ELC of Wabasso gets gift to guide visitors on Indian River Lagoon tours

Ed Killer, Treasure Coast Newspapers
·3 min read

The Environmental Learning Center in Wabasso this month received a single donation large enough to buy a new outboard motor that was on its 2022 holiday wish list.

The motor — a Yamaha 150 horsepower outboard — will allow ELC to give pontoon boat tours multiple times a day on the Indian River Lagoon, said spokesperson Janie Hoover.

The donation was the result of TCPalm's annual 12 Days of Christmas campaign, in which ELC had requested $15,000 for a new outboard motor to replace an older one on its pontoon tour boat. The organization had partially fulfilled its request, but a donor was able to complete the request after TCPalm published a Feb. 27 article about how the environmental nonprofit — and some others — didn't get their wish. The first story about ELC's wish published on Jan. 3.

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Yamaha outboard 150 horsepower four stroke
Yamaha outboard 150 horsepower four stroke

ELC already has the outboard motor on its pontoon boat, Hoover said.

Since its founding in 1988, the ELC has been a 64-acre biodiverse lagoon-island nature center located in the middle of the Indian River Lagoon in Wabasso, just north of Vero Beach. Exhibits include:

  • Aquarium

  • Touch Tank

  • Pontoon Eco Tours

  • Kayaks

  • Walking Trails

  • Camps & Field Trips

  • Art Galleries

  • Speaker Series

  • Rental Venue

Two nonprofits still have not had their wish fulfilled and eight had their wish only partially fulfilled.

It's never too late to donate to these organizations:

WISH NOT FULFILLED

Indian RiverKeeper, Stuart

St. Lucie County Reef Builders, Fort Pierce

WISH ONLY PARTIALLY FULFILLED

Pelican Island Audubon Society, Vero Beach

Florida Oceanographic Society, Stuart

  • Initial request: $7,500 to repair hurricane damage to observation deck; Improve habitat grow-out facilities

  • Funding received: $1,500

  • Contact Abigail Flood at aflood@floridaocean.org or 772-225-0505 ext. 108

  • Website: Floridaocean.org

Smithsonian Marine Center, Fort Pierce

  • Initial request: $1,600 for eight digital touch screens

  • Funding received: $200 plus pledges for $400 more

  • Contact: Bill Hoffman at hoffman@si.edu or 772-465-3273

  • Website: Stlucieco.gov/aquarium

Coastal Conservation Association, Vero Beach

Friends of the Everglades, Stuart

Manatee Observation & Education Center, Fort Pierce

  • Initial request: $15,000 for "Shuck the Muck" campaign

  • Funding received: $11,990

  • Contact: Jessica Kadie Barclay, at donate@manateeeducationcenter.org or go to Gofundme.com

  • Website: Manateeeducationcenter.org

Environmental Studies Center, Jensen Beach

Dolphin & Ecology Project, Stuart

  • Initial request: $5,000 for boat storage, fuel, camera equipment

  • Funding received: $1,000

  • Contact: Nic Mader at dolphinmader@gmail.com

  • Website: No website

Ed Killer covers the environment, the Indian River Lagoon, fishing and more for TCPalm. Email him at ed.killer@tcpalm.com.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Indian River Lagoon eco-tours get help from TCPalm's 12 Days donor