Marine Discovery Center's restored salt marsh, projects show resilience after Ian, Nicole

NEW SMYRNA BEACH — Since its restoration in 2014, the Marine Discovery Center's salt marsh has not only seen its plant life flourish, it has also shown how powerful its natural shoreline defense has been against rising waters from large storms.

The center has been challenged by several different storms, including Hurricanes Matthew in 2016 and Irma in 2017.

This year, after the unprecedented amount of rainfall from Tropical Storm Ian and, just six weeks later, Tropical Storm Nicole, the salt marsh’s mangroves and other plant and animal life are still standing strong as the Marine Discovery Center continues to grow with other projects as well. 

While the main building sustained structural damage during Irma, the center’s mission to protect the coastal ecosystems and the Indian River Lagoon “through education and restoration services” continued, with the salt marsh proving successful yet again.

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Because of its success, the center’s marsh has even served as a donor marsh for local institutions, such as colleges and universities, to use the harvested species for shoreline stabilization projects on public lands, including at Canaveral National Seashore, Tomoka State Park, Gamble Rogers State Park and Washington Oaks State Park, according to the Marine Discovery Center's website. 

Last year, a team from the University of Central Florida harvested 100 plugs of the salt marsh grass species Spartina alterniflora from the marsh area. The marsh has donated more than 20,000 plants since 2014.   

Marsh is made to 'take the impacts of nature'

With the staff back at work and operations resuming normally after a few days of cleanup from Tropical Storm Ian, Executive Director Chad Truxall, the center's Conservation Science Coordinator Tess Sailor-Tynes and others assessed the center’s salt marsh, which reveals more about natural shoreline defense against rising salt water and its plant life after each storm.

“I think that the question that everybody asked is ‘We were so surprised by this flooding. So what does that mean looking at the natural areas around us, and the things that we need to conserve and keep intact that can ultimately protect us from future natural events like hurricanes?’” Sailor-Tynes said.

The biggest impact on the marsh so far was during Irma in 2017, when the tidal surge reached just over 6 feet of water, Truxall said.

“Even then, when you have a natural slope that’s planted, and you have oysters and mangroves and grasses, it’s made to be dynamic,” Truxall said. “It’s made to ebb and flow, and kind of take the impacts of nature.”

The marsh site used to be the location of the old New Smyrna Beach High School until 2006, when a new high school was built at 1015 10th St. The Marine Discovery Center erected its main building on the site in 2011.

The restored marsh has provided its plants the chance to go through each storm and let nature not only withstand the weather, but also grow in resilience.

“Mangroves will distribute based on their salinity and topography,” Truxall said. “There are three mangroves we have — red, white and black — in our areas, and where they are in the shore profile, whether they’re in the water or close to it, the three different species of mangrove plants will generally … handle the salt water themselves.”

Red mangroves are closer to the water, while black mangroves follow just behind and white mangroves are farther upland. This self-reliant and growing structure has allowed for the marsh’s restoration and continued chance to survive strong storms.

‘A new space that tells a new story’

As the center’s natural habitats remain strong, other projects have also been spared by Ian and Nicole.

“We are fine,” said Truxall said in an interview. “We have a pretty comprehensive plan for when these things happen out of necessity.”

Preparation for such storms involves “securing loose parts in secured areas, tying down boats and looking out for power outages because of our aquarium."

“We were fortunate enough to be OK here at the center,” Sailor-Tynes said. “A lot of houses were fine, but we had a few volunteers whose houses were flooded with 10 inches of water. So (we are) providing support for them, helping them get back on their feet.”

Truxall said there was minimal damage to the property, with nothing more than “limbs and trees.”

The trailhead project, which will also include a trail extension connecting the center to the city trail at the North Causeway, is slated for completion in February.

The paved trail will start at the trailhead and run along the southern part of the site to the west side of Barracuda Boulevard and then down to the south side of the causeway.

One way the new project will fit into the center’s identity is by having interpretative signage along the center’s segment of the trail where visitors could learn about the Indian River Lagoon and the Marine Discovery Center as they go in or out of the property.

The new pavilion at the center’s entrance, slated for January, will not only provide a different aesthetic to the main building, but also serve as a more resilient structure that could better sustain storm challenges.

With no significant standing water on the projects’ construction areas, it took contractors just a week to get back to work.

Truxall said projects at the center do not serve only a useful or aesthetic purpose, but rather a combination of what can be useful with how it fits with the center’s mission.

“When we’re looking at adding to the campus, it’s first based on a purpose — what is the need of this space?” Truxall said. “And then we have guiding principles, and they look at can we capture water, can we do some kind of renewable energy?”

The idea is for projects to serve their useful purposes, but also to teach guests something new about the environment.

“We want to have a new space that tells a new story,” Truxall said.