Wakulla County Chamber of Commerce
Environmental Stewardship AwardGULF SPECIMEN MARINE LABORATORY
Panacea, Florida
2005
The Wakulla County Chamber of Commerce awarded the First Annual Environmental Stewardship Award on Monday, September 26, 2005.
Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratories, Inc. received the award. The Environmental Stewardship Award was accepted by Jack Rudloe, Vice President, and Anne Rudloe, President. Jack stated that, “it is our common interest [in protecting the environment] that has brought us here.” He expressed hope that we would continue to protect our "life on the half-shell." Anne reminded us that we live in a beautiful place but that it is also dangerous. She asked that we remember the victims of Hurricane Katrina
The purpose of the Environmental Stewardship Award is to recognize Chamber members for development that protects the environment.
There were ten excellent nominees:
Florida Wild Mammal Association
Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratories, Inc.
Gulf State Community Bank
The Inn at Wildwood - A Nature-based Lodge
Paul G. Johnson and Associates
Purple Martin Nurseries
Quill Turk, DDS - Dentistry by the Sea
Shields Marina
Wakulla County Sheriff's Department
Wakulla Medical Center
The criteria used for selection included:
Use of environmentally sensitive building materials and methods
Groundwater protection efforts
Limiting use of chemicals and/or pesticides
Use of alternative energy sources
An educational component
Other environmental stewardship efforts
Several factors made Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratories, Inc. the successful candidate. Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratories uses a unique geothermal temperature control system in their aquarium. A heat exchanger cools the seawater in the summer and warms it in winter, thereby reducing the use of fossil fuel by 85%. Only the pump is run by electricity. They use extensive passive solar heating and add significant light to the building using skylights and south-facing windows. The heat exchanger allows them not to use air conditioning in the aquarium. This geothermal temperature system uses groundwater that is run through the heat exchanger and then reinjected into the aquifer.
Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratories landscape uses salt-tolerant plants and plants that tolerate poor soil. They use no fertilizer or pesticides. They have preserved all large trees on site as a windstorm buffer. Their parking lot is unpaved.
Although Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratories, Inc. is not for profit, the organization brings business to Wakulla County by bringing school children and visitors to our county from as far south as Orlando, Florida and as far north as Birmingham, Alabama. The Rudloe’s books and nationally published magazine articles expose the many benefits of this county to potential visitors nation-wide. Approximately 16,000 people a year visit Gulf Specimen Marine Lab.
GULF SPECIMEN MARINE LAB • PO BOX 237 • PANACEA, FL 32346 USA • (850) 984-5297 • FAX (850) 984-5233
