Wednesday, August 20th, at 7:30 pm ET: WFSU premieres the eighth season of Dimensions. Tune in to watch our Saint Joseph Bay scalloping EcoAdventure. We snorkel seagrass beds, see some fun critters, and breathe underwater with the Snuba. We also eat some tasty scallops. But you can’t taste these guys if they’re still in their shells. Below, Captain Bobby Guilford of Break-A-Way Charters shows us how to shuck our catch. Captain Bobby took us out on the water in July, and he gave us this quick demo:
Rob Diaz de Villegas WFSU-TV
Another season of EcoAdventures is so close we can almost taste it. Next week, it’ll taste like bay scallops as we return to Saint Joseph Bay not for science, but to enjoy the products of the seagrass bed ecosystem. Saint Joe Bay is of course where we’ve been partnering with Dr. Randall Hughes to explore the inner workings of salt marshes and seagrass beds. Just a bunch of grass? Not if you like seafood. Randall will have more about what she’s learned from Saint Joe Bay next week.
This summer we also spent some time with the WFSU/ FSU Mag Lab SciGirls. Their annual two week whirlwind through the many aspects of science takes them on a few choice EcoAdventures of their own. We accompany them to Tall Timbers Research Station as they get to know pine flatwoods ecology in the best way possible- by trapping birds and handling snakes, of course! Our area is blessed with some of the best examples of longleaf pine forest, an ecosystem that thrives with fire. We’ll see how various animal species (like those birds and snakes) benefit from burning.
We also soak the SciGirls in our Water Moves game. In our last video centering on the game, we followed water from urban Tallahassee to Wakulla Springs, passing through troubled waterways Munson Slough and Lake Munson. That piece spent most of its time on the game and learning about the Leon County side of the Wakulla Springs watershed. In our upcoming video, we visit Wakulla Springs itself. It is an ecological marvel that’s had it’s share of troubles, but can still wow you with impressive sites and an abundance of wildlife.
And there’s more to come. This year it’s all about connectivity- between lands and waters, between people and the natural spaces around them. You can see from our new video open that we’ve seen some cool stuff over the last few years. What would you like to see coming up?
In next week’s video, Captain Bobby also shucks one of these…
Keep up with the latest posts, environmental coverage from the WFSU News department and more at @wfsuIGOR.
