Friends of the Spoil Islands

06/10/2026

https://www.fosifl.org/2026/06/09/__trashed-2/

FOSI and IRLAP would like to thank Matthew Treskovich who chose to enhance spoil island BC-48 for his Eagle Scout project. Matthew and his troop installed two picnic tables, two fire rings and cleared exotic vegetation from trails and campsites. They also replaced an educational sign that had been d...

05/29/2026

Come out to The St. Lucie Aquarium and celebrate World Ocean Day with IRLAP!
This free event is Saturday, June 6 from 10:00-2:00 at the St. Lucie County Aquarium
420 Seaway Dr, Fort Pierce.

05/13/2026

Great news!!!

The St. Johns River Water Management District announced the release of the 2025 Indian River Lagoon (IRL) seagrass monitoring data during today’s Governing Board meeting, showing continued expansion in both seagrass coverage and density across the system.

05/07/2026

Palm Beach County’s Natural Areas staff in collaboration with the Archaeology team are doing some incredible work in Loxahatchee Slough.

Check out “Chapter 1” of a 3-part series at https://youtu.be/6EY8F43aeII?si=e1QUAAx3_r7TFq8u

This is truly groundbreaking work that is completely upending our understanding of Native Americans in the Everglades and especially here in the northern Everglades.

New science shows we were all wrong about the Everglades... Take a journey through the Loxahatchee Slough with Palm Beach County's archeologists who are unco...

05/05/2026

On Friday, our Agriscience students participated in our second (ANGARI's 15th) Lagoon Drift Study Citizen Science Program. Students tossed 40 eco-friendly cards into the river from kayaks, and we need our residents to keep an eye out for these cards. Please see image below for details. Thank you.

05/02/2026

BOLO!

04/28/2026

The Manatee Center in Fort Pierce is hosting their second quarterly Coffee & Conservation with Eco-Partners on Wednesday, April 29th!

IRLAP's Kirk Fusco, will table and share information for a Creekside Chat focused on fascinating horseshoe crabs and his ongoing research.

Despite construction, the Manatee Center is fully operational and the parking lot is fully accessible!

Stop by anytime between 10am and 1pm to enjoy coffee, refreshments and conversation while learning more about the Manatee Center’s upcoming plans! Enjoy a discount to the gift shop too😉

480 N Indian River Dr, Fort Pierce, FL 34950

04/20/2026

IRLAP’s long-time volunteer Kevin had some assistance from a feathered friend when water sampling this past week. As Kevin was collecting data with the YSI and grabbing a water sample, this great egret stopped by to supervise.
Kevin has been an extraordinarily helpful part of the IRLAP team for years, managing IRLAP’s regular Harmful Algal Bloom Water Sampling. A partnership with FWC’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI), Kevin collects water samples and sonde data from four sites monthly and ships them to FWRI’s lab in St. Petersburg. The data from this program are used to track and predict harmful algal blooms around the state.

04/17/2026

Thanks to the proximity of the Titusville Field Station to the Kennedy Space Center, we have a front row seat to humanity’s return to the moon. For the Artemis II Launch, NASA Social invited fifty astronomers, scientists and astrophotographers from around the world to witness the launch as VIPs. Two of the participants who attended the program stayed at the Titusville Field Station dorms. Fefo Bouvier is an astrophotographer and astronomy popularizer based in Uruguay. He specializes in landscape astrophotography, combining starry skies with natural scenery through long exposure techniques and astronomical planning. He has documented some of the darkest skies in South America. NASA has selected six of his images as Astronomy Picture of the Day, earning him international recognition. Dr. Teresa Paneque is an astronomer and science communicator from Chile currently working at the Michigan University as assistant professor and research fellow funded by the Michigan Society of Fellows and 51 Pegasi B program of Heising-Simons Foundation. Tere is also a published author with three children’s books in Spanish focused on astronomy.