Mattie Kelly Environmental Symposium & Choctawhatchee Estuary Family Festival, April 27-28
4/3/2012
The Mattie M. Kelly Cultural & Environmental Institute at Northwest Florida State College will host the fifth annual Mattie Kelly Environmental Symposium on the Choctawhatchee Basin on April 27, 2012 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the college's Niceville campus and a free Choctawhatchee Estuary Family Festival April 28 at Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou State Park in Niceville from 11 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Registrations are now being accepted for the April 27 symposium by web at www.mattiekellyinstitute.org. This year's symposium theme is "Comparing the Estuaries of Northwest Florida." The symposium is open to the public and geared to scientists, ecologists, conservation groups, city and regional developers, transportation planners, residents and landowners. The registration fee is $25 and includes all symposium materials, a continental breakfast and lunch. Register online by April 18 to reserve a space at the symposium and pay registration fee by mail or in-person the day of the event.
The symposium is part of a two-day emphasis on the Choctawhatchee Basin which also includes the fifth annual Choctawhatchee Estuary Family Festival on Saturday, April 28 from 11:00 am. to 4:00 p.m. at Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou State Park, located at 4281 Highway 20 East in Niceville. The festival is a free family & community event for all ages. There is no park entrance fee for the festival which offers fun activities, hands-on displays and environmental awareness. The event is hosted by the Mattie M. Kelly Cultural & Environmental Institute at Northwest Florida State College. For more information on the festival, contact Meredith Fingarson at 729-4915 or go online to www.mattiekellyinstitute.org.
Both the public festival and the scientific symposium are organized by the NWF State College Mattie M. Kelly Cultural and Environmental Institute. The institute, which was established in 1997, is a partnership of NWF State College, the NWFSC Foundation Inc., and the Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance of NWF State College, and is dedicated to the cultural, environmental, historical and instructional goals set forth for the institute by the late Mattie M. Kelly of Destin.