramar Group, a development company that creates apartment homes that are water and energy efficient, have reduced carbon footprints, and have landscapes with reduced fertilizer, pesticide and irrigation needs.
“Our commitment to protecting the environment led us to this unique partnership with Tampa Bay Watch,” said Steve Boyack, Laramar’s vice president of asset management. “By sponsoring the Bay Grasses in Classes program, Laramar is working with Tampa Bay Watch to greatly improve water quality and seagrass habitat in Tampa Bay.”
Tampa Bay Watch initiated Bay Grasses in Classes in 1994. Salt marsh wetland nurseries have been established at several bay area schools through this program.
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Florida’s Largest Military Museum Opens, Features Vintage Tanks, Local Memorabilia |
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Tuesday, 23 September 2008 |
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Largo’s new Armed Forces Military Museum opened its doors to the public in August, unveiling the state’s largest collection of authentic military artifacts from WWI up to present-day. The new Largo arsenal includes vintage tanks, Saddam’s uniform and local veterans’ memorabilia.
In addition to an extensive WWII collection, the 33,000 sq. ft. facility houses the only known Saddam Hussein uniform in the U.S., hundreds of handheld weapons and a dozen retired tanks and other military vehicles, including an experimental 1952 M151-XM utility truck.
The facility was designed to provide an up-close look at warfare, captivating visitors with combat simulations featuring smoke, the roar of airplanes and tanks, and other audio/visual effects.
Veterans and their families can loan or donate personal photographs, uniforms, journals and other memorabilia to grace the Wall of Heroes, and an onsite memorial garden is dedicated all who served in the armed forces.
The museum is located at 2050 34th Way N., Largo. For more information visit www.armedforcesmuseum.com or call 727-524-4967.
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Panama Canal Museum Offers Speakers Bureau |
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Monday, 22 September 2008 |
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Thanks to a Pinellas County Cultural Development grant, the Panama Canal Museum has created a Speakers Bureau to offer community outreach programs. Twenty non-profit groups will be able to take advantage of the 45-minute programs about The History of the Panama Canal and its Future or the People and Places of Panama. These free lectures are available from September 2008 through the end of January 2009.
To book a speaker contact Kalika Novoa, education curator, at 727-394-9338 or email
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The museum is located at 7985 113th Street, Suite 100, Seminole.
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Record High 624 Scallops Found In Annual Search |
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Monday, 22 September 2008 |
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The Tampa Bay estuary encompasses more than 400 square miles of open water and 2,300 square miles of highly-developed watershed extending from Oldsmar and Safety Harbor to the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. Once scallops such as these — as well as oysters, clams, shrimp and an endless variety of fish — thrived in its waters. The return of scallops is considered a vital indicator of the Bay’s health.
photo for Tropical Breeze courtesy Tampa Bay Watch
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Forty
boats with more than 150 volunteer snorkelers participated in the Great
Bay Scallop Search on Saturday, August 16 by searching selected sites
in Lower Tampa Bay for the bay scallop.
Volunteers found only one live
scallop in 2005 due to the severe red tide, 17.5 were found in 2006 and
555 were found in 2007. This year’s final count of 624 scallops is a
promising sign attributed to 25 years of water quality improvements and
habitat restoration efforts in our region. Additionally, out of 70
blocks surveyed, 33 contained scallops according to Kevin Misiewicz,
Environmental Specialist with Tampa Bay Watch. This widespread coverage
indicates that water quality to support scallops is growing in Tampa
Bay.
Tampa Bay Watch and Tampa Bay Estuary Program have sponsored this
resource monitoring program annually since 1993. The purpose of Scallop
Search is to monitor and document the health and status of the bay
scallop population. Bay scallops, or the Argopecten irradians
disappeared from Tampa Bay in the 1960s when the bay water was highly
polluted from dredging operations and industrial and municipal wastes.
Tampa Bay’s water quality and seagrass beds have since improved to
levels that will once again the bay scallop population.
The Great Bay Scallop Search is Tampa Bay Watch’s most popular
volunteer event. Not only does it offer the opportunity to bring
attention to the bay’s valuable resources, but it also promotes
hands-on volunteerism and education to families and residents of the
estuary. Many first time as well as “seasoned” scallop searchers
commented on the exciting bay wildlife they see under the water during
the event. Even if a search team does not find their elusive scallop
prey, fun is always had by all.
Bay scallops are secretive bivalves in the same family as clams and
oysters. They may reach a shell size of two inches and spend most of
their short 12 to 18 month life span hiding in sea grasses of waters
like Tampa Bay. Scallops are filter feeders, therefore they are highly
sensitive to changes in water quality and can be used to measure an
ecosystem’s health and signal changes in water quality. Bay scallops
are vulnerable to changes in water temperature and salinity. Adult bay
scallops can pump as much as 15.5 quarts of water per hour. Tampa Bay
Watch, Mote Marine Laboratory and the Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation are working to increase the bay scallops in our area by
raising scallops in laboratories and releasing the juveniles into the
Bay. Although bay scallops are edible, it is illegal to harvest
scallops in Tampa Bay in order for restoration efforts to be successful.
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Art Committee Announces 2008 Art ’n Sole Tour |
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Friday, 19 September 2008 |
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Safety Harbor’s 2008 Art ‘n Sole Tour will be 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15.
Art ‘n Sole is a self-guided tour of local artists studios in Safety Harbor. Advance tickets are available at City Hall, 750 Main St. or on the day of the event at the Community Center, 650 Ninth Ave. S.
Tickets are $5 per person. Sponsored by the City of Safety Harbor Public Art Committee. For more information, call 727-724-1555.
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