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AmeriCorps is an opportunity to make a big difference in your life and in the lives of those around you. It's a chance to apply your skills and ideals toward helping others and meeting critical needs our community. AmeriCorps NWF Environmental Stewards is currently taking applications for our 2017-2018 team! AmeriCorps is a component of the Corporation for National and Community Service. Its goal is to engage Americans of all ages and backgrounds in service. AmeriCorps is often referred to as the "Domestic Peace Corps." Members of the NWF Environmental Stewards Corps will commit to 12 months of service and will implement a hands on environmental STEM curriculum in elementary schools, in Okaloosa and Walton counties. They will also participate in local area land restoration projects (invasive plant removal, oyster reef development, trail development etc.).
If you or someone you know is interested in spending a year serving our community, please go to www.nwfsc.edu/community/AmeriCorps to learn more about our program! Printable application. Be a part of "Making the Difference"!
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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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Smoke on The Coast was a Success
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CBA had an amazing time at Smoke on the Coast in Destin Commons for Independence Day Weekend. We want to give an extra special thank you to Whole Foods Market for partnering with us and making a scrumptious BBQ'd Pulled Pork on cornbread crumble. If you were at the event, we hope you grabbed a goofy picture with our Instagram oyster reef and played a game of corn-hole at our booth. Thanks to you, we won 2nd Place in the "Most Spirited" award category! The weather was hot and gloriously sunny so many individuals stopped at our hydration truck, sponsored by our partnership with Destin Water Users, South Walton Utilities, and the American Water Resources Association, to quench their thirst while reducing plastic bottle waste to the environment.
Thank you Destin Commons for hosting a wonderful event! We look forward to seeing you next year.
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CBA Never Ceases to Educate our Youth
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School might have ended in May, but that didn’t stop us from reaching out to our youth this summer. Our “From Shelves to the Shores” program offered weekly hands-on activities about smooth cordgrass and our Bay at three local libraries. We also directed a similar program with Destin and Kenwood Boys and Girls Clubs. These programs ended with a field trip to a salt marsh restoration site where the children planted smooth cordgrass allowing them to see, firsthand, what a living shoreline is all about!
During June we spent two weeks participating in “Kids on Campus” at Northwest Florida State College. We stepped away from our normal focus and taught Freshwater Frenzy which is all about our freshwater tributaries in the Choctawhatchee Bay Watershed.
Check out our video to the left and see what CBA and the kids were up to!
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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.
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Local citizen scientists and volunteers are welcome to join our program and raise their own oyster gardens for restoration. Additionally, volunteers can help our monitoring team with data collection and garden maintenance. Community stewards, students, and CBA staff will construct two new oyster reefs, eventually colonizing them with community-grown oysters.
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How Does CBA Monitor the Bay?
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Salinity is the total concentration of all dissolved salts in a body of water. When salts dissolve, they dissociate into positively and negatively charged ions that are able to conduct electrical energy.
Salinity is of particular importance as it affects dissolved oxygen solubility. Salt water holds 20% less dissolved oxygen than freshwater at the same temperature. Furthermore, water with higher concentrations of salt are denser than fresher waters. In Choctawhatchee Bay, the salt water flowing in from the Gulf of Mexico remains on the bottom of the water column as freshwater washes over the top. This creates a halocline, or an abrupt difference in salinity. When taking water quality measurements in the field, this is one water characteristic CBA staff takes note of.
Most species can only tolerate a very specific salinity range. In Choctawhatchee Bay, there are numerous marine organisms that are able to adapt to a wide range in salinity such as, blue crabs, bull sharks, gulf sturgeon and mullet.
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Right: salinity tolerances for various marine organisms.
Photo Credit to www.fondriest.com
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- Skilletfish, Gobiesox strumosus, is a member of the clingfish family characterized by the suction disk appendage located on their underside.
- This suction disk is actually formed by modified pelvic fins.
- Often found among oyster reefs, G. strumosus will hunt for bristle worms, amphipods and isopods.
- Females will lay their eggs in empty oyster shells for fertilization. Males will typically protect the eggs until they hatch.
- With a large flat head that is wider than its body and tail, this frying pan shape is what gives G. strumosus its name.
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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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