Coastal Companion

Your ultimate guide to the coast

EPA’s Flagship Comes To Savannah, Georgia

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(ATLANTA – APRIL 3, 2009) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Ocean Survey Vessel (OSV) BOLD will make its first appearance in Savannah, Ga., next week. EPA’s 224-foot research flagship will be docked at the Savannah Riverfront and will be open to the public. Free public tours will be conducted Apr. 9 and 10 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. by the U.S. EPA, the University of Georgia Marine Extension Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The OSV BOLD is equipped with state-of-the art sampling, mapping, and analysis equipment including side scan sonar, underwater video, water sampling instruments, and sediment sampling devices, which scientists use in various monitoring activities.

The vessel is a converted U.S. Navy T-AGOS class vessel and is 224 feet long and 43 feet wide. EPA acquired the OSV BOLD on Mar. 31, 2004. The ship, its crew and EPA scientists collect water quality and sediment samples, fish, and other organisms in the Pacific, Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico.

During its tour of duty in the area, the OSV BOLD will be used to:

Monitor ocean dredged material disposal sites in the southeast at four sites, including Savannah, Ga., Jacksonville and Tampa, Fl., and Mobile, Ala.;
Conduct coral reef monitoring in the Dry Tortugas National Park and the surrounding Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary; and
Investigate the ecological impact of an invasive coral species, Tubastraea coccinea, which may pose a threat to the health and biodiversity of Florida, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico reef ecosystems.

The EPA deploys the OSV Bold on numerous scientific surveys each year. The OSV Bold supports EPA’s efforts to monitor and assess impacts on ocean and coastal waters from land- and ocean-based human activities and naturally occurring ecological disturbances. EPA began using the 224-foot OSV Bold as a research vessel in 2005 to perform extensive marine surveys along the Atlantic Coast and Gulf of Mexico. In 2008, the ship visited the Pacific Coast for the first time. It has returned to the east coast and will begin survey activities in the Southeast in April.

For additional information about the OSV Bold, visit www.epa.gov/bold

Butterfly Festival Treehill Nature Center – Jacksonville, Fl

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The Butterfly festival at Treehill Nature Center in Jacksonville, Florida, is a great event for the whole family. The festival takes place on April 25th, 2009, from noon to 5:00 p.m. and culminates with nature’s fireworks – a live native butterfly release. This is something you can’t miss.

“You will experience a close encounter with 1000 of the gossamer-winged creatures at Tree Hill Nature Center’s signature event,” promises Lucy Cortese, executive director.

But there’s a lot more to the festival. If you ever thought about starting your own Butterfly garden, this is the event to visit. Here you can see a butterfly exhibit, lots of games and activities for children, and live music. There’s also Art in the Park where local artists showcase their works. In the Get Back to Nature area you can meet experts from local nurseries who can tell you all you need to know about native plants and herbs. You can also shop at the Monarch Mall for everything from plants to jewelry and much, much more.

Last year, almost 5,000 visitors came to the festival. So came early, and plan to stay all day. The 2009 festival commemorates Tree Hill’s 38th anniversary as Jacksonville’s Nature Center. The 2009 event will focus on Edutainment – education that is entertaining and enlightening to both children and adults.

The cost is $10 per family or $5 per individual. The proceeds goes to support Treehill Nature Center.

Click here to print out your discount coupon.

For more information about the event, visit www.treehill.org


Wild Ways Tours by Amelia River Cruises

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Amelia River Cruises has set the dates for its next series of Wild Ways Tours offering tourists and locals, alike, the unique experience that has earned a nomination as Best of the Best in Boat Cruises by WJXT. Votes are now being recorded for a wide range of Jacksonville and surrounding area businesses by category.
A link to voting can be found on the company’s home page at www.ameliarivercruises.com.

To celebrate this nomination, Captain/historian Kevin McCarthy of Amelia River Cruises and international zoologist/columnist Dr. Pat Foster-Turley are conducting a new series of Wild Ways boat tours this spring in and around Cumberland Sound. Each tour will visit different places and tell different tales of local history and wildlife here and around the world.

All tours will be about three hours long depending on wildlife and wild happenings that are encountered along the way. Tours are scheduled for 10:30 AM on Tuesday March 31st and Tuesday April 28, and at 6 PM on Saturday, May 16th as part of the Wild Amelia Nature Festival. Tours will embark from the Fernandina Beach downtown marina at the foot of Centre Street and cost $38 per person plus tax.

Soft drinks are provided but people are encouraged to bring their own snacks and other drinks if they wish. For more information and to make reservations, call Amelia River Cruises at 904-261-9972.

Those interested in scheduling their own chartered Wild Ways Tour can call the office or visit us on the web at www.ameliarivercruises.com.

$10 Admission for SC Residents in February at South Carolina Aquarium

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During the whole month of February, South Carolina residents can visit the South Carolina Aquarium with a flat rate admission of $10.00 – that’s actually a savings of $7 off adult admission!

Don’t miss the opportunity to see the expanded Touch Tank featuring Atlantic sting rays or take a ride on the kids only Discovery Boat in the new Something’s Fishy Kid Zone, watch a dive show or enjoy a family hike through the new exhibit Camp Carolina.

The aquarium offers tons of interactive fun, daily shows and programs, animal encounters and new exhibits to explore, This Offer is only available to South Carolina residents with valid proof of residency and may not be combined with any other offer. Expires February 28, 2009. For more information, visit scaquarium.org or call (843) 577-3474 (FISH).

Sustainability Fair in Charleston, SC

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Many of us want to live a green lifestyle and make less of an impact on the planet by saving resources, but when it comes down to the practical side of that, how do you live green?
There is an upcoming event at the College of Charleston that might help shed some light on the dilemma and help you move in the right direction.

The goal of the Green Fair is to give members of the community in Charleston lots of great tips, advice and ideas about how to manage to live green. On Thursday, January 29th from 11.00 am to 3.00 pm there is a Green Street Fair at the Collge of Charleston. Here you’ll find a variety of activities from how to use barrels to collect rain water, how to build bird houses, to organic food and drinks.

If you’re nearby, make sure to go and check it out. There’s even a give away of flourescent light bulbs and reusable bags as long as supplies last. So make sure to get to the fair early. Let us know how it went!

His Fingerprints
Creative Commons License photo credit: Randy Son Of Robert