Florida Oceanographic Coastal Center

The Florida Oceanographic Coastal Center is a marine life nature center located on Hutchinson Island in Stuart, Florida. It currently occupies 57 acres and is located between the Indian River and the Atlantic Ocean. 

This is the current exhibit hall. A capital expansion project will be underway in August to build a new Eco Center with 30 new exhibits, new lagoon bridges, expand the gift shop, and add the Waterworks Exploration Zone.

The Oceanographic Center is run by the Florida Oceanographic Society, a non-profit organization with the mission to inspire environmental stewardship of Florida's coastal ecosystems through education, research, and advocacy.

One of their conservation projects is FLOOR (Florida Oceanographic Oyster Restoration). The program actively engages the public in the restoration of the oyster reef habitat. Thousands of volunteers have been recycling shells, constructing reefs, and growing oysters. You can see evidence of these efforts along the banks of the Indian River as well as along the Riverwalk in downtown Stuart.

The Saint Lucie River has lost over 80% of its oyster reef habitat in the past 60 years due to poor water quality and low salinity levels. Oysters are the most important commercial bivalve in the world. We need them because they filter and clean the water, provide food and habitat for hundreds of species, they stabilize the shorelines, and reduce erosion.

This Life Span of Garbage display was a very effective way to illustrate how our trash can pollute our environment for a shockingly long time. 

Outside is the Stingray Pavilion where you will learn all about stingrays and also get to touch them and feed them. 

Then there's the Children's Activity Pavillion which has some interactive exhibits for kids.

Next to the Children's Activity Pavillion is a pretty little butterfly garden.

There's also the Sea Turtle Pavillion where we listened to a 30-minute live presentation about sea turtles. The Oceanographic Center currently houses four sea turtles that cannot be released back into the ocean. Their shells have been too damaged by boat propellors and they would not be able to survive on their own.

These nurse sharks live in the Gamefish Lagoon. You can watch the gamefish feeding Monday-Saturday at 11:30 am and 2:30 pm and Sundays at 2:00 pm.

There are also two nature trails you can explore. The Indian River Lagoon Trail is a 1-mile loop and the I-Spy Trail which is a 1/3-mile loop. The I-Spy trail is fun for little kids but regardless of which trail you choose to explore, I would recommend you bring along some insect repellent.

On the trail, you will discover this replica of an Ays Indian Encampment.

300 years ago Native Americans, such as the Ays Indians, inhabited the coastal hammocks between the ocean and rivers. Their living quarters, called "Chickees," were made from the trees and plants of the hammock.

We spent a few hours at the Oceanographic Center and since it was a typically hot and humid July day here in Florida, we decided to go across the street to Stuart beach afterward for a dip in the ocean. Our timing was amazing because we got to witness the hatching of these adorable baby sea turtles and put our fresh sea turtle knowledge to good use.

Don't worry! The FWC (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation) was called and all the hatchlings made it into the ocean. 

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer or visiting the Florida Oceanographic Coastal Center visit FloridaOcean.org.

Palm Beach Zoo

During a recent trip to Florida, I went with some family members, including my 6-year-old cousin, 3-year-old niece, and my 18-month-old nephew, to the Palm Beach Zoo. I've visited many zoos before and also worked at the Bronx Zoo for several years, which I think has turned me into a bit of a "zoo snob."  Very rarely do I see something that I haven't seen before. So when I walked into the little Palm Beach Zoo I was not expecting to see one of ten white alligators known to exist in the entire world.

On loan from the Audubon Nature Institute in New Orleans, "Mardi" is a snow-white, blue-eyed alligator measuring 9 feet in length and weighing over 230 pounds. There was a sign on the back wall that explained all of this but unfortunately, it was located in a spot where no one noticed it. Visitors were too preoccupied with staring at a creature they never even knew existed to think to look behind them for the animal ID. So the Palm Beach Zoo was filled with misinformed visitors who think they saw an "albino alligator" when they had not. 

I don't mean to single out the Palm Beach Zoo because a lot of zoos and museums have poorly placed signage but they have a rare and beautiful creature on exhibit and are not doing it justice. Many of the animals at this zoo didn't even have identification. My young companions wanted to know the name of every animal we saw but the interpretive signage was severely lacking. So please, (and I'm begging all zoos, aquariums and museums) put your identification labels where people can find them. 

Even if visitors go to this zoo expecting to see an albino alligator I don't think anyone will be disappointed at what they find. If you happen to be in the Palm Beach area Mardi is definitely worth taking a trip to the zoo.