LaGoonies Newsletter September 2022

LaGoonies Newsletter September 2022

by | Sep 5, 2022 | LaGoonies Newsletter

Building Connection and Community to our Watershed, Human and Non-human alike Through Intentional Education.

Newsletter September 2022
lakeworthwaterkeeper.org

Partner Highlight

The Loxahatchee Battlefield Preservationists are long-time LaGoonies partners, joining us for both our regular LaGoonies sessions and our Summer Series. This dedicated group of volunteer re-enactors bring Florida’s unique and often overlooked history to life from a diverse array of perspectives. They offer several different programs and events for people interested in learning more about Florida History. Visit their website for more details here.

BOOK HIGHLIGHT

High Tide for Horseshoe Crabs by Lisa Kahn Schnell & Alan Marks

Learn about horseshoe crabs, their life cycle, and the important role they play in their ecosystems with this beautifully illustrated book. Every year thousands of horseshoe crabs arrive on Delaware beaches to spawn, and humans wait to tag and research them so they may better understand these mysterious creatures. We are starting a similar project here in Palm Beach County!

Summer Series Recap

This year’s Family Summer Series was full of great outdoor adventure and exploration! During our BioBlitz we catalogued some of the different and surprising species living at Jewell Cove. Our benthic sampling event at JPP was a hit as we explored shoreline vegetation for shrimp, snails, and more! We hosted a screening of ‘Hidden Wilds’ at the Lake Worth Playhouse, had a morning of Seminole storytelling with the Loxahatchee Battlefield Preservationists, and went on night hikes and morning kayaks! If you missed out on these events, never fear- we have lots of programs planned for the fall! Check out our website for more details! We hope to see you out there!

 

    XO,
Melissa & Alex

What’s Happening Now in the Lagoon?

Hurricane Season

Named after the K’iche’ Mayan god Huracan (one-legged), also referred to as U Kʼux Kaj (Heart of the Sky) – Hurricane season runs from June 1-Nov. 30, usually peaking in mid-September. Formed in low pressure areas by warm wet air currents building over warm waters, these storms are a destructive but essential part of our coastal ecosystems. Hurricanes have the power to not only physically shape our environment, but also the plant and animal communities that live there. They recharge our aquifers by providing an influx of fresh water from the rain, and the waves and storm surges deposit much needed nutrients and sediment into our coastal habitats.

Sea Turtle Nesting Season

Three different species of sea turtles can be found nesting along our beaches in Palm Beach County. While the main event happens beach-side, juvenile green sea turtles flock to our protected Lagoon to graze on our sea grass beds!

Baby Needlefish

Atlantic needlefish spawning typically takes place in May and June, which makes the summer months a good time to spot the little cuties wiggling their way around the surface of the Lagoon. Look for them closer to shore, where they’re not as vulnerable to predators.

Did you know?

The Red Mangrove has a very unique life cycle. Instead of starting life as a seed, red mangroves produce live young- they are a viviparous tree! These already germinated, mini mangroves- called propagules- drop off the mature tree and drift off in the currents, ready to root wherever they find a good spot. On our most recent mangrove maintenance day, we planted young mangrove propagules AND we got to see trees we planted years ago producing propagules of their own! The cycle continues….

Upcoming Adventures

Base Camp Programs

This summer LWWK achieved a long-time dream by opening our very first education space, which we call Base Camp. We are looking forward to using this space to host classes, workshops, community events, and so much more! We’ve been busy packing our events calendar so make sure to keep an eye on our social media and website for updates!



VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR MORE DETAILS OR TO SIGN UP!

Every 4th Saturday Morning

Annual Club Dues:
LaGoonie Alum – $25
Non-LaGoonie – $50

Year-long ExEd Program

This year-long enrichment program focuses on the earth and our place in it. We focus on building knowledge and skills so youth may grow into stewards of their community and, by proxy, contributing members of larger global communities of both human and nonhuman alike.

Private Sessions

If you have between 5 to 10 kids you can start your own LaGoonies group! Your group will be able to pick your own time and day slot that works best for you. The private groups are available for our 10-week sessions or labs! Email melissa.l@lakeworthwaterkeeper.org for more information!

LaGoonies 10 Week Fall Sessions

Lake Worth
Tuesdays 10am-12pm; 3-5pm
(September 13th – November 15th)
Jupiter
Thursdays 3-5pm
(September 15th – November 17th)

Attention parents and educators!

This summer the Lake Worth Waterkeeper staff is working hard to create more educational resources for you to use at home and in your classrooms. Learning Resource bins will be available to sign out to learn more about our watershed and our staff will be available for what we are calling ‘labs” which are in-depth lessons for middle school ages kids. Look out for those in the fall!

Activities

Get Involved.

One of the Lake Worth Waterkeeper’s, and by extension, LaGoonies’, main tenants is that we all have a part to play in protecting our environment. Life in South Florida revolves around water, and it is our responsibility to protect that water and all who rely on it. If you want to support a watershed effort to protect our waterways, consider coming out to one of our clean up days. We have them twice a month rotating between Jewell-Steinhardt Cove and Bryant Park. Those who need service or volunteers hours are welcome and on some days we will have Professor Screech to help us learn more about that environment!

Get Outside With Lake Worth Waterkeeper and iNaturalist!

Download the Newsletter as a PDF
How much are mangroves worth?

How much are mangroves worth?

by | Jul 5, 2022 | Blog, Science

It’s no secret that we at Lake Worth Waterkeeper are big mangrove fans.

At least twice a month you can find us and our intrepid volunteers tromping around in our mangrove planters at Jewell Cove and Bryant Park, picking up trash, looking for fiddler crabs, and checking on our mangrove nursery. We love mangroves so much because we understand and appreciate what they do for our human and non-human communities, our mental and physical well-being, and even our economy!

In much of south Florida, our economy is tourism based– fishing, diving, boating, and almost perpetually sunny beaches are huge draws to people from all over the world. Businesses of all kinds reap the economic benefits of tourists and snowbirds flocking to our coastal communities – and we have mangrove systems to thank for most of it!

Mangroves are considered a nursery ecosystem, providing food and shelter for hundreds of species of juvenile fish. An estimated 75% of the game fish and 90% of the commercial species in south Florida rely on mangrove systems during at least part of their life cycle.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) estimates that saltwater commercial fishing generates $3.2 billion in income, and supports 76,700 jobs. Saltwater recreational fishing brings in around $9.2 billion, and supports 88,501 jobs. Many species of tropical fish also rely on mangroves during their life cycles. In a study published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in 2021 looking a reef-related diving and snorkeling, it was estimated that Palm Beach County accounted for the highest economic impact and number of jobs supported by the dive industry. Results from this study show that reef- related diving and snorkeling in Southeast Florida support 8,668 jobs and generate about $902 million in total economic output over the course of a year. We owe a LOT of our tourism dollars and jobs to these mangrove ecosystems!
Mangroves play such a large role in supporting fish, and other marine and estuarine (and even some freshwater) species because they create habitat. Specifically, the red mangrove, or walking tree, with its distinctive aerial root system, plays a unique and essential role in creating productive estuarine habitat. Their roots grow down into the water and create underwater labyrinths perfect for hiding from larger predators. The submerged roots also provide hard substrate for organisms like oysters, barnacles, sponges and other invertebrates. Their leaves drop down into the water and decompose into nutrient rich detritus, feeding a variety of organisms and creating a strong base for many food webs, including those that support those valuable game and commercial fish species!
horseshoe crab wades into calm water from the shoreline lake worth waterkeeper
Mangroves are also allies in the fight against climate change. They are among the most carbon-rich forests in the tropics, sequestering up to four times as much carbon as rainforest per unit area. One estimate puts the carbon sequestration services of Caribbean mangroves at ~$6.6 billion. Continued loss of mangroves would release this dangerous stored carbon into the atmosphere.
The tangled, dense roots and branches of the red mangrove also act as barriers against storm surges and wave action that can cause erosion, property damage, and even loss of life. A scientific study published by the Nature Conservancy, UC Santa Cruz, and RMS found that the presence of mangroves significantly reduced the damages from storms and are a strong first line of defense for coastal communities.
The study concluded that mangroves in Florida prevented $1.5 billion in flood damages and protected over half a million people during Hurricane Irma in 2017, reducing damages by nearly 25% in counties with mangroves. According to the study, mangroves most effectively reduce flood risk where they are abundant and located in front of areas with high densities of people and property. In vulnerable Miami-Dade County, urban coastal mangroves protected high-value coastal properties from over $134 million in potential flood damages from Hurricane Irma. According to an International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) summary, the insurance industry is increasingly interested in the role mangroves can play in protecting property, even leading some to lower premiums in areas where mangroves are shown to reduce property damage from storms and therefore, large insurance pay-outs.

In comparison, the Snook Island restoration project off the Lake Worth Golf Course cost about $18 million, and when Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne hit mid-construction, neither the project, nor the Lake Worth Golf Course shoreline sustained damage.

In areas where those systems have already been lost or degraded, there is a strong economic and ecological case for mangrove restoration. Approximately 70% of the Lake Worth Lagoon shoreline is man-made bulkhead. We have a wonderful opportunity in our communities to invest in living shoreline preservation and restoration. In many cases, protecting and restoring whole mangrove systems has been shown to be less costly than building and maintaining artificial storm protection, and they provide many more ecosystem services, such as habitat creation, than artificial shorelines.

It is clear from the research that natural, intact mangrove systems offer the most value for local communities, governments, and investors.

It is difficult to quantify in dollars the total value of natural places. These estimates still don’t adequately capture the entire value of our mangrove systems, and in reality, they are likely even more valuable than the numbers reflect. While we can put a price on certain parts or functions of an ecosystem, how much is a day spent fishing with your children, or a once in a lifetime encounter with a sawfish truly worth?
These are questions that only we as individuals and communities can answer. The research does make one thing clear: the high value of these intact, healthy ecosystems challenges the generally held assumption that profiting off of nature has to involve extraction. In many cases, and certainly when it comes to mangroves, nature is more valuable to us when it is protected, restored, and allowed to thrive.

If you want to learn more about mangrove systems and experience them for yourself, join us on one of our mangrove maintenance days!

LaGoonies recap: January – March 2022

LaGoonies recap: January – March 2022

by | Mar 28, 2022 | Blog, LaGoonies Theme

What is a LaGoonie?

A person who acknowledges their ecological role and understands that it is through learning and experience that one can envision a better tomorrow.

When our LaGoonies program first began, it consisted of our Waterkeeper, Reinaldo, taking groups of kids out to explore the wild (and not so wild) places around Lake Worth. The goal was to instill a sense of place in these children and encourage them to build relationships of respect, curiosity, and stewardship with our natural world, our waterways, and our wildlife. Our LaGoonies program has grown dramatically since then, but our mission remains the same! We now have two dedicated facilitators and are offering three different LaGoonies sessions a season (spring and fall) along with multiple private groups, adult LaGoonies, and LaGoonie Labs!

Read on for some of the highlights from our most recent sessions and learn what else your LaGoonies team is cooking up for the summer and fall!

Fishing is always one of the highlights of our LaGoonies sessions, and Reinaldo wouldn’t have it any other way! An avid angler and former wildlife guide, much of what inspired Reinaldo to start this chapter of the Waterkeepers was his love of fishing. With that in mind, our fishing days include conversations around how to handle fish properly and respectfully, how to make sure we are not leaving trash or gear around that could end up in our waterways, and the different species of fish that rely on our mangrove ecosystems.

Nature journaling is another core component of the LaGoonies as it encourages us to take time to observe, consider, and record what we are experiencing in nature. You don’t have to be a great artist to enjoy nature journaling. Instead, the value of this activity is in the development of attention and curiosity about the world around us as well as a chance for deeper exploration of animals or topics that our LaGoonies found particularly interesting

We have also been ramping up our local partnerships in order to bring an ever growing range of experiences and topics to our LaGoonies groups!

Our partnership with Gurfer Lady Mary Glazier has gotten our LaGoonies stoked about paddling out and riding the waves! Surfing is a great way to get in the water and learn more about our coastal ecosystems. We also partner with Mary to offer a monthly Gurfer/LaGoonies mash-up where we explore a range of coastal and beach science topics, including weather patterns, ecology, and wave formation before hopping on our boards and getting in the water. Those two hour sessions will start up once the surf conditions are a little more favorable so keep an eye out on our Facebook page!

While exploring and understanding our natural world is an essential part of our LaGoonies program, no ‘sense of place’ is complete without an understanding of history, and boy does Palm Beach County have some interesting history! Our partnership with the Loxahatchee Battlefield Preservationists has brought history to life for our LaGoonies through their engaging presentations and reenactments surrounding the local history in our area.

Our newest partnership is with the folks at the American Shark Conservancy, a local nonprofit studying the shark populations in our Lagoon. LaGoonies get to learn the real science behind these essential but often misunderstood members of our Lagoon community (lagoonity??) through learning about shark anatomy, their role in the food web, and how and why we tag and study sharks.

There is only so much we can do in 2 hours when we have the whole world to explore! This desire to dive a little deeper into certain topics, as well as wanting to offer something for middle school aged kids, was the inspiration behind our newest offering: LaGoonies Labs.

The LaGoonie Lab sessions are once a week for four weeks- consisting of four-hour days devoted to exploring larger topics more in-depth.

LaGoonies Labs

Ages 11-15 (Middle School)
10am – 2pm

10 person max, per lab

Please pack a lunch for the day.

Art-In-Action (Environment): $120 - March 15, 22, 29 + April 5

Facilitator: Melissa L. 

Dates: Tuesdays – March 15, 22, 29, April 5 

Cost: $120 (Extra $20 for supplies)

Artivism combines the best of art and activism, emphasizing that we can connect with others through art while voicing our concerns on the topics that matter most. This Lab allows LaGoonies to research and discuss local issues while practicing their craft to come together to create a piece or pieces that speak to our community. This Lab will focus on environmental issues and as a group, will decide the focus of our final project.

Register Here

Offshore Ecosystems: $100 - April 6, 13, 20, 27
Facilitator: Alex M.
Dates: Wednesdays – April 6, 13, 20, 27
Cost $100

Offshore ecosystems may seem far away but they can still have profound impacts on our coastal lives. The three main offshore or pelagic ecosystems in Palm Beach County are the Sargasso Sea, the Gulf Stream, and the human-created Plastisphere. These ecosystems bring us everything from warm waters and hurricanes to man o’ wars, trash and treasure- even our beloved sea turtles are impacted by these ecosystems! Join our LaGoonies Lab to investigate these fascinating, sometimes mysterious habitats through art and science, study their impacts on our lives and beaches, and explore our role and impact in the natural community.

Register Here

Art-In-Action (History): $120 - May 17, 24, 31 + June 7

Facilitator: Melissa L. 

Dates Tuesdays – May 17, 24, 31, June 7 

Cost: $120 (Extra $20 for supplies)

Artivism combines the best of art and activism, emphasizing that we can connect with others through art while voicing our concerns on the topics that matter most. This Lab allows LaGoonies to research and discuss local issues while practicing their craft to come together to create a piece or pieces that speak to our community. This Lab will focus on history, more specifically, lost stories of Florida and as a group, will decide the focus of our final project. 

Register Here

Food Webs (Nature's Balancing Act): $100 - TBD

Facilitator: Autumn K.

Dates: TBD

Cost: $100 

A food web is a beautiful representation of the ways in which all life is interconnected.  Join us in balancing on energy’s figurative high wire as it makes its way from the sun to the Earth, up to apex predator and back again. Using science, artistic play, and creation, and even circus, we will explore the meaning of ‘alive’, the function of energy, and the path that energy takes through an ecosystem. Every organism plays a role in the ecosystem it lives in, whether it be microscopic phytoplankton that form the base of the ocean food chain and produce 70% of the Earth’s oxygen, or an apex predator like the Florida panther that keeps the populations of deer, rabbits, and raccoons in check. Even humans affect this delicate balancing act as the land we convert for housing, agriculture, and energy removes habitat available to wildlife. In this lab, LaGoonies will learn about how organisms interact with their habitat and other organisms, the balance maintained by these interactions, and how humans affect this balance.

“Art-In-Action combines the best of art and activism, emphasizing that we can connect with others through art, while voicing our concerns on the topics that matter most.”

It may seem like our LaGoonies team has a lot on their plate, but that hasn’t stopped us from dreaming up even more opportunities for our community to live that LaGoonie life! Stay tuned for updates on our summer camp, our Summer Family Series, and dates for LaGoonies Fall Sessions!