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Activities, Events

Join Us for our Winter Bay Day Celebration – Saturday, February 1st, 2025

Join Us Saturday, February 1st, 2025 for our popular Winter Bay Day!    9am – 3pm EST

Friends of St. Joseph Bay Preserves present a day of education, shrimp and music.  Learn about the preserves and life along the bay.  There will be lots to see and lots to do. Best of all, the Low Country Shrimp Boil will be delicious – as always! Meet you on the deck of the Visitor Center! … no admission fee!

3915 State Road 30A, Port St. Joe, Florida 32456

On the Deck: The Visitor Center Deck will have the low country boil and drinks, picnic tables, a silent auction, live music, and stunning views of St. Joseph Bay.
Low Country Shrimp Boil:   11am – 2pm EST    $15 Donation
Live Music Throughout the Day: Crossroad Bluegrass Band – music for saints and sinners.

Guided Tram Tours: The Buffer Preserve staff will have tram rides throughout the day that will showcase the backwoods trails of the Buffer Preserve. Explore the preserves on a guided tram tour through the backwoods trails of the Buffer Preserve and learn about the native animal and plant life. Tours depart from the Visitor Center. Reservations are recommended and will be available on the deck at the Bay Day event. Bay Day tram tour seating will be first come first served. Departure Times: 9:00am, 10:00 am, 11:00am, 12:00pm, & 1:00pm EST.

Exhibitors & Demonstrations: Exhibitors at Bay Day will have displays set up to share information about water quality, recreational opportunities, seagrass research and monitoring, urchins, scallops (touch tank), updates to the State Park, turtles, fossils, shorebirds, and so much more of the great environmental work that is done in and around St. Joseph Bay! All the environmental displays will be located down on the grass by the observation tower and along the back of the lodge.
Winter Bay Day Exhibitors Include:
Central Panhandle Aquatic Preserves, St. Andrews & St. Joseph Bays Estuary Program, St. Joseph Peninsula State Park, Rish State Park, Gulf County UF/IFAS, Audubon Florida, Indian Pass Turtle Patrol,
Florida Coastal Conservancy/Forgotten Coast Sea Turtle Center,
Friends of Gulf County Library, International Dark Sky/Capture the Dark, FWC/Fish and Wildlife Research Institute – Bay Scallops
FWC/Fisheries-Independent Monitoring Program.

Silent Auction and Raffle: Our silent auction and fun raffle have lots of donations from our community partners that support our Mission to advocate for the St. Joseph Bay Aquatic Preserve and State Buffer Preserve, and to support the education on those key issues that are important in keeping the bay and preserve one of the most pristine areas in the world. These silent auction items cover a wide range of things such as chef at home experiences, fishing charters, art, dining gift certificates and much more! We have options to bid on the specific item or buy it now pricing.  Either way, you take all items home that day and have a chance to be a raffle winner.

Silent Auction and Raffle: Our silent auction and fun raffle have lots of donations from our community partners that support our Mission to advocate for the St. Joseph Bay Aquatic Preserve and State Buffer Preserve, and to support the education on those key issues that are important in keeping the bay and preserve one of the most pristine areas in the world. These silent auction items cover a wide range of things such as chef at home experiences, fishing charters, art, dining gift certificates and much more! We have options to bid on the specific item or buy it now pricing.  Either way, you take all items home that day and have a chance to be a raffle winner.

Birding Tour at Salinas Park Bayside:  Collette Lauzau, Shorebird Program Manager-Audubon Florida, will be leading the 2 hour bird tour around St. Joseph Bay during Bay Day. Participants meet at Salinas Park Bayside (280 Cape San Blas Rd, Port St. Joe, FL 32456) at 8:30am EST.
“We will bird that area and potentially drive a short distance to a second location that I will scout before the birding walk just to see if there will be birds foraging the flats. The meeting time will be at 8:30 am and if the second location is active, we will probably end at 10:30 am. Regular walking shoes should be fine.  It would be great for participants to bring binoculars.”

The Bay Day events are located at the St. Joseph Bay State Buffer Preserve Visitor Center, 3915 State Road 30-A (C-30), Port St. Joe, Florida 32456.
Bay Day is presented by Friends of St. Joseph Bay Preserves, Inc., Central Panhandle Aquatic Preserves, and the St. Joseph Bay State Buffer Preserve. All proceeds to benefit the Friends of St. Joseph Bay Preserves.
For more information: Call 850-229-1787 or Send Us an Email

News

Friends Newsletter November 2024

The Friends Board Members and Preserves Staff just completed two major tasks in November.  As you know, typically the Friends hold two Bay Day events each year on the first Saturday in February and October.  These Bay Day celebrations serve as our major fundraisers. However, the State is currently renovating the supports and decking at the Buffer office and visitor complex which made it impossible to hold our traditional October Bay Day fundraiser.  The Friends’ board struggled with the options of attempting our classic Bay Day with its low country boil and exhibits in a different location or creating a new type of public event.  In the end, Board members decided to attempt a family festival in the heart of the Buffer itself.  Our “Family Fest” was designed less as a fundraiser, and more of celebration designed to expose the beauty and nature of the Buffer Preserve to the public.  With that goal in mind, family fun activities were designed that were free to the public and attractive for all family members.

In addition, there were walking tacos, hot apple cider, a scavenger hunt, interpretive hiking, duck pond matchup, sack races and free prizes.  It was a wonderful day with clear skies, comfortable temperatures and no bugs!  A good time was had by all and well over a hundred people attended.

The second task undertaken by the Friends was to design and construct a display representing the Buffer Preserve for public viewing at the Annual Festival of Trees held at The Joe Center for the Arts in downtown Port St. Joe.  This major community event typically attracts over a thousand visitors with local businesses and organizations engaging in friendly competition to see who will receive the trophy for People’s Choice.  A group of Friends Board members decided to skipp the heavily decorated tree model opting for a tree display that was more educational in nature by illustrating an important practice in managing the Buffer forests.  The burnt material presented served to explain the role of managed burns in maintaining the health of the forest.  The festival of trees runs through Dec. 14 so there is time to see the display. More information can be found at their website: www.thejoecenter.org

We are currently beginning our planning for the Friends upcoming Annual meeting set to occur at 10am on January 18th, 2025 in the Buffer Visitor Center.  There will be a special lunch provided with a great selection of home-made chili to choose from.  The Friends will provide a brief snapshot of their 2024 activities and Megan Christopher Manager of the St. Joseph Bay Aquatic Preserve, and Dylan Shoemaker, Manager of the Buffer State Preserve will provide reviews of 2024 activities thar occurred in the two Preserves and provide a look at their future plans.

Opportunities working directly with the Friends:
The Friends of St. Joseph Bay Preserves are also interested in locating volunteers who can assist us with special projects such as the continuing development of the new interpretive trail in the Buffer, enlarging our social media presence, the creation of possible Preserves calendars or post cards to sell and, and as always, help with Bay Day or special events. We are currently beginning our planning for our upcoming February Bay Day. If you have any questions/comments or would be interested in volunteering to assist us with our upcoming February Bay Day or any of the Friends’ projects described above, please let us know at stjosephbaypreserve@gmail.com

Richard Trahan, President
Friends of Saint Joseph Bay Preserves

The Friends of St. Joseph Bay Preserves, Inc., is a non-profit Citizen Support Organization established in 2003 to protect and preserve one of the most ecologically significant areas in the Southeastern United States, and to support the St. Joseph Bay Buffer Preserve and St. Joseph Bay Aquatic Preserve.

News

Lester Stars at Turtle Fest

John Ehrman, Lynda White and Lester the Loggerhead

The Friends of St. Joseph Bay Preserves were well represented at the 3rd Annual Sea Turtle Festival on Sunday, July 1st. Even though it rained most of the day, there were many tourists and residents who stopped by to learn more about the Buffer and Aquatic Preserves.
Lester the Loggerhead, our education ambassador for sea turtles, enabled us to educate visitors about these remarkable creatures nesting on our beaches.  Lynda White

News

Bigger Better Sea Turtle Fest

Friends of St. Joseph Bay Preserves had lots of visitors to our booth at the 2nd annual Sea Turtle Festival, held on July 2 at George Core Park in Port St. Joe. Our most popular exhibit by far was the skeleton of Lester the loggerhead sea turtle. He resides in the Buffer Visitor Center, in case you missed seeing him last Sunday.

The Sea Turtle Festival is fun for everyone, with a marine life touch tank from Gulf Specimen Marine Lab, lots of crafts vendors, and informational booths like ours about the natural environment and parks in our area, and of course about the Turtle Patrols. There were also hot dogs, ice cream, and live music!

Thanks to our volunteers at the Sea Turtle Festival: Sandra and Sonny Chafin, John Ehrman, Linda Flynn, Lillian Hughes, Don Maples, Nancy Thomson, Lynda and Jim White Tim Nelson, and March Ard.