Of all the states in the union, Florida probably has the closest link to the sea. With a coastline second only to Alaska in measure and coastal ecosystems that include marshes, mangroves and brackish bays, Florida’s fortunes begin and end at the shoreline, where commercial fishing thrives and millions come to partake of sand and sun.
And how could they not? Between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, no point on the peninsula is more than 60 miles from a beach, and even the most die-hard corporate traveler likely has a bathing suit tucked beside the business suit.
But while meeting groups are sure to appreciate a sojourn to the ocean, you can enhance the experience by planning time at one of the state’s marine life and oceanographic centers, which will take them past sea level to new levels of understanding about the state’s fragile aquatic habitats and the creatures living there.
“You can send people to a cocktail party on the water, and when it’s over, it’s over,” says Ashley Demarais, program coordinator for the Charlotte Harbor Environmental Center on Florida’s southwest coast. “But the things you learn here stay with you. These estuaries and waterways are truly unique, and what attendees learn will apply to wherever they live as well.”
Following are some of the coastal research centers that offer a fascinating glimpse of life above and below the waves.
GTM Research Reserve
GTM is the shortcut to saying Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve, one of 28 national estuaries across the country and serving, among other things, as important calving grounds for the endangered North Atlantic right whale. Located in Ponte Vedra Beach on the state’s northeast coast, GTM encompasses more than 73,000 acres of conservation lands and waters with habitats including ocean, beaches, coastal scrub, salt marsh, mangrove estuary, freshwater marsh, maritime hammock and pine flatwoods.
An Environmental Education Center is the starting point for guided hikes across trails, beaches and waterways as well as lectures and presentations on the plant and animal life found in estuarine environments, which are formed when freshwater meets the sea. The center also offers a number of rental spaces, including small classrooms, a 50-person amphitheater and a 125-person auditorium, while rental of the entire 22,000-square-foot facility includes use of a 60-person, covered outdoor pavilion.
“There are a lot of things groups can do here,” notes Patrician Price, public information officer at the reserve. “We also offer adult scavenger hunts, and the volunteers who guide our tours are very knowledgeable.”
Marine Discovery Center
It’s been called the most biologically diverse estuary in North America, and the Indian River Lagoon, which runs for 156 miles from Palm Beach up to the Ponce de Leon Inlet in Volusia County, lives up to that distinction with more than 4,300 plant and animal species, including 310 species of birds, hundreds of bottlenose dolphins and a full third of the nation’s manatee population.
On the lagoon’s northern end, the Marine Discovery Center in New Smyrna Beach aims to provide education, research and restoration of this threatened ecosystem, offering daily educational programs via kayak tours and 40-passenger boat excursions.
“We have island adventure tours that get you out on the sandbars and mudflats for a more in-depth discovery of what’s out there,” says Chad Truxall, executive director of Marine Discovery Center. “We also have a five-acre salt marsh restoration project that we just started tours on, showcasing the flora and fauna there and the importance of the marsh.”
Groups can gather in a 50-person classroom with audiovisual capability or in a pavilion area that can accommodate up 100, with box lunches available from local vendors. Larger groups aren’t a problem, Truxall says.
“We’ve done a three-hour rotation where we have half the group on the boat and the other half in the classroom learning about marine mammals,” he says. “These estuaries are so diverse. Our beaches are amazing, but there’s so much more to Florida than the beaches.”
Loggerhead Marinelife Center
South of New Smyrna Beach, Juno Beach is one of the state’s busiest sea turtle nesting areas and is also home to the Loggerhead Marinelife Center, which operates a state-of-the-art veterinary hospital and research lab while welcoming visitors to living sea turtle exhibits, saltwater aquariums, displays of local wildlife and areas that educate people about South Florida’s marine environment.
But don’t expect to simply observe here. There are fish feedings and fish identification programs, hammock hikes, turtle walks, and for groups, a variety of private guided tours, including popular evening tours accompanied by light bites and wine, says Hannah Campbell, programs coordinator at the center.
“Evening programs offer the tour coupled with a classroom portion that gives the background on sea turtles, the different species and common ailments,” she says. “We also take them to the sea turtle rehab area.”
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Other group facilities include a 57-person banquet space as well as outdoor pavilions at adjacent Loggerhead Park.
“We’re definitely hoping to attract more corporate groups,” Campbell says. “If they’re looking for an exclusive, quintessentially Florida experience, this is it.”
Charlotte Harbor Environmental Center
Across the state and adjacent to Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park near Punta Gorda, the Charlotte Harbor Environmental Center (CHEC) offers a variety of adventures, including two-hour guided walks, estuary pontoon boat journeys and wading trips through the seagrass of nearby Ponce de Leon Park, which is just what it sounds like—wading into the water with nets and buckets to collect live specimens.
“Some of the things we always see are hermit and horseshoe crabs. We almost always find a flounder or two,” says Ashley Demarais, program coordinator at the center. “But even things we don’t find, we talk about, including whelks, egg casings and sea stars. We also talk about the health of our watershed and what guests can do to protect it. We want them to know about the little things that can harm these systems.”
Along those lines, the center also offers on-site lectures and outreach programs, usually themed around snakes and other reptiles, though bees and butterflies get their share of the spotlight. CHEC’s visitor center includes several small meeting spaces, hosting up to about 60.
Meanwhile, across Charlotte Harbor to the west, CHEC has another location at Cedar Point Park, which also offers the wading program as well as a visitor center that can double as event space.
Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center
The plants and animals of the Florida Keys are highlighted in more than 6,000 square feet of interactive exhibits at the Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center in Key West, which takes visitors through a variety of terrestrial and aquatic habitats, from upland pinelands to beach dunes and under the waves to deep-shelf communities.
Exhibits include the Mote Marine Laboratory Living Reef, with a 2,500-gallon reef tank housing living corals and tropical fish; and a mock-up of Aquarius, touted as the world’s only undersea research laboratory, deployed 60 feet beneath the surface in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
The center is relatively hands-off as far as guided tours go, though short talks given by staff can be arranged upon request.
Sarasota Bay Explorers
Though technically not a coastal research center, marine education is the focus of excursions offered by Sarasota Bay Explorers, where 48-passenger pontoon cruises are enhanced by the expertise of onboard marine biologists.
“We drag a net through the water and bring up the marine life, and the biologists talk about everything we find, including starfish and sea urchins,” says Sarah Whitehead, owner of the firm. “They go into a tank and at the end of the day, we release everything.”
In addition to looking for dolphins and manatees in Sarasota Bay, cruises also include stops at islands for nature walks and bird watching.
“We make it educational and fun,” Whitehead says. “Everybody walks away with knowledge of our ecosystems.”
Additional Options
Other coastal and marine research venues in the Sunshine State include the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton, offering guided tours for up to 25; and the Harbor Branch Ocean Discovery Center in Fort Pierce, housing interactive exhibits, small aquariums and a video theater.
