The nonprofit Union Sportsmen’s Alliance’s (USA) is teaming up with a wide range of partners to give thousands of Florida youth and their families better firsthand access to the Gulf of Mexico’s inshore ecosystem by constructing a wheelchair-accessible boardwalk and fishing pier at the Suncoast Youth Conservation Center (SYCC) in Apollo Beach.

These partners are holding a volunteer workday at the project site on Saturday, April 13, providing the media ample opportunities for construction photos and interviews with organizers and volunteers.

Who:
The wheelchair-accessible boardwalk and fishing pier project is being organized as part of Work Boots on the Ground – the USA’s flagship conservation program. Project partners include the USA, Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Southern States Millwright Council, The Saunders Foundation, Frank E. Duckwall Foundation, Ben Hur Construction, Pure Fishing and a number of local labor unions. Collectively, donations in funds, volunteer union labor, materials and other construction expenses from these partners are expected to top $800,000.

Why:
Part of the FWC’s Florida Youth Conservation Centers Network (FYCCN), the SYCC is a marine-focused conservation education center on the eastern shore of Tampa Bay. The campus, which includes a 6,000-square-foot education facility with an outdoor classroom, hiking and kayak trails, a wildlife observation tower, and a Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Center, was developed in partnership with TECO Energy and the Florida Aquarium. More than 11,000 youth and adults participate in SYCC programs annually.

The new boardwalk and fishing pier will flank a 2.5-acre saltwater pond and marsh adjacent to the educational complex. By design, the new structure will allow visitors to study coastal marine habitats and learn to fish with minimal impact to the environment.

When:
Saturday, April 13, 2019
8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Where:

Suncoast Youth Conservation Center

6650 Dickman Rd.

Apollo Beach, Florida 33572

Photo Opps:
Local labor union members and other volunteers building the boardwalk and pier.

Contacts:
Pre-event media contact: Dan Johnson, USA Public Relations Manager, (763)-244-5019; danj@unionsportsmen.org

On-site media contact: Forrest Parker, USA Director of Conservation and Community Outreach, 828-788-1153