In early 2021, the Marine Environmental Education Center at Carpenter House (MEEC), a partnership between NSU and the Broward County Parks Department, hopes to unveil a series of habitat aquarium tanks to highlight different habitats such as coral reefs, mangroves and seagrass beds. This exhibit will be located on the east side of the pool that houses Captain, the MEEC’s resident green sea turtle. The exhibit will also complement the existing educational programming at the center, which covers topics of marine science, conservation, marine debris and more.
“Anytime you can see an animal or coral up close, you will always learn more about it than if you just read about it in a book. There are a lot of people that aren’t as exposed to this education, so this is a way to bring it to them… We want to teach people a bit about what is in our backyard and how these different habitats work together,” said Derek Burkholder, a research scientist at NSU and director of the MEEC.
According to Burkholder, the desire for an exhibit like this, focused on habitats, has been discussed. Each of these custom built tanks, expected to be about 300 gallons, will focus on the habitats that are present in South Florida. Each tank will exhibit a specific habitat along with the other creatures — fish and invertebrates — that live and use each of the environments.
Burkholder explained that, in South Florida, there are a lot of habitats struggling or in danger of being impacted by human activities and other factors. By bringing these habitats to the public, it becomes an educational tool to get people engaged with the local coral reefs and hopefully encourage them to want to protect the habitats.
“Florida’s coral reefs have been decimated by stony coral tissue loss disease, a serious outbreak that started in 2014. We are excited to partner with NSU, which is on the forefront of disease research and reef restoration, to bring awareness to our beautiful reefs.” said Melissa Sathe, an NSU alumna and president of Friends of our Florida Reefs (FOFR).
This project and its funding is a collaborative effort between FOFR and other organizations to generate the funds to purchase, build and put these exhibits on display.
“We are still in the fundraising stage, but we were given a $5,000 private donation to kick things off. Right now, we are focusing on one of these tanks to start, which is the coral tank. With the initial donation, we have started the custom build of the tank with inserts and designs. We are also developing educational components and signage that will accompany the tank. Hopefully, as we generate funds, we will be able to add the additional two tanks to the space as well,” said Burkholder.
The mission of the MEEC is to provide the most up-to-date information in the field and provide access to research and educational tools. With this collaboration, the MEEC believes it will broaden awareness of these local habitats, tap into the knowledge-base of local collaborators and drive traffic to visitors to learn more about what information the MEEC provides.
“As an NSU alum, I’m excited to partner with my alma mater. Last year, FOFR funded tanks for coral spawning research at NSU and we are excited to collaborate again with NSU through the MEEC as a way to educate and outreach to the local community. The MEEC is the perfect place to bring the wonders of Florida’s coral reefs to the people of South Florida,” said Sathe.
Their hours of operation are Tuesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For those interested in donating to this project, they are encouraged to donate to the FOFR MEEC Match Challenge or visit the MEEC’s website to learn more.
