St. Joseph Bay Preserves
March 31 - April 9, 2017
Tour Host
Friends of
St. Joseph Bay Preserves
I'm thrilled to be back along the 'Forgotten Coast' and honored to be hosted by Friends of St. Joseph Bay Preserves, who are protecting and promoting this unique and amazing ecosystem.
The St. Joseph Bay Preserves are home to more than 20 endangered plants, one of the highest concentrations of rare plants in the Southeast.
They are also home to 21 known archaeological and historical sites, including one of the most significant shell-tool manufacture sites in the region.
"Oooooo, you made THAT out of trash? That is so cool! I want to do that."
“I was inspired by Bette’s project. It was both that the message was so compelling and that the artwork was so beautiful. It was a great way of focusing people’s attention on the problem in a way that wasn’t preachy or pushy.”
"I've been recycling for years and thought I knew a lot about trash and the environment. I learned so much about so many things I didn't know about - microfibers and microbeads, for example. Everyone should see this exhibit to learn what plastic is doing to our oceans and what we can do to make a difference."
Pop-Up Show Visitors
The Pop-Up Show was exhibited at the lovely St. Joseph Bay State Buffer Preserve Center, right on the Bay.
What a wonderfully warm welcome by the Preserve staff and Friends.
They'd saved lots of beach trash for me to make art from...some of it quite 'fragrant'!
It was kind of bittersweet installing the Pop-Up Show in this beautiful space knowing it was the last time for the 2017 Florida Tour.
I loved how it looked, though - with lots of room and lots of flow.
Really interested and interesting visitors - many of them locals who are involved in other social and environmental issues and groups.
I was really impressed with their passion about the area and their commitment to protect and preserve it.
Even the littlest kids made commitments to adopt a new behavior that will reduce trash in our oceans!
Two legacies make this last site even more special - a request to create a permanent mini-Splash Trash exhibit at the Center and Pass the Trash!
Permanent Mini-Splash Trash Exhibit: Dylan Shoemaker, Preserve Manager, was so interested in the Tour, he asked if he could reproduce a few of the signs and materials to create a permanent exhibit. Of course I said yes!
This will make a great addition to our Visitor Center. I really appreciate you caring about the world we live in, teaching the world about what happens underneath and in the background of things.
Pass the Trash! So much lovely beach trash, so little time. When the Tour ended, we still had a large pile of 'art materials' the Friends of St. Joseph Buffer Preserve had collected.
So we passed the trash to the Florida Coastal Conservancy and the Science Seed to create a 'Catch of the Day' collaborative art piece at the 2017 Forgotten Coast Sea Turtle Festival in July. I can't wait to see how it turns out!
Check out this lovely article in the St. Joe Star.
Left to Right: Lynda White, Friends of St. Joseph Bay Preserve Chair and expert beach trash sorter. Mimi Mimmick, Science Seed and representative for the Florida Coastal Conservancy. Bette 'Splash Trash' Booth. Sandra Deacon, St. Joseph Bay Preserve Administrative Assistant and all round Wonder Woman.
"The Friends of St. Joseph Bay Preserves was honored to host the last stop on the Splash Trash Tour.
While most visitors had some sense of the problem of trash in our oceans, they all said they had no idea that it was so severe. The exhibits, ranging from art created from beach trash to microplastic particles scooped from beaches, were sobering and thought-provoking.
We are so fortunate to live here, surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico and St. Joe Bay. We recognize that these aquatic treasures are fragile and must be preserved and protected. The message from the Splash Trash Tour is that we must be better stewards and we are running out of time."
Lynda White
Chair, Friends of the St. Joseph Bay Preserves
© SplashTrash 2016
SplashTrash Intl. by SplashTrash Intl. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Please give credit to SplashTrash Intl., the SplashTrash Tour, Bette Booth, www.splashtrash.org
