Future Projects
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MacDill Air Force Base Phase 5

 
Ecosphere secured a $37,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Commission of Hillsborough County, matched by $120,000 from MacDill AFB, to continue restoration of the entire southern coastline of the base in 2021.  ​These funds will be used to recontour the final section of mosquito ditches, restoring natural sheet flow, and to create an additional 10 acres of high salt marshes, or salterns -- a rare and valuable habitat in Tampa Bay. 

​COST: $157,000
PARTNERS: MacDill AFB, Environmental Protection Commission of Hillsborough County

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​Suncoast Youth Conservation Center Living Shoreline

​Ecosphere will showcase nature-based alternatives to hardened seawalls as an educational demonstration of shoreline protection options for waterfront homeowners. The demonstrations will be installed along a berm separating two ponds at the Suncoast Youth Conservation Center in Apollo Beach. The Center is operated as a partnership of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), Tampa Electric Co. (TECO) and The Florida Aquarium. Featured techniques include a traditional seawall, use of oyster reef balls and bags, and a Living Shoreline comprised solely of native plants. This "grey-to-green" design continuum provides a range of design options to improve resiliency and protect coastal property from flooding and storm surges.
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Educational signs will describe the techniques, and the project will be incorporated into youth lesson plans and programs. College interns will monitor the long-term succession of these installed shorelines, an often-missing component of such projects. 
 
Funding comes from a $43,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Commission of Hillsborough County, with$67,500 in support from FWC.

COST: $110,000
PARTNERS: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, TECO, Environmental Protection Commission of Hillsborough County