• Water quality is a popular topic in Wakulla County.
• The Gulf Specimen Marine Lab is working to protect the water by building a greenhouse.
• Watch the video to learn how the greenhouse can help filter water in this area.

TRANSCRIPT OF THE MISSION:

“And you buy the best filters in the world, namely seaweed and algae.”

Jack Rudloe owns the Gulf Specimen Marine Lab, where a greenhouse has just been built in the hopes of filtering the water using algae.

“We want to grow this type of algae. These are some of the red algae called Gracilaria that grow in the bay.”

Rudloe says the algae will help filter the water, making it better for marine life in the lab and in the bays.

They received a grant of $700,036,000 from the Department of Environmental Protection.

Stan Brown of Salty Dog Construction built the greenhouse and says he is proud to contribute to this community landmark.

“My children came here when they were little and my grandchildren come here. It’s nice to be able to help people and know that you’re helping the community.”

The greenhouse took about 5 weeks to build. It has a retractable roof that gives the plants sunlight to grow.

Rudloe is confident that this new addition will help improve water quality and support marine life.

“If we have more algae and more ways to remove it, maybe we can keep up with the insane growth that’s happening here.”

They say the rest of the greenhouse should be finished in a year, after which it will be open to the public for educational purposes.