Tampa Bay Watch Welcomes Dwayne Virgint as Executive Director of Tampa Bay Watch Discovery Center
Dwayne joined Tampa Bay Watch in October 2019 and is responsible for opening and operating the new Tampa Bay Watch Discovery Center on the soon-to-be-completed St. Pete Pier. He brings more than 25 years of experience in leadership, operations, and management of mission-based organizations to TBW including zoos, aquariums, and museums. His goal at TBW is to ensure that generations of young leaders will continue the mission of protecting the bay and the world’s ocean.
Help restore Little Bird Key December 11-13th
Tampa Bay Watch is recruiting volunteers to install oyster domes at Little Bird Key with a goal to restore lost habitat systems to the bay, prevent further erosion of shorelines, and improve water quality through natural biological filtration. This is a heavy project since oyster domes weigh over 150 pounds each. We’ll have a crane to upload the domes to the barge to be placed on the shoreline, but we’ll need help moving the domes in the water from the barge to the shoreline. The project meeting location is Tampa Bay Watch Marine Education Center in Tierra Verde.
Click on a date to register to volunteer.
December 11, 12 PM – 3 PM
December 12, 9 AM – Noon
December 12, 12 PM – 3 PM
December 13, 9 AM – Noon
December 13, 12 PM – 3 PM
Adopt a monotube in Pinellas, Hillsborough or Pasco County!
Help Tampa Bay Watch keep discarded monofilament (fishing line) out of Tampa Bay. Discarded fishing line can be very dangerous to birds, marine life, and even boats – it is estimated fishing line will last 400-600 years in the environment before it begins to break down.
You can help by adopting a monofilament recycling tube, AKA monotube, at one of these popular fishing locations listed below. Adoption involves checking your designated monotube(s) location once a month to empty its contents and prepare the collected line for recycling. We are asking that volunteers commit a minimum of one year for any chosen site. The collected fishing line is sent to Berkley Fishing, where it is recycled into tackle boxes or other fishing equipment, as well as fish habitats!
Pinellas: Grandview Park boat ramp, Pass-a-Grille (Merry Pier & Seawall along Pass-a-Grille Way), War Vets Park, Tierra Verde drawbridge
Hillsborough: Sunshine Skyway South Fishing Pier, Davis Island boat ramp, Gandy boat ramp, Picnic Island boat ramp
Pasco: Anclote River Park, Anclote Gulf Park
Contact Melanie Grillone at mgrillone@tampabaywatch.org with the site that you’d like to adopt. Emails regarding current site openings only, please.
Its a wrap for Tampa Bay Watch at McKay Bay!
1,177 volunteers assisted in the multi-year project
McKay Bay South Oyster reef project began in December of 2016 and wrapped up last week. Over the course of the project, 1,177 volunteers from numerous corporate groups, school groups, colleges, and the Tampa Bay community created approximately 3,170 linear feet of reef and two 45′ diameter circular reefs using more than 310 tons of fossilized shell! None of the work would have been possible without our fantastic funders: Tampa Bay Environmental Restoration Fund, Pollution Recovery Fund of Hillsborough County, Royal Bank of Canada, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Bloomin Brands, and Mosaic. And finally, a big thanks goes out to the City of Tampa for their support of the project by allowing us to stage all of the work dates at Desoto Park.
Vote for Tampa Bay Watch through Target Circle
Tampa Bay Watch is honored to have been chosen to participate in a special charitable giving campaign, sponsored and funded by Target.
You have the chance to help direct a portion of Target’s donation to Tampa Bay Watch! Now through January 5, vote for us through the Target Circle program to help determine how Target’s donation will be divvied up. Click here to find out more about Target Circle. Every vote counts to help us receive a portion of the available Target funds as we continue our mission to restore Tampa Bay!