Florida LAKEWATCH, Fishing For Success seek $1 million
Florida LAKEWATCH and Fishing For Success need a home. You can help them build it.
LAKEWATCH, a statewide water monitoring program, and Fishing for Success, a youth education program that works hand-in-hand with LAKEWATCH, are based at the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences in northwest Gainesville. But due to lack of space, their personnel and guests use facilities scattered around the property.
So Dan Canfield, a limnology professor with the department, is working with the IFAS Development Office in an effort to raise $1 million for a building complex to serve both programs.
The complex will include a pavilion measuring 50 feet by 100 feet, restrooms, a large conference room, numerous offices, several laboratories and an aquarium. It will house personnel working in both programs and provide shelter and educational opportunities for the more than 18,000 youth who will attend Fishing For Success events each year.
Gifts may be tax-deductible and the private gifts designated for this facility may be eligible for state matching funds. Donors can choose to purchase commemorative bricks, which will be inscribed with a name or message and used in a special portion of the building, the LAKEWATCH Hall of Honor. For more information on the Hall of Honor, click here. Gifts should be made payable to the University of Florida Foundation, designated for the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Account No. 2063.
Founded in 1986, Florida LAKEWATCH is a water quality monitoring program staffed largely by volunteers. Together, they sample water from 600 lakes and 50 coastal sites on a monthly basis.
Fishing For Success provides aquatic education to children from around the state, hosting field trips for schools, churches and recreational facilities. It also offers a monthly Family Fishing Day where families can spend an enjoyable morning together as children learn and practice catch-and-release fishing, free of charge.
Click here to visit the Florida LAKEWATCH home page
Click here to visit the Fishing For Success home page
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