National Estuaries Days 2007

. . . an annual celebration of the majestic places where rivers meet the sea.

Thanks to the many people who made seven years of Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program’s National Estuaries Day celebrations of wading trips, guided walks, paddling programs, boat tours and walks such great successes. Details of the 2006 events and many of the earlier events are posted on the program website www.CHNEP.org, click on “events.”

The next official National Estuary Day is expected to be Saturday, September 29, 2007. Our local celebration frequently has lasted more than a month because so many events have been offered to be held on only one day. Because of this, we tweaked the name to National Estuaries Days to be more accurate for promotional purposes. We ask that events held as part of this celebration occur no earlier than September 15 and no later than November 17.

Will you please consider hosting an event -- or several events -- that support the program’s efforts to increase residents’ and visitors’ awareness of the estuary, the Charlotte Harbor watershed and program goals and plans? Will you also please share this message with others who may be interested in hosting an event as part of the National Estuaries Days celebration?

Deadline: The deadline to submit event details and to request financial assistance will be July 17, 2007 (extended from June 29, 2007). Events may be added after that date but will likely miss some promotion offered by CHNEP. For example, the printed brochure and the first of many releases to the media will be distributed mid-August.

Please submit an event by completing an online form found on this page. You will be asked to provide the following details (and can cut and paste from similar previously held events):

· Name of Event

· Description of the Event

· Organization Hosting Event

· Date

· Start and End Time

· Location

· Directions

· Registration: include any fees and procedure for people to follow to register

· If you have items to illustrate the brochure -- photographs, quotes, poems -- please send those too!

Financial Assistance: CHNEP may again be able to provide up to $300 if you'd like to organize an event that is open to the public but need some assistance in covering expenses. When you complete the online form (see above), you may request up to $300 of support from CHNEP if the event is open to the public. All requests will be promptly reviewed but funding support is not guaranteed.

If you are a commercial operation we ask that you provide a substantial discount. (Tarpon Bay Explorers has discounted their trips by 50%.)

A few programs that I know will be held during this time include:

· Charlotte Harbor Nature Festival: November 3 in Port Charlotte, Charlotte County Please do not schedule an event on this day and please consider sponsoring/exhibiting at this regional celebration. Details are on the website www.CHNEP.org.

· Ding Darling Days on Sanibel, Lee County

· Blueways Festival in Lee County

· Mote Mobile Exhibit at Fisherman’s Village in Punta Gorda on September 29

Please contact me if you have any questions. These have been really fantastic celebrations of our estuaries. Let's make this year even better!

Maran Brainard Hilgendorf, Communications Manager, mhilgendorf@swfrpc.org, Phone extension 240

Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program, 1926 Victoria Ave, Fort Myers FL 33901, www.CHNEP.org, 239/338-2556, Toll Free 866/835-5785, Fax 239/338-2560

Working together to protect the natural environment from Venice to Bonita Springs to Winter Haven

By completing this form, you wish to submit an event to be considered as part of Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program's National Estuaries Days celebration. Once you submit the form, please also save a copy to your computer or print the completed form for your files. If you wish to hold the same event on multiple times, please complete the form once and provide all the options. If you wish to hold multiple events, please complete the form once for each event.

Be as succinct as possible when providing this information.

Please send any items you have items to help illustrate the promotional material -- photographs, quotes, poems -- by email to mhilgendorf@swfrpc.org.

Thank you!