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Alternative Spring Break - Volunteers Needed
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CBA will partner with University of Illinois - Springfield, Dickinson College, Georgia Institute of Technology and Mount Mercy University for their 2017 Alternative Spring Break program. This program is for students who choose to engage in volunteer services to protect our environment.
We will have a tremendous turnout of students who will participate in building our oyster reefs and living shorelines during their spring break.
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We are looking for volunteers with small bay boats who are willing to help us transport students to and from the reef-building site at the Bluewater Bay Marina Complex on 21 March 2017. Shifts will be split from 9:00-12:00pm and 1:00-4:00pm.
As a volunteer, you are only responsible for transporting students. The bagged shell for reef-building will be transported via the CBA barge.
Please contact our Restoration Coordinator, Rachel Gwin, if you are interested in volunteering with CBA for an afternoon.
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World Planting Day
March 21st
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As the seasons change this month, it's a great time to celebrate planting gardens! As many home owners understand, having a beautifully landscaped yard can add equity to your property and there is nothing more therapeutic than pulling weeds out by their roots! With a little ingenuity, landscapes can be designed to channel summer breezes toward the home, maximize summer shade with trees while allowing penetration of low-angle winter sunlight and protect homes from water damage by planting drought tolerant plants close to the house.
CBA headquarters is home to our Native Plant Demonstration Garden & Self-Guided Trail. With the help of the Walton County Master Gardeners, the garden was designed to highlight the beauty of our native plant species in an eco-conscious design that promotes water conservation and Florida-friendly gardening techniques. Over the past several years, the garden has taken on a life of its own!
Why Celebrate World Planting Day?
- Its great for our native pollinators!
- Saves us money on produce!
- Plants clean the air, prevent soil erosion and absorb harmful pollutants from storm water runoff!
Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance urges you to celebrate world planting day by planting your favorite vegetable or a native plant in your garden on March 21st!
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Walk the Native Plant Trail or stroll through the Native Plant & Demonstration Garden to enjoy the wonderful plants that call Florida their home. Click the photos to find out more information!
Located at 109 South Greenway Trail, Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459
Open dawn to dusk - Seven days a week.
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World Water Day
March 22nd
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Many people will say water is life. A human can survive weeks without food, but only days without water.
With 97% of Earth's water salty and undrinkable and 2% being trapped in glaciers and ice caps, we are left with only one 1% of Earth's water fresh enough to drink. This makes water one of the world's most precious commodities with 1 in 10 individuals lacking access to clean water.
Would you have thought to recycle your water? The average American household uses 50 gallons of water a day per person! Join the water recycling revolution and do your part to reduce, reuse and recycle your water for the health of Choctawhatchee Bay.
Tips for
saving on energy costs as w
ell as saving the environment:
- While waiting for the shower to warm up, use a bucket to catch cold water.
- Rain barrels are easy to make/install and will save rainwater for use in the garden.
- Recycle excess drinking water by pouring onto houseplants.
- Save the water from washing veggies or cooking pasta for a plant nutrient boost.
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A pirate-themed rain barrel built and painted by our Education Director, Brittany Tate.
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- Globally, over 80% of the wastewater generated by society flows back into the ecosystem without being treated or recycled.
- Florida is a national leader in water recycling. Approximately 719 million gallons per day of reclaimed water was reused for beneficial purposes in 2013.
- What we pour into the ground ends up in our water, recycling water can reduce and prevent pollution.
- Recycling gray water - relatively clean waste water from baths, sinks, washing machines, and other kitchen appliances - will save on energy costs!
- Water recycling decreases discharge to sensitive water bodies like Choctawhatchee Bay.
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Join the Alliance! Donate to CBA, Today!
Become a steward of local waterways by supporting CBA's mission in the Choctawhatchee watershed.
All monetary donations to CBA are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
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How Does CBA Monitor the Bay?
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The Secchi Disk is the simplest tool in our monitoring arsenal. It is simply a white disk, weighted at the bottom, attached to a measuring tape. It was invented in 1865 by Pietro Angelo Secchi. 152 years later, we are still using this instrument for accurate measurements.
By lowering the secchi disk into the water column to the point where it just disappears, we can measure the turbidity or the amount of suspended solids in the water. At CBA, we also use the secchi disk to measure the depth of the water column. We use this simple, but reliable, tool in conjunction with our Hydrolab data collections to ensure accurate measurements.
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CBA needs Citizen Scientists!
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Do you have an inner scientist waiting to shine through? Join CBA in monitoring our watershed and help our scientists by gathering data in the Choctawhatchee Bay and coastal dune lakes. With over 130 sampling stations, there is plenty of "sciencing" to go around.
Click on the link to the left to find out more about our program!
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Upcoming Volunteer Events
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Third grade students will be learning about oysters and why they are important to the Bay. CBA and AmeriCorps will be bringing in a tank filled with oysters to demonstrate the filtration power of these sessile creatures!
Fifth grade students will have an observation tank brought into their classroom with marine life seined from the bay. They will have an identification class where they look at all the different creatures that call the Choctawhatchee marshes home.
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Oysters in our classrooms cleaning the water while students learn!
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Middle school students will be identifying live fish found in the coastal dune lakes of Walton County. By measuring the length of the body, dorsal fin and body depth, students will differentiate between species. This will be the last classroom activity for the middle school students this year.
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A pinfish in our observation tank waiting to be measured by the students.
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Spat On! Youth Outreach Program
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At the end of the month, we are taking the Fort Walton Beach High School marine science classes to seine for marine life at Liza Jackson park. We will have a fish identification course along with water quality monitoring to gear up to our oyster gardening project.
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Shelves to Shores Library Program
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Our high school volunteers spent their Saturday teaching young children about the importance of smooth cordgrass,
Spartina alterniflora
, and how it protects Choctawhatchee Bay. Children learned how storm water runoff finds its way into our Bay and planted smooth cordgrass for their nurseries at Coastal Branch Library.
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High school volunteers and AmeriCorps members teaching young children about
Spartina alterniflora and how storm water runs into Choctawhatchee Bay.
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- Spartina alterniflora is an intertidal shoreline grass found in the salt marshes of Choctawhatchee Bay where it is an important primary producer and marsh builder in estuarine ecosystems.
- Spartina alterniflora slows and filters storm water runoff, prevents erosion and provides a habitat for salt marsh critters.
- Spartina alterniflora excretes salt through its leaves enabling the plant to withstand a high salinity range.
- Spartina alterniflora is a native perennial to the East Coast of the United States and Canada growing between two to seven feet tall.
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We Want to Hear From You!
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As a fellow environmental steward, CBA wants to see Choctawhatchee Bay through your eyes! Do you have photos of Choctawhatchee River, Choctawhatchee Bay or the Coastal Dune Lakes? Upload them to Instagram or Facebook and be sure to tag:
#BasinAlliance
or
#CBAfortheBay
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