LIVING GREEN
Eco-friendly Eco-friendly
5 ECO-FRIENDLY PEOPLE OF INTEREST
57
in Martin County are good examples of how to filter dirty
stormwater before it flows into the St. Lucie Estuary, he said.
The goal of the Florida Oceanographic Society Coastal
Center on Hutchinson Island is to educate people on the
importance of “conservation and being a steward of our
environment, understanding the natural resources and being
able to preserve them for future generations,” Perry said.
Originally founded in 1964 by Perry’s father, the FOS today
boasts 2,800 members.
During a lonely night at sea off the Yucatan Peninsula, the
idea came to Perry in 1985 to come back to Stuart and work
for FOS. “I grew up here,” he said. “I was always very aquatic
oriented with surfing, swimming and boating. FOS had
no activity and the membership had dwindled to five board
members. I began writing grants and we realized we needed a
new location.”
With a 99-year lease from Martin County, FOS moved its
operations in 1987 from the old Rand house in Stuart to its
current 40-acre site. The Coastal Center opened in 1995 and
last year hosted more than 55,000 visitors. “We have 20 staff
people and 250 active volunteers,” Perry said. “They put in
20,000 hours last year. We couldn’t afford to do it without
them. They provide a great interactive personal experience for
the people and they help us with research.”
The Coastal Center features a 750,000 gallon lagoon that
receives sand-filtered salt water pumped from nearby Stuart
Beach through a pipe that runs under State Road A1A. The
water then makes its way through 20 acres of former mosquito
impoundments into the Indian River, helping to keep the
salinity levels in the area at proper levels to nurture juvenile
species of snook, tarpon and snapper. A variety of native fish
can be seen from the walkways that circle the lagoon and
snake through the marshes.
“We don’t want to be an attraction,” Perry said. “We want
people to come and learn about our environment and want
to be good stewards of our environment. They do come and
have fun, but we need to make it a learning experience.”
Name: Mark Perry
Age: 57
Family: Wife, Nancy; one son,
David, 32; three daughters, Julie,
30; Nicole, 29; and Sarah, 13
Education: B.S. Marine Science
and Applied Oceanography,
Florida Institute of Technology,
Jensen Beach.
What most people don’t know about me: “I live on a ranch,
have two Appaloosa horses and I wear cowboy boots and a
cowboy hat once in a while. Yeehaw! Most people think of me
as the ocean guy.”
Greatest achievement: “Getting the Florida Oceanographic
Society Coastal Center started. It was an inspiration my dad
had years ago. I didn’t know that. It was great to see his
dream come true. We’ve got it started, but it has a ways to go
to finish it. It will carry on beyond my lifetime.”
What inspires me: “Watching water move around our
planet. Everything from a rushing mountain stream to huge
waves crashing in the ocean. Sunrises and sunsets are nice,
but I like huge thunderstorms and even snow.”
Eco-friendly Eco-friendly
Eco-friendly