It is a beautiful time of year in South Florida and a great time to give back to the community. Our beaches and reef system are some of the nicest in all of Florida and we have our Saturday volunteers to thank for that. Join us this Saturday to help with the cleanup effort and meet Jim Hendee, local resident and oceanographer with the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Hendee, a 20+ year veteran oceanographer, is an internationally recognized expert on Coral Reefs and will be giving a 5-10 minute speech at 9:00 AM on Saturday March 5th to help educate the volunteers about the importance of their work, and to thank them for their commitment to their community and the environment.
Hendee is the program manager for NOAA’s Coral Health and Monitoring Program (CHAMP), which instituted the very first coral reef-related Web page, the world’s largest list-server dedicated to coral reef research, and the Coral Reef Early Warning System (CREWS). Jim was was also the founder of the NOAA “Reef Fest” and his brief biography can be found at: http://www.reeffest.org/jim-bio.php
The LBTS Beach Clean-up, which was started by the Chamber of Commerce in 2009, occurs on the first Saturday of every month at 9:00 AM . Volunteers are asked to meet at the Pavilion on Commercial Blvd. at the beach by 9:00 AM. Gloves, bags and water will be provided. The clean-up is sponsored by the Lauderdale-By-The-Sea Chamber of Commerce/Welcome Center.
