2014 Florida Volunteer Updates

As the North Atlantic right whales migrate to the South Georgia/Northern Florida coast each winter volunteers help watch for and capture critical details related to this endangered species. This information helps scientists track the fate of the species and acts as a first alert system to pilots in the shipping lanes to avoid accidental killings. This blog shares the findings, photos and other pertinent information gathered from the Palm Coast Sector Volunteer Team while helping to connect and communicate the many ways we can protect the right whales and sustain our wonderful ocean life.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

BP / Gulf Oil Disaster - Information & Ways We Can Help


This is such a sad and disgraceful situation and we all need to pull together and find ways to help. Here are a few lists of weblinks with information on the current situation and how we can help. Please email me with information you may have and I will share it with others.  cs


Oil Spill Status / News / Charts / Articles
Daily updates on the location of the oil slick which is currently schedules to hit our shores June 6...just two days shy of “World Oceans Day” :(
Daily updates on the status of topping off and locating the slick, weather and biological response service information
The official site of the Deepwater Horizon Unified Command with news and updated announcements related to the situation and fishing areas.
Want to Volunteer? Here’s a few ways you can help
National Wildlife Rehabilitation Association - For those with at least 6 months experience with oil spills and at least 4 hours of Hasmat training and those that wish to learn how to be trained. 
All Other Volunteers - By State & Hotlines
If you or someone you know is interested in volunteering, please call the Deepwater Horizon Response Volunteer Request Line at 1-866-448-5816 or visit the Web sites below.

State specific volunteer opportunities:
Volunteer Hotlines:   
  • Report oiled shoreline or request volunteer information:
    (866)-448-5816
  • Submit your vessel as a vessel of opportunity skimming system:
    (281) 366-5511
Beach Status - Website page with links to state beaches for information on the condition or status of a beach.
Bird Rescue Operations
The oil spill involves a ruptured drilling platform approximately 50 miles off the Louisiana coast. The drilling rig, the Deepwater Horizon, exploded on April 20, 2010 and sank in 5,000 feet of water. More than 100 workers scrambled off the burning rig in lifeboats. 11 workers died.
At least 40 million gallons of crude has been dumped into the Gulf of Mexico and harmed fragile breeding grounds for Brown Pelicans and other shorebirds. Six weeks after the blow out, BP has yet to significantly stem the flow in the nation's worst oil disaster. Here are a few more links to sites on the status of the bird rescue operations. 
Daily report released each day at noon on the status of birds effected by the 2010 Gulf Oil Spill. To report injured or dead wildlife in the impact area call 1-866-557-1401
news, views and photos from IBRRC’s work with oiled, sick and injured acquatic birds
National Wildlife Federation - Text “WILDLIFE” to 20222 to donate $10 to support Gulf Wildlife
Wildlife and wild places are facing the worst ecological disaster in U.S. history. Dolphins, manatees, countless fish species--as well as nesting birds and sea turtles--all are at risk in the Gulf due to the oil spill.
For many of these precious creatures, the threat is deadly.
Help support National Wildlife Federation's on-the-ground volunteer and restoration efforts by donating to our Gulf Oil Spill Restoration Fund.
Millions of birds are nesting and breeding in the path of what may well become America's worst environmental catastrophe. Oil continues to stream uncontrolled into the Gulf of Mexico from the site of a destroyed drilling platform.
The deadly and growing slick has already reached sensitive coastal areas of Louisiana. Globally significant Important Bird Areas - essential to survival of already-imperiled species - are at risk from Louisiana to Florida's Gulf Coast. The danger is real for all kinds of birds. For more info here
Events / Fund Raisers / Great Websites - As of June 2010
KICK THE SLICK - Information on July 25th Benefit Spectacular in Jacksonville, FL
KICK THE SLICK - The men who died, the impact on our waters, the impact on the wildlife

Our Gulf Waterkeepers are the first line of defense during this ongoing disaster. Their incredible knowledge of the marshes, wetlands, beaches, and inner-coastal waters make them invaluable first responders. Their commitment makes them critical and effective community leaders. And their dedication to a full recovery is unmatched. Please help now: Your donations will provide everything Waterkeepers need, from clean-up supplies and protective gear to emergency office space and food for volunteers.
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Friday, June 4, 2010

Let's Help Kick The Slick!


"From there to here, from here to there, funny things are everywhere." 
Dr. Sueus

June 8th is World Oceans Day. It's the undersea version of Earth Day and has been growing over the past few years and for 2010 the celebratory plans took it up a notch as The Ocean Project joined forces with Dr. Seuss. Dr. Seuss? Well it just so happens that June 8th is also the 50th anniversary of the Dr. Seuss children's classic, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish so they got together and developed fun family educational events that are taking place this weekend.

And who would have ever fathomed that this would be overshadowed by the world's worst oil spill in history. I'm certainly having a hard time celebrating as I sit here stunned at the news and photos while BP Oil continues to gush into the Gulf.  But then again, maybe it's a good thing. I mean it is by far the largest wake up call to date so what better time for us to learn what we can do to help as well as how we can help our oceans in general be it along the shores of our own beaches or how we interact with and impact all waters on land and sea. 

I perused the World Oceans Day events list and found many fun family events taking place today and throughout the weekend. They range from celebrity book readings at bookstores in California, to large family oriented events in Boston at the wharf to educational presentations about our oceans ecosystems and even training for the Great Annual Fish Count. Then I noticed a few events surfacing in Florida that are focused on the BP Oil spill and what we can do to help. Here are two examples: 

Plan for the Worst - Expect the Best! 
Join together with Palm Beach County Florida residents at Boynton Beach Inlet Park on June 22nd to learn what you can do to help Florida's coastal communities and species prepare for the impact of the BP Oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

"KICK THE SLICK" Meeting
July 25, 2010 - Jacksonville, FL - meeting to organize "Kick the Slick" = A 12-hour benefit spectacular with live music and a silent auction of original art and other treasures with all proceeds going to benefit the most urgent needs arising from the tragic Gulf Coast oil slick.

Isn't it amazing how in the midst of tragedy it is in our very nature to pull together and find some good. Even as reports today confirmed the oil slick will reach the Pensacola beaches any day now I have a feeling that most if not all of the local events in our country will go on as planned with some changes and in some form or fashion will now include discussions about and information on ways we can all help.

So how can we help? It starts with you and me. Information. Education and pulling together. Take a look at the links below as well as in your local event listings for events taking place near you and then tell a friend or better yet bring a friend. And if you don't have one think about organizing your own "Kick The Slick" event. 

Oh, and as to the Dr. Seuss 50th anniversary - if you don't have your own copy of One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish to read on June 8th head out to your local bookstore and pick up a copy of the special Random House 50th anniversary edition. It's sure to be a collectors item. 

Yours in the ocean and yellowfish life.
cs/

Relevant Weblinks:






"The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory."
Howard Zinn (1922-2010)
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