FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Sept. 28, 2012
FIRST LADY ANN SCOTT CELEBRATES NATIONAL ESTUARIES DAY
~Event highlights importance of estuarine education and conservation~
 First Lady Ann Scott reads to children inside the nature center of Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve
EASTPOINT
– More than 600 guests were in attendance as the Florida Department of
Environmental Protection’s Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve
hosted First Lady Ann Scott at its annual open house celebration in honor of
National Estuaries Day. The event focused on the importance of the water and
environment in estuaries that are home to an abundance of Florida’s birds,
wildlife and fish.
“National Estuary Day provides an opportunity to
teach our children about the importance of Florida’s waters and coasts,” said
First Lady Ann Scott, “Florida’s ecosystems are delicate and require
preservation for our future generations to learn from and enjoy.”
The First Lady participated in a variety of events
set up around the Reserve and led an educational reading session for the
children and families. Children of all ages listened to Mrs. Scott read the environmental
children’s book A House for Hermit Crab,
written by Eric Carle.
After the children finished their sea critter
activity sheets, touched tanks of living sea creatures and created
environmental art projects, the First Lady took a tour of the reserve’s research
facility. The facility features advanced technology that monitors the health of
the Apalachicola ecosystem, one of the most productive and pristine estuarine
systems in the northern hemisphere.
“We are so
honored that First Lady Ann Scott attended this important event in support of
National Estuaries Day,” said Kevin Claridge, director of the Department’s
office of Coastal and Aquatic Managed Areas. “The area that Apalachicola
Reserve protects is a critical estuarine system and her attendance highlights
the importance of these systems to Florida.”
This celebration also included activities such as T-shirt
giveaways, a beach scavenger hunt, ocean bingo and other activities for young
children.
A similar event was held in St. Augustine at the
Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve and an event is
scheduled for Saturday in Naples at the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research
Reserve. Florida is home to three of the nation’s 28 reserves protected by the
NERR System, totaling more than 1.3 million acres of resilient estuaries and coastal
watersheds where human and natural communities thrive.
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