In September, when Hurricane Helene churned through Northwest Florida, the storm ravaged Seahorse Key, a 165-acre island located three miles off the coast of Cedar Key. A lab there that had served as a cornerstone of UF/IFAS marine research and educational programs was destroyed by floodwaters.
“The lab was a gateway to marine science for students of all ages,” said Mike Allen, director of the UF/IFAS Nature Coast Biological Station (NCBS) in Cedar Key, which operates the lab.
A UF/IFAS fundraiser aims to raise $350,000 to build a pavilion to replace the now-demolished building, rebuild the electrical system so it’s fully solar powered and update the drinking water system on the island.
NCBS is approaching the project with resilience in mind. The marine lab will morph from a humble, trailer-like building to a robust outdoor learning station better equipped to withstand future storms. No longer powered by propane and gasoline painstakingly hauled from the mainland by boat, the lab will run off the new solar power system with a back-up generator for emergencies. Overhead fans will mitigate the heat. Touch tanks will hold easily accessible marine life.
UF/IFAS has used Seahorse Key and the marine lab for research since the 1950s. Generations of researchers from other schools – including Santa Fe College, Purdue University and the University of Tennessee – have also benefited from the facilities on the island.
In years when hurricane activity is minimal, UF/IFAS shepherds hundreds of K-12 students from NCBS to Seahorse Key. The budding researchers collect specimens on and around the island and bring their discoveries back to the lab for inspection, identification and, sometimes, dissection. The experience offers an up-close introduction to sea life that’s unavailable in traditional classrooms.
Generations of fourth graders from Oak Hall School have relished Seahorse Key field trips. The excursions promote homeroom bonding during the first academic year that students at the Gainesville school switch classrooms for each subject.
Helen Hite, a fourth-grade math teacher, has spotted dolphins with her students every time she chaperones a trip to Seahorse Key.
“The kids see the beauty of our great state of Florida during these outings,” Hite said. “When they graduate from Oak Hall as seniors, many say their favorite school memory was the trip to Seahorse Key.”
Allen expects the fundraiser will continue through the end of the year. To donate, visit ncbs.ifas.ufl.edu/donate. For additional information about donating, contact Haley Muse, assistant director of development for the UF Office of Advancement, at haleyfelton@ufl.edu or 352-575-5260.
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ABOUT UF/IFAS
The mission of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) is to develop knowledge relevant to agricultural, human and natural resources and to make that knowledge available to sustain and enhance the quality of human life. With more than a dozen research facilities, 67 county Extension offices, and award-winning students and faculty in the UF College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, UF/IFAS brings science-based solutions to the state’s agricultural and natural resources industries, and all Florida residents.
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