VOLUNTEERS INVITED TO COASTAL CLEANUP

Have you ever wondered how much trash accumulates on Volusia County's
beaches? Find out by participating in this year's International
Coastal Cleanup from 8:30 - 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 20. Once again,
Volusia County is gearing up for the annual cleanup at 10 sites along
Volusia County's beaches. The event is in conjunction with the Ocean
Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup.

Known as the largest and most successful volunteer event of its kind,
each year thousands of volunteers from around the globe participate in
the cleanup, clearing tons of trash from ocean coastlines, rivers and
lakes and recording every piece of trash collected, according to
Stacey Bell, project coordinator for Volusia County's effort In 2007,
in 76 countries more than 378,000 volunteers picked up more than six
million pounds of debris from 33,000 miles of shoreline. That
averages out to an estimated 187 pounds of trash per mile.

"This cleanup is a great opportunity for families and organizations
in our community to get together and make a difference for wildlife,"
said Bell. "It's important to remember that if we leave trash on the
beach or in a waterway, or even miles inland, it does not just
disappear. We all have a responsibility to dispose of our trash
properly for a healthy environment and to work together to keep it
clean for future generations."

As trash is picked up during the Coastal Cleanup, its type is
recorded on a tally card. This data allows event organizers to track
the type and amount of trash found on beaches worldwide.

Volunteers are invited to participate in the Coastal Cleanup at:

Bicentennial Park, 1800 N. Oceanshore Blvd., Ormond-by-the-Sea

Tom Renick Park, 1575 Oceanshore Blvd., Ormond-by-the-Sea

Sunsplash Park, 611 S. Atlantic Ave., Daytona Beach

Frank Rendon Park, 2705 S. Atlantic Ave., Daytona Beach Shores

Toronita Off-beach parking area, 4200 S. Atlantic Ave.,
Wilbur-by-the-Sea

Winter Haven Park, 4589 S. Atlantic Ave., Ponce Inlet

North Beach Neighborhood Park, 1100 N. Atlantic Ave., New Smyrna
Beach

Flagler Avenue beach approach, Flagler Ave., New Smyrna Beach

27th Avenue Park, 3701 S. Atlantic Ave., New Smyrna Beach

Bethune Beach Park, 6656 S. Atlantic Ave., New Smyrna Beach

Participants need to check-in between 8:30 - 9 a.m. the morning of
the cleanup. Participants are encouraged to bring water and wear
sunglasses, a hat, sunscreen and comfortable clothing. Participants
also should bring used plastic shopping bags to reuse at sites for
collection of trash and recyclables. Volunteers who return their data
tally card, trash and recyclables will receive a reusable shopping
tote (while supplies last).

For more information about the cleanup, please visit
www.volusia.org/cleanup.
To pre-register, contact:

- For locations in New Smyrna Beach, Chad Truxall at (386) 428-3310
or chad@marinediscoverycenter.org
- For all other locations, Stacey Bell at (386) 239-6414, ext. 33, or
sbell@co.volusia.fl.

A new association

Secular Home Educator's Association of Florida. I am assuming their appearance on the HSing scene is in response to FPEA choosing to adopt "Judeo-Christian" principles. Between this group and LIFE of Florida it seems us heathens are going to have a support group after all.

Can O Worms

The boys and I went out to the Worm Farm on Wednesday.

We brought home one of these,












Filled it with the bedding provided,












Added a box of these,








And ended up with this.








Aren't they cute? Okay maybe cute isn't the right word. :) But they are cool!

Spring to Spring Trail

We went bike riding today.

I got a new bike yesterday. I was just going to buy new tires and seat for my old one but it ended up costing as much as a new bike. So I got a new bike instead. Which probably worked out better since the old one will likely need more than tires and a seat seeing as it has been sitting outside playing chew toy to the dog for a year!

So to celebrate we went down to Gemini Springs to check out the new trail. I don't think it is considered new anymore but it is the first time we have been down there.

It is a REALLY nice trail, fairly level and FULLY paved. It has a few hiking trails shooting off from it in a few places for later exploration. The whole thing is not shaded but the distances between shaded areas wasn't bad. From what I can tell it will ultimately connect Blue Springs with Lake Monroe. Right now you can go from the Debary Mansion to Lake Monroe, 4.1 miles.

The section of the trail we rode, the dirt lot at Gemini to Lake Monroe, is 2.4 miles long as far as I can tell. So we rode almost 5 miles today. At the end of the trail at Lake Monroe we could look through the trees and see the construction on I-4 near the zoo. The boys were very impressed by that.

Everyone was nice a tired by the end of the trip. Kyllian had problems riding that last 1/2 miles but he did it and was quite pleased with himself (We let him pass the "finish line" first).