CALENDAR ANNOUNCEMENT CONTACT: DEP Press Office, 850.245.2112, DEPNews@dep.state.fl.us CELEBRATE NATIONAL ESTUARIES DAY AT THE APALACHICOLA NATIONAL ESTUARINE RESEARCH RESERVE  ~Free, family-friendly activities celebrate national estuaries~ Learn about estuaries up-close and hands-on with the marine animal touch tank. WHAT:       National Estuaries Day WHEN:       Friday, Sept. 23, 2016                      1:30 – 6 p.m. WHERE:    Apalachicola National Research Reserve Nature Center                     108 Island Drive (Only foot traffic permitted via Millender Street)                     Eastpoint, FL 32328 HOW:         Free public event. Reservation is not required.                     For more information, please call 850-670-7700. Activities will include dozens of free, fun and educational activities for kids and adults, including marine animal touch tanks, lessons on casting a fishing rod and estuary-themed games. During Estuaries Day, visitors will be able to interact with researchers and volunteers from the Apalachicola NERR, St. Joseph Bay State Buffer Preserve, the Environmental Cooperative Science Center (Florida A&M University), Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Gulf Specimen Marine Lab and Florida State University Coastal and Marine Lab. Attendees can also tour Apalachicola NERR’s impressive 5,400-square-foot Nature Center and its three large, clear-sided aquariums filled with local sea life, an 80-foot long mural depicting the area’s ecosystems, a hands-on Bay Discovery Room and a new interactive seagrass exhibit. The temporary, interactive exhibit entitled “Seagrass is My Home” invites participants to assume the role of a young estuarine animal and step through life in an estuary, learning about the benefits that seagrass provides and the dangers that threaten seagrass habitat. The first 600 people to arrive will get a free National Estuaries Day T-shirt, and there will be door prizes for adults to win at the end of the event. Children must be accompanied by an adult.  About the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Florida Coastal Office The Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Florida Coastal Office (FCO) is responsible for oversight of the state’s 41 Aquatic Preserves, three National Estuarine Research Reserves, the Coral Reef Conservation Program, the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, the Florida Coastal Management Program and the Outer Continental Shelf Program. It is the mission of FCO to conserve and restore Florida’s coastal, ocean, and aquatic resources for the benefit of people and the environment. For more information, visithttp://www.dep.state.fl.us/coastal/. https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/FLDEP/bulletins/15ef2a8

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