On the shores of Charlotte Harbor awaits one of the most pristine estuaries in Florida.
"You can have your mangroves and sea grasses, and you don't have it all developed with high rises and buildings and sea walls," says Eileen Tramontana, an environmentalist and educator at the Charlotte Harbor Environmental Center.
Grab a net, don't forget the bucket, and a pair of old shoes are best, because you never know what's on the bottom.
Just below the surface in Punta Gorda rests a baby nursery. Here you'll find baby hermit crabs, young flounder, shrimp and even a relative of the seahorse — the pipe fish.
"If we want our Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean, you got to have these nursery areas for everything to live and grow," explains Tramontana.
Tour guides like Eileen lead groups of the curious for an up-close look at baby sea creatures.
"We don't want to kill anything," she says. "We bring them up long enough to look at them, and then we release everything."
With nets submerged, life from beneath the surface emerges.
"If we want our systems to stay functioning and viable, we have to know how they work," Tramontana says. "We have to know how to protect them and what to do."
Among the sea grasses, you'll find life.
"Several types of grasses," one woman explains.
Sometimes you find this on salad, I observe.
Back on dry land, guides with the Charlotte Harbor Environmental Center will place the animals inside magnifying devices for an up-close look.
As for what to take away from the experience, Tramontana says, "I want them to take a little bit of the wonder of the system they have seen, a little bit of the excitement they have had."
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