Weekly News Digest from Mote

World Oceans Day Makes Waves at Mote

Visitors of all ages got to take a closer look at sharks, fish and other marine animals in The Aquarium, which featured a Dr. Seuss Theme to spotlight the ocean's deep connection to the human spirit and the boundless inspirational power of our natural world's greatest resource. 

Visitors also took a shot at dunking Mote staff in the dunk tank, and kids sported some “cheeky” ocean art – face painting by Nada Meeks. Guests also had the chance to take pictures with Mote aquarist Andrew Angelo as he dove with Mote’s bonnethead sharks.

World Oceans Day, celebrated each year on June 8, was created in 1992 at the Earth Summit and declared a holiday by the United Nations in 2009. This holiday is an opportunity to celebrate our world ocean and our personal connection to the sea, as well as to introduce the next generation to the marine environment they will inherit.

Mote thanks the local organizations who made our World Oceans Day possible: Longboat Key Turtle Watch, Sarasota Bay Estuary Program, Sarasota Bay Watch, Manatee County Natural Resources Department, The Sarasota YMCA, Stow It-Don't Throw It, Mote's High School Alumni Program, Mote's Education Division and Tampa Bay Watch.

Mote also thanks the following generous sponsors: IBC (Insurance and Benefit Consultants), the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Sam's Club and Willis A. Smith Construction.

Andrew Angelo, an aquarist in The Aquarium at Mote Marine Laboratory, dives with bonnethead sharks to celebrate World Oceans Day on Sunday, June 8. (Credit: Kassie O'Brien/Mote Marine Laboratory)

Kendall Fout takes part in ocean crafts during the World Oceans Day Family Festival on June 8 in The Aquarium at Mote. (Credit: Kassie O'Brien/Mote Marine Laboratory)

Ocean themed crafts, along with educational games and information booths, were featured in the World Oceans Day Family Festival in The Aquarium at Mote. (Credit: Kassie O'Brien/Mote Marine Laboratory)

Wells Fargo Awards Grant for Sea Turtle Research at Mote

Wells Fargo recently awarded a $50,000 grant to Mote Marine Laboratory for research and outreach designed to benefit sea turtle conservation.

The grant is part of Wells Fargo’s 2013 Environmental Solutions for Communities grant program, which helps community-based nonprofits support land and water conservation, energy efficiency, infrastructure and educational outreach in communities where Wells Fargo’s customers and team members live and work.

Mote is an independent, nonprofit Lab dedicated to today’s research for tomorrow’s oceans, with a major focus on serving communities and natural environments of Southwest Florida.

Mote’s Sea Turtle Conservation and Research Program, currently in its 32^nd year, conducts long-term studies on sea turtles in their ocean habitats and at nesting beaches of Sarasota County, which host the highest density of loggerhead sea turtle nesting on the U.S. Gulf coast. Mote’s research findings are shared with resource managers and the public to inform and support conservation of these threatened and endangered reptiles.

 “Wells Fargo is proud to support Mote Marine Laboratory, a nonprofit that leads internationally significant research while keeping the health of our local marine life at heart,” said Greg Natiello, a financial advisor for Wells Fargo and member of Mote’s Advisory Council. “We’re confident our contribution will go a long way to benefit sea turtles, a vital part of marine ecosystems on Florida’s west coast and an icon of marine conservation worldwide.”

The Wells Fargo Environmental Solutions for Communities grant program is funded by the Wells Fargo Foundation and administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF). “We sought out the best ideas and programs to protect and conserve the environment for local communities,” said Jeff Trandahl, executive director and CEO of NFWF, in a Wells Fargo press release. “Through Wells Fargo’s generous contributions, these community-based projects will provide immediate benefits to local ecosystems and will help build and strengthen environmental stewardship ethics.”