Chapter Meeting Minutes
January 17, 2024
The Tiny Turtle Restaurant
6:30 Call to order – Kris Baker, Chair Welcome!
EC/Program/Campaign Reports
- Chair Report: Kris
- Nominations for Board Positions: Secretary, Vice Chair, Member at large
Nina Hunt is nominated for Vice Chair, Kelly Etherton is nominated for Secretary, Scott Maki is nominated for Member at large. Vote was unanimous with all nominations. Welcome & thank you new Board members!
- Volunteer appreciation bonfire/dinner was held at Indialantic Beach. We
presented awards to BWTF: Coleen, Golden Stylist: Christine, Special Thank you to Chris our Treasurer. The Golden Tent stake award for the person who always works our tent event goes to Bill. The Golden grabber award will be presented to Ken at the A1A cleanup, as he never missed a cleanup. I was thanked and presented a native St. John wart plant, from Nina. Thank you so much, so thoughtful. It was a perfect night for a bonfire. Very chilly and a launch to watch as we set up! I think everyone had a good time.
- DEP Grant update: We weren’t awarded the grant for the Indialantic bioswales.
However, a lot of the DEP funding went to septic and upgrade infrastructure for sewer in Brevard. We will continue to research grants and replan the project into phases
- Grant $ awarded from Surfing’s Evolution & Preservation Foundation for $5000
- The Board planned 2024 year. Please check out the events page
- Donation $100 in honor of Jane Conway, from Don & Susan Cumming. Kris sending personalized thank you card
- Mangrove Replanting and Restoration Campaign Tactic: Postcards to
Legislators. One of Surfrider’s priority campaigns for the 2024 Florida legislative session is SB32 / HB1581 Mangrove Replanting and Restoration, introduced by state Senator Ileana Garcia (R - Miami) and Representative Jim Mooney (R - Islamorada). If passed, the bill directs the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to adopt rules for mangrove replanting and restoration to address erosion, protect barrier and spoil islands, support ecosystem restoration and create mangrove protection and restoration zones. Postcards were signed and sent from our Chapter to Senators to support the mangrove bill. They were collected by Kris and Surfrider will mail as it will be a lobbying expense.
- Nina volunteered & the Board approved for Nina to attending Surfrider Florida Healthy Beaches Day, Tallahassee Jan 22 & 23. Advocating for clean water, preventing plastic pollution, and resilient coasts and communities. She will be representing our Space Coast Chapter and we are very excited for her to experience meeting/speaking with the Florida Legislation. At the April meeting, she will report the experience.
- Last night was IRL Coalition event, 2024 Lagoon Restoration Look Ahead, at the Zoo. Nina & I attended. We networked with other organizations and made great contacts to continue collaboration. Beach 98.5 radio is interested in doing a spotlight. Fun fact Duane DeFreese, who is E.D. of One lagoon, watches our BWTF results!
- We collaborate with Tobacco Free Brevard. They promote no smoking & we don’t want to pick up butts! HB 495, SB 1576 - Prohibition of Smoking and Vaping in State Parks. The bill would prohibit smoking within the boundaries of a state park or beach and includes signage requirements and penalties identical to other violations of state park rules. Please contact your representative to support this bill. Committees have been made. Senator Debbie Mayfield, Senator Tom Wright (N. Brevard), Robbie Brackett (S. Brevard).
- April 13th, we will be a beneficiary from the Space Coast Classic Run. We are
promoting if you want to run in the event. In March, we will be promoting to help volunteer during the race. We will be manning a water station, to be together as a force. Please plan on showing your support.
- Tiny Turtle has written a children’s book! Turtle & Donkey! She mentioned Surfrider! Pass the book around.
- Ballard Park: met with the City Park & Rec to discuss several ideas to try to educate and help the Lagoon. Discussion about having a BWTF sign posted. Also, using buffer gardens behind the mangrove shoreline was also discussed. They are very supportive and will continue to plan and work with the City. I have also reached out to Indian River Lagoon Clam Restoration Project, who supplies clams for Lagoon restoration. Unfortunately, they didn’t think the salinity environment was good for the clams. I also reached out to the Brevard Zoo, conservation program: Oysters may be another option. Both groups are a
strong network for us to have, possibly work together in the future to help water the Lagoon.
- Check out Satellite Beach installed a beautiful buffer garden to educate the public at DeSoto Park.
- We have 2 locations that our Chapter is supporting (we have funded plants) this year! One location is Coconut Point Beach, Melbourne Beach & the other is Barrier Island Center. We have purchased $500 sea oats for Coconut Point Beach. Our contact with the County selected this restored beach for us. We also have collaborated with the Barrier Island Center, and have purchased $1000 native plants (Beach Elder, Spartina patens, panic grass, sea purslane, beach morning glory to support their sea oats that they have purchased. We need all hands on the beaches to help plant Feb. 17th at both locations. I have reached out to a private school Verdi Eco School, on Highland in Melbourne. They are an environmental school, gardening etc. and are very excited to collaborate and volunteer to help. They are very interested in what our Chapter is doing. As years in past, you can also help at Cocoa Beach planting, that the City purchases, and we help with planting. Anyone who has battery powered drill for an auger bit to drill holes, please contact me if you can bring it.
- A quarterly newsletter was provided in the last email update; will continue to do
quarterly to keep volunteers/members updated on happenings within chapter
- Florida Regional call was cancelled
- Secretary Report: Thank you to Fran, for all her hard work this year. We wish her the best with her new volunteer adventures.
- Treasurer Report: Chris absent. Kris to report. We plan on using the money from various grants and awards this year to make purchases towards bettering environment. Ideas and plans to follow- please contact Board with ideas.
- Blue Water Task Force BWTF: We have been awarded a grant for supplies for HQ. We will be adding another sight starting next week. The site Rotary Park at Suntree, Rockledge. Pineda, Ballard, Goat continue to be in the red.
- Volunteer Coordinator: Christine no report
- Social Media Chair – Kelly continue to send photos of events and engage with social media to boost interaction
- Ocean Friendly Gardens– Bill no report
- Ocean Friendly Restaurants – Joanie: Tiny Turtle’s 10th Anniversary Celebration was great and very well attended during Friday Fest. SC Surfrider represented with plastic free to-go and dine-in sample containers. We sold $75 of SS cups and “survival kit” to-go containers, and Kelly supplied us with Tiny Turtle reusable grocery bags to give away. NASA will be holding a special after hours event at Tiny Turtle on Sunday, Feb 4 at 3pm and is open to the public with science talks and trivia - should be fun! We’ll be setting up a tabling in the back for that event. Anyone interested in helping out with OFR, please let me
know. I’ve set a goal of bringing on 10 new OFRs along the Space Coast
- Beach Bucket Foundation-Satellite Beach interested in bucket stations. Andy will work with city
- Past Events Recap
- 11/17 Tiny Turtle 10th anniversary weekend! Ribbon cutting/Friday Fest
- 11/18 Lagoon Day-tent event. The cold/rain kept away most of the morning crowd but overall was a decent event talking to citizens about what we do
- 12/2 Cocoa Beach Christmas Parade Led by John- had a good time and decked out Jeep with Surfrider Space Coast gear. Hoping for more participation next year
- Upcoming Events
- January 27 A1A cleanup, Sebastian 8:30AM
- Feb 17: Dune planting @ Cocoa Beach, Coconut Point Beach, Barrier Island Center
- Feb 21 General Meeting @ Intracoastal Brewery, 6:30pm
- March 16 Thousand Island Festival, table event
- April 6 Movie night @Cocoa Beach Playhouse, showing ‘The Glass Bank’, documentary about the history of surf industry in Brevard County. 2 showings
- Updated/New Business
- Adopt A1A Hwy relocation: Discussion on proposed new location further north. Our current adopted area is South, close to Sebastian. Our 2 year commitment is up and the FDOT had a new location offered to us with safe parking, and tent set up. The proposed section is between Spessard Holland South Beach Park & Coconut Point Park Beach. It was discussed and voted that
we move our adopted location. However, the January A1A cleanup is already scheduled for Jan 27 and will be at old location. Kris will contact FDOT.