ST. LUCIE VILLAGE \u2014 Residents can learn more about the Indian River Lagoon and ways to help protect it during \u2018Our Lagoon \u2014 Our Legacy,\u2019 a community program and environmental showcase at 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19, at St. Lucie Village School.<\/p>\n
The event will explore the importance of the Indian River Lagoon, North America\u2019s largest biodiverse estuary, which stretches 156 miles and is home to more than 4,000 species of animals and plants.<\/p>\n
The 2 p.m. program will be followed by workshops, exhibits and hands-on activities presented by local environmental and educational organizations. Attendees will learn about individual actions that can improve lagoon health, vertical oyster gardens, living shorelines and shoreline restoration and protection.<\/p>\n
Scheduled speakers include:<\/p>\n
\u2022 2 p.m. \u2014 Caleta Scott, One Lagoon<\/p>\n
\u2022 2:15 p.m. \u2014 Dr. Vincent Encomio, University of Florida\/IFAS Florida Sea Grant<\/p>\n
\u2022 2:45 p.m. \u2014 Elyse Geraghty, Manatee Center<\/p>\n
\u2022 3 p.m. \u2014 Barbara Brown, Docks for a Clean Lagoon<\/p>\n
The Manatee Center and Fort Pierce Utilities Authority will host a Vertical Oyster Garden workshop, demonstrating how oyster gardens can help improve water quality and provide habitat for aquatic life.<\/p>\n
Other participating organizations include Docks for a Clean Lagoon, University of Florida\/IFAS Florida Sea Grant, One Lagoon, the Manatee Center and the Florida Remembered Society.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Lagoon has been central to our culture, lifestyles, livelihood, and lovely surroundings since before recorded history,\u201d said Anne Sinnott of the Florida Remembered Society. \u201cBut today, the Lagoon is stressed and susceptible due to overdevelopment, population growth, stormwater runoff, and loss of seagrasses.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaking meaningful efforts to restore the health of the lagoon for today and tomorrow is essential,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The event will also examine ways residents can support efforts to restore and protect the lagoon for future generations.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur Lagoon \u2014 Our Legacy\u201d is funded in part by the Florida Remembered Society through an America250\/Florida250 public programs grant from Florida Humanities, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Jacarlene Foundation.<\/p>\n
The Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program is providing funding for the oyster workshops.<\/p>\n
The event will be held at St. Lucie Village School, 2501 N. Old Dixie Highway, Fort Pierce. Seating is limited, and attendees are encouraged to arrive a few minutes early.<\/p>\n
Reservations are required. Call 772-267-4873.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ST. LUCIE VILLAGE \u2014 Residents can learn more about the Indian River Lagoon and ways to help protect…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":391942,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[171,173,172,563],"class_list":["post-391941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie-headlines","tag-port-st-lucie-news","tag-st_lucie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391941","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=391941"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391941\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/391942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=391941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=391941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=391941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}