About
Mission & History
Tampa Bay Watch is dedicated to fostering a healthy Tampa Bay watershed through community-driven restoration projects, education programs, and outreach initiatives.
As a cornerstone of environmental stewardship in the Tampa Bay area, Tampa Bay Watch is dedicated to the preservation and restoration of our local ecosystems. Our mission centers on protecting the unique natural landscapes and marine environments that define our region, ensuring they thrive for generations to come.
Our approach is multifaceted, involving community-driven restoration projects, educational initiatives, and advocacy to safeguard the health of Tampa Bay. With ongoing support from volunteers, members, and partners, Tampa Bay Watch is making a lasting impact on the environment, demonstrating the power of collective action.
During the first half of the 20th century, the island known as Cunningham Key was just another small spot of land in the pristine waters of southern Tampa Bay. In the 1960s, however, the Department of Transportation began to dredge bay bottom areas and create nearby roads and causeways. Cunningham Key became part of a causeway system connecting Tierra Verde to Fort De Soto. The site was originally filled as a work site for equipment and manpower used in the construction of the Bunce’s Pass Bridge to Fort De Soto Park.
As time went on, Cunningham Key held a single family residence and their business, Rita’s Bait Shop. The area became a popular enclave for commercial fisherman and their vessels, as well as recreational boaters who would stop in to the bait shop for supplies. Over time however, the buildings, seawalls and land fell into disrepair, and eventually the business was abandoned. In 1997, the property was put up for sale.
Pinellas County and the State of Florida Greenways Program worked together to secure the Cunningham Key property with the goal of establishing it as the base for Tampa Bay Watch’s environmental protection and restoration programs. The property was purchased in 2000; and Tampa Bay Watch maintains a management agreement to implement its programs from Cunningham Key.
Temporary offices for Tampa Bay Watch staff members were built in 2002. The permanent facility, which includes staff offices, a large community center, a marine education center and USCG-permitted lighthouse, was completed in 2005. Today, the facility stands as a testament to the power of vision combined with hard work, and represents a promise to preserve and enhance the beauty of our natural surroundings.
Bay Grasses in Classes constructs first nursery
First oyster project completed at Crisp Park in St. Pete
State of Florida and Pinellas County acquire Cunningham Key for the Marine Education Center
Living shoreline project starts at MacDill Air Force Base
First derelict crab trap removal
Dedication of the Tampa Bay Watch Marine Education Center in Tierra Verde
Estuary EDventures field trips and summer camps begin
Rock Ponds is largest volunteer planting in the history of Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay Watch Discovery Center opens its doors on the St. Pete Pier
Tierra Verde Marine Education Center becomes Auer Marine Education Center
Marine Science on the Move begins providing after-school programs
Shells for Shorelines officially launches and begins partnering with new restaurants to recycle discarded oyster shells
The Auer Marine Education Center Today
Did you know?
Tampa Bay Watch houses Florida’s first lighthouse in 54 years!
The Tampa Bay Watch lighthouse was modeled after the Boca Grande light and embodies traditional Florida coastal architecture. The lighthouse, which rises 74 feet into the air, is the first privately held aid to navigation permitted by the United States Coast Guard in Florida in the past 54 years. The light emits a ¼-second flash every four seconds, casting its beam across the mouth of Tampa Bay and guiding boaters through our local waterways.
Stop by Tampa Bay Watch in Tierra Verde to buy your official Lighthouse Passport Book and get it stamped!
Tampa Bay Watch emphatically denounces racism and discrimination and is dedicated to providing inclusive education and stewardship opportunities as part of a unified community of equal stakeholders in our environment.
But the urgency of the matter at hand illuminated through recent tragedy goes far beyond mission-related statements in support of diversity and inclusion that should be held central to every mission and effort we hold dear. This is an issue that concerns all of us, that defines our very humanity, and demands active efforts to address and correct the pervasive root of economic inequity. We recognize diversity as a crucial strength in a thriving community and business economy and are committed to actively supporting that value to foster an equitable society and create lasting change.
Tampa Bay Watch will continue to implement environmental educational programs that serve groups who have historically experienced exclusion from opportunities in science and environmentalism. We support efforts to ensure a diversified staff and Board, and recognize that it is our responsibility to seek qualified candidates to support our unified mission. Additionally we commit to action that facilitates equal opportunity, to standing ready and united with our incredible community, and to work together to make this beautiful place we all work, play, and live, as healthy as it can be for everyone.
Here are a few action items on how all of us can be better allies:
- Listen to your friends, coworkers, and neighbors to hear their perspectives.
- Take a course outside of your comfort zone or seek information on how to make personal changes. Community Tampa Bay and the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg both offer important resources to break cycles of inequity and cultivate inclusive leaders.
- Take a stand by joining an effort.
- Speak up on important issues.
- Support local minority and black-owned businesses.
- And be sure to VOTE during the next election, your vote counts!