Band-winged Dragonlet and Ant -Photo Credit: Dennis Mayo
Have you been enjoying our changing headers? Showcase one of your Floridian nature photos by submitting them to MRC by email! Please send only landscape orientation (horizontal) photos that are uncropped/unedited!
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IMAGINE! Let's Protect Our Paradise by
Collaborating as a Community
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IMAGINE! A renewed community collaboration to protect our paradise and put a LID on unsustainable community development. In October, 200 people gathered at the first MRC Low Impact Development (LID) Conference, an important first step in that process. Included were elected and professional leaders from 25+ cities and counties contiguous to the lagoon. Attendees endorsed a new community vision calling for the renewed community collaboration it will take, which is already getting underway in Volusia, Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie and Martin Counties. |
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November is Manatee Awareness Month!
Help the Lagoon's Manatees
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How to Spot a Sick and Injured Manatee Webinar Training |
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Our friends at Save the Manatee Club are hosting a critically important virtual training on "How to Spot a Sick and Injured Manatee". Have you seen a manatee, but you weren’t quite sure if something may have been wrong? Have you come across a sick or injured manatee, but you didn’t quite know what to do or who to call? Or have you heard about more manatees needing rescue and you are looking for ways to help?
Then join Save the Manatee Club for a free virtual webinar on Tuesday, November 16, 2021 at 6 p.m. ET to learn how to spot and report a sick and injured manatee. Register below by clicking the button or clicking the link: savethemanatee.org/webinar.
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Do you have an hour or so a week to help the Indian River Lagoon? Do you live along the lagoon’s edge or one of its tributaries? Our long running Citizen Scientist program, LagoonWatch, is looking to expand! To better understand the impacts of tributaries on the lagoon, we need monitors on the Eau Gallie River, Horse Creek, and Crane Creek in Melbourne and on Goat Creek in Valkaria. We currently have NO monitors on the Sebastian River and need them!
We provide you with the equipment and training necessary to collect the water quality data to grow MRC's LagoonWatch database. Information from this database is used by local communities and municipalities for research and restoration.
Please contact our LagoonWatch Coordinator, Kara Woods, for more information about the program at kara@mrcirl.org.
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MRC Welcomes a New Team Member - Bri Forte! |
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The MRC is excited to introduce our newest team member, Bri Forté, who is our Programs Coordinator! Originally from Maryland, Bri’s first experiences with the ocean were through trips to the Baltimore Aquarium and Chesapeake Bay, where she developed a deep connection with coastal wildlife. Fleeing the cold, Bri completed her B.S. in Marine Biology at Florida Tech, and is currently working on her M.S. in Conservation Technology. Bri loves the Indian River Lagoon like a local, and is excited to help preserve the magic of this unique ecosystem through community outreach, data collection, and MRC’s restoration efforts.
Bri will be implementing many of our youth education programs, including our Virtual Field Trips and FREE classroom presentations brought to you by Lagoon Loyal! If you are interested in learning more about these programs, please email bri@mrcirl.org!
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Volunteer with Aquatic Preserves! |
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Indian River Lagoon Aquatic Preserves has a newly established coastal native plant wildlife garden at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection Titusville Field Station. The public garden was planted mid-September with volunteers from the US AirForce, Merritt Island High School, and others from the local community. Twenty-one species of native plant were used to create habitat for pollinators as well as small birds, mammals, and reptiles! The goal of the garden is to promote lagoon-friendly landscaping and emphasize the connection between upland and lagoon health. The garden is along a public road where people can admire, and easily participate in the project.
The Aquatic Preserve is looking for volunteers to help with maintenance and engage in citizen science monitoring of garden wildlife. If interested please email Emily Surmont at Emily.Surmont@FloridaDEP.gov
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Our November Virtual Field Trip is at the
Florida Wildlife Hospital!
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Thursday, November 18
9:00-9:45am
Webinar ONLY
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Did you know that Florida Wildlife Hospital (FWH) has been rescuing, rehabilitating, and releasing thousands of sick, injured, and orphaned animals in Brevard County, since 1973? To learn more about this amazing organization, join the Marine Resources Council (MRC) and the City of Melbourne ECO Division on November 18, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. for our next Virtual Field Trip! Our special guest, Lindsay Mayer, will introduce us to the day to day functioning of FWH, some of their native species they care for, how to recognize when an animal needs help, and how you can help.
This 45-minute long virtual field trip is geared toward youth, but open to all ages. Participants will have the chance to ask questions through the Q&A box that will be answered toward the end of the presentation. Participants are also encouraged to email questions about FWH to the MRC's Programs Coordinator, Bri Forte at bri@mrcirl.org by November 16th.
Please register for the free event below and the Zoom link and login information will be in your confirmation email. The field trip presentation will be steamed live and available to watch through the MRC's Facebook page. If you are experiencing technical difficulties or need to leave early, the program will be recorded and posted to the MRC's YouTube account in the coming days.
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Come Visit Us at the Hoot in the Park! |
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Hoot in the Park will be a fun-filled day with raffle prizes, live animal ambassadors, food trucks, and more! This event will be located at Wickham Park in the large pavilion, and is hosted by our friends, the Florida Wildlife Hospital. The MRC will also be there sharing information about how you can reduce your impact on the Lagoon. So make sure to mark your calendars, stop on by our booth, and get ready to learn why you should give a hoott! |
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Featuring Julie Albert, MRC’s
North Atlantic Right Whale Conservation Program Coordinator
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Tuesday, December 7, 2021
12pm-1pm
Hybrid Meeting - In person and Web-based!!
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The North Atlantic Right Whale is one of the most imperiled marine mammal species in the world. As the population has now dipped below 400 individuals and with less than 100 breeding females, the recovery of this species faces a myriad of challenges. However, new regulations have recently been established, which will enhance the whales' protection. Join us for our December Lunch & Learn to learn what these regulations entail, how this species is surviving, and what the MRC has in store for the upcoming 2022 winter calving season!
The seminar will end with a live Q&A session, but we also recommend that participants to please email any questions you might have that relate to this topic to whales@mrcirl.org.
This is a free event, but you must register to receive the Zoom link or to reserve your spot at the Lagoon House as space is limited (subject to cancellation). The Zoom link will be in your confirmation email. We will be live streaming the presentation through the MRC's Facebook page and will post the recording to the MRC's YouTube page for future viewing!
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Saturday, February 12, is the MRC's
"Love Our Lagoon" Celebration!
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Saturday, February 12, 2022, 6-8pm, you and your guests are invited to the "Love Our Lagoon" Celebration and Indian River Lagoon Conservation Awards at the Hilton Melbourne Beach Oceanfront. The fast-paced fun event will feature socializing with other lagoon lovers; "Explore Our Lagoon" auction; sumptuous hors d'oeuvres selection, a theatre-style awards presentation and "Discover Our Desserts" sampler from across the region. Tickets are $100 and early registration will get you the best seat for the awards. Sponsor packages will also be available soon. Visit SaveTheIRL.org for more information.
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The Lagoon House is open to the public by appointment only.
Call us at 321-725-7775 to schedule an appointment.
Stay safe Lagoon Lovers!
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December 7 - Lunch & Learn - Right Whales in Peril: Is Extinction Avoidable? |
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