|
Vote For Whole Foods and CBA at Smoke on the Coast!
|
|
|
This July, the 7th Annual Smoke on the Coast BBQ and Fireworks Festival is back at Destin Commons benefiting the Coins for a Cause campaign.
CBA and Whole Foods Market are partnered together in what will be the ultimate BBQ contest route 98 has ever seen. We will be providing a watering station at our location to reduce plastic bottle usage and save you money! CBA urges you to fill your bellies and quench your thirst while voting our team as the 2017 Festival Winners.
Winners could receive up to $15,000 for their sponsored organization. Remember, CBA is 100% grant and donor funded and we couldn't accomplish all that we do without help from our sponsors and community member volunteers!
Destin Commons will have fireworks at 9:15 PM so make an evening of family, fun and shopping on your long weekend.
|
|
|
|
Choctawhatchee Oyster Gardening Program
|
|
|
|
|
We are reviving the Choctawhatchee Oyster Gardening Program to enhance our oyster populations in Choctawhatchee Bay.
Local citizen scientists and volunteers are welcome to join our program and raise their own oyster gardens for restoration. With weekly maintenance amounting to only one hour per week, it’s easy to add to your weekend morning routine.
If you do not have your own dock, no need to worry. We also need oyster allies to help our monitoring team with data collection and garden maintenance for dock owners that may not have the ability to maintain their gardens as often as needed.
Our goal is to promote environmental awareness and facilitate hands-on learning for both our students and volunteers by restoring one acre of oyster habitat in Choctawhatchee Bay. Community stewards, students and CBA staff will construct two new oyster reefs, eventually colonizing them with community-grown oysters.
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
How Does CBA Monitor the Bay?
|
|
|
Total Suspended Solids and Turbidity
|
|
Total Suspended Solids (TSS) is a measurement of the amount of solid particles within a volume of water. High amounts of TSS in a water column can lead to increased temperature, due to particles absorbing heat, and lower dissolved oxygen capacities, as we learned in the June edition of Alliance Update. Also, salinity affects the sedimentation rate of TSS; suspended solids in the water column will attach to a salt ion, clump together and fall to the bottom. This is why waters near the Destin Pass are much clearer than near the mouth of the Choctawhatchee River.
Turbidity is the measurement of light scattered by the particles suspended within the water column. Turbidity can negatively affect photosynthesis rates of underwater vegetation leading to plant die-off and reduced dissolved oxygen levels. Turbidity can be affected by dyes, colored dissolved organic matter, or humic acid that is not usually accounted for in TSS. An example of humic acid inhibiting sunlight penetration would be the Coastal Dune Lakes of Walton County where tannic acid stains the water brown.
|
|
|
Above: Salt ions will cause particles to aggregate and fall to the bottom of the water column.
Below: Venn diagram comparing and contrasting Turbidity and TSS.
Photos Credited to www.fondriest.com
|
|
|
CBA needs Citizen Scientists!
|
|
|
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 above to find out more about our program!
|
|
|
Someone with their own boat or access to a boat to take over:
- 3 sites near Destin Harbor and Crab Island
|
|
|
July 1st - July 7th
- National Clean Beaches Week!
July 3, 2017
- Smoke on the Coast BBQ and Firework Festival 5-10
Destin Commons, Destin, FL
July 8, 2017
- Choctawhatchee Oyster Gardening Workshop 10:30-2
Fort Walton Beach Public Library, Fort Walton Beach, FL
|
|
|
|
|
|
- P. p. leococephalus have the lighest coloration of all the 5 beach mouse subspecies found on the Gulf Coast.
- P. p. leucocephalus are nocturnal, venturing out to forage for insects, seeds and fruits of dune plants under the cover of darkness.
- P. p. leucocephalus are a subspecies of the oldfield mouse, Peromyscus polionotus.
- P. p. leucocephalus are believed to be monogamous; about 3% of all mammals on Earth practice monogamy.
- P. p. leococephalus live only in dune habitats; they make their nests in primary dunes, found along the coastline, and "scrub dunes", found on the bay side of barrier islands.
|
|
|
We Want to Hear From You!
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
