media release 5/8/08- Camp Bayou, Ruskin

Media contact: Dolly Cummings phone: 813-363-5438   Family Naturalist Program continues   There is still plenty more to discover at Camp Bayou during our Family Naturalist Program. Participants during April have netted critters in the river (What is biodiversity?), made a terrarium (What is the water cycle?), gone on a watershed scavenger hunt (What is a watershed?) and learned how to weave palm mats similar to those made by the early Native People in this area (What is a native plant?).   The Family Naturalist Program is free and pre-registration is not required. You can attend on just one or all Saturdays, from 9-10am, until June 28. On June 28, there will be a 3-hour Watershed Celebration with food, a ''Family Feud'- type game with prizes, plus awards based on attendance. To see a sampling of the types of awards and prizes offered, visit the Family Naturalist Network at http://familynaturalists.ning.com/. While you're there, consider joining to connect with like-minded families.   Upcoming program themes include: May 10- What is citizen science? May 17- What are invasive non-native species? May 24- What lives beneath our feet? May 31- What is a keystone species? June 7- What is a Florida Friendly Yard? June 14- What does water quality mean? June 21- What is a wetland? June 28- A Watershed Celebration!   Funding for the Family Naturalist Program is provided by the Alafia River Basin Board of the Southwest Florida Water Management District.   Camp Bayou is a partnership between the Ruskin Community Development Foundation, Inc. and Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation and Conservation. Camp Bayou is located 3 miles south of SR 674 at the end of 24th St SE in Ruskin, on the Little Manatee River.   ###

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Aquarid Meteor Shower

On Sun, 5/4/08, SpaceWeather.com <swlist@spaceweather.com> wrote: Space Weather News for May 4, 2008 http://spaceweather.com ETA AQUARID METEOR SHOWER: If you see a meteor flit across the sky tonight, it could be a piece of Halley's Comet. Earth is crossing a stream of dusty debris from Halley and this is causing the annual eta Aquarid meteor shower. Sky watchers in the tropics and southern hemisphere (where the shower is most intense) could see as many as 70 meteors per hour during the dark hours before dawn on Monday, May 5th, and Tuesday, May 6th. The show is diminished at northern latitudes where rates may be 15 meteors per hour or less. Check http://spaceweather.com for sky maps and more information. MERCURY AND THE MOON: Innermost planet Mercury is emerging from the glare of the sun and putting on its best show of the year. A good time to look is Tuesday evening, May 6th, just after sunset when the crescent Moon glides by Mercury in the darkening western sky. A sky map and photos are available at http://spaceweather.com.

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