Vol. 4, No. 3

January 2008

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Photo by Rob O'Neal/Florida Keys News Bureau

Alexandra Cousteau, center, and her brother Philippe watch David Vaughan, director of coral reef research for Mote Marine Laboratory, submerge to clean the glass of a reef tank that is the focal point of Mote's new Living Reef Exhibit at the Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center. The grandchildren of the late ocean explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau visited the center as part of an event created by their ocean conservation organization, EarthEcho International.

By Carol Shaughnessy
Florida Keys News Bureau

The Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center is to celebrate its first anniversary Saturday, Feb. 2, with the grand opening of Mote Marine Laboratory's Living Reef Exhibit. The 6,400-square-foot center, the visitor center for the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, showcases the Keys' unique ecosystem including the living coral reef that parallels the island chain.

At the Feb. 2 celebration, set for 3:30 p.m., visitors can tour the center, explore a 200-gallon touch tank aboard the Mote Mobile, view environmental exhibits and enjoy food and drinks.

Event highlights are to include the presentation of a Coastal America Award for the sanctuary's coral rescue, relocation, nursery and restoration programs.

Photo by Andy Newman/Florida Keys News Bureau

Visitors to the Eco-Discovery Center can experience a walk-through version of the Aquarius Undersea Lab that is submerged off Key Largo.

The exhibit's focal point is a 2,500-gallon reef tank featuring fish and invertebrates indigenous to the Keys. Visitors also can view tanks of hard and soft corals, find out how long-spined sea urchins can assist in reef restoration and learn about Mote's "coral nursery," where more than 22 species of corals are being propagated for replanting on reefs.

Other Eco-Discovery Center highlights include interactive audio-video learning stations and a walk-through version of the Aquarius Undersea Lab, the world's only operational underwater laboratory, now located off Key Largo.

The center is open free to the public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. For more information, call (305) 809-4750.

By Andy Newman
Florida Keys News Bureau

The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and the Monroe County Tourist Development Council have been named to "Islands" magazine's top 100 sustainable travel list.

"The 100 people, places and things that made our (Blue List) are the very best of the worlds of islands responsible tourism," wrote "Islands" editor Ty Sawyer. "They are models that are working. And they are role models that should be followed."

For the sanctuary, writer Suzanne Gerber commented, "To encourage healthy human-dolphin interactions in the wild, the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary has teamed up with the government and private business partners to launch its Dolphin SMART program … This is the kind of conservation policy typical of the 17-year-old marine sanctuary, whose mission is to protect the Florida Keys' coral reef — North America's only living-coral barrier reef."

About TDC, Gerber wrote: "In the Florida Keys, the 25-year-old Monroe County Tourism Development Council works to sustain the character of this nearly 1,700-island archipelago … More recent projects include renovation of an 1891 customs house to create the Key West Museum of Art & History, the creation of three artificial reefs that provide new habitats for marine life and the 2006 opening of the Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center where you can learn about the Keys' fragile environment."

The two Keys entities are the only from Florida recognized in the list.

By Carol Shaughnessy
Florida Keys News Bureau

Photos courtesy Deer Run Bed and Breakfast

Deer Run is situated on the Atlantic Ocean.

At breakfast, guests at the small Caribbean-style inn can savor vegetarian feasts prepared by the innkeepers and staff. Home-baked breads and fruits are predominantly organic and sourced locally, and the kitchen serves only organic fair trade coffee and tea.

Guestrooms feature organic cotton towels, cruelty-free eco-friendly products are used throughout the inn and water is collected in rain barrels for irrigation.

The protected and diminutive Key deer frequently walk property grounds at Deer Run Bed and Breakfast.

Late in 2007, Deer Run became the Lower Florida Keys' first certified member of the Green Lodging Program. The program was created by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to recognize and reward the state's environmentally conscious lodging facilities.

For more Deer Run information and reservations, click here or call (305) 872-2015.

From mangrove-lined creeks in Key Largo to secluded coastlines in the remote Dry Tortugas, the Florida Keys and surrounding shallow tropical waters possess natural and man-made wonders unrivaled in the continental United States.

Photo by Burnhamink.com

Kayaking is a quiet way to enjoy the clear waters and sparkling sunlight of the Florida Keys in winter.

Accompanying field notes provide route-finding information, including GPS coordinates, suggested routes, paddling highlights, natural history and color photography.

For more details, visit FloridaPaddling.com.

Competitors enjoy camaraderie and the cool beach air during the Half Shell Half Marathon.

Now in its 10th year, the race typically attracts participants from throughout the United States, Great Britain, Canada and Mexico.

Participants can register and pick up race packets 5-8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 26, at a booth at the Half Shell Raw Bar, Lands End Marina at the foot of Margaret Street. The registration booth also will be open on race day starting at 6 a.m.

Entry fee is $40 per person ($45 on race day), with proceeds benefiting Key West High School's track program.

For more information and special racers' accommodation rates, call Barbara Wright at (305) 296-7182 or e-mail bwpromo3@bellsouth.net.

For more travel information on the Florida Keys:
www.fla-keys.com