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Last Friday, I drove out past Sanibel Island and crossed Blind Pass over to Captiva Island. At the end of Captiva, there’s a resort called South Seas, which has conference facilities. I was there to get some safety training for beach cleanup volunteers – want to be prepared in case the Gulf oil spill makes its way to the Lee Island Coast of Florida. The drive looks short-ish on the map, but is made longer by the 35 mile per hour speed limit (maximum) that’s enforced on both islands. Pretty scenery is the saving grace – I wasn’t suffering at all!
The course was four hours long and it was taught by a trainer from the Ostego Bay Oil Spill Co-Op and a trainer from OSHA – Occupational Safety & Health Administration. There were several different segments that explained the sensitivity of the Gulf coast, especially in the estuaries, the types of hazards that can be encountered in the environment that’s being cleaned, protective gear worn by cleanup workers, and the procedures they follow to maximize safety and minimize damage to people, wildlife, the environment and property.
As conference facilities go – and I’ve been in a lot of them – South Seas has a lot going for it. First, location – a sub-tropical island really cannot be beat. The grounds are nicely landscaped with tropical flowering shrubs and swaying palms. The conference facilities are not all worn out and tired-looking. They are clearly well-maintained. The air conditioning in the conference center was neither too strong nor too weak – just right for people wearing shorts and tank tops. And the final thing to recommend South Seas – REAL iced tea was served, and there were candy jars on every table filled with “Made In The USA” mints.
Click the photos to see if a larger version is available in Flickr
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It’s so sad really, that such an environment catastrophe has to happen, before oil drilled is law regulated.
I hope for the best for the American coast. (And that we never will have anything similar happen at our coast live. We’ve got lots of oil rigs in the North Sea.)
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Great post and beautiful shots.
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The venue sounds great. With a place like that I’m sure learning is more fun.
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Good for you for helping the cleanup! The world could use tons more like you!
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I do not really enjoy confereneces, but in such a beautiful setting as yours, I may think again!
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Great shots.
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Interesting posts and shots.
Thank you.
Happy day!
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in case the Gulf oil spill makes its way to the Lee Island Coast of Florida
Hope this doesn’t happen.
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Tink — you obviously had far more important things to do lately than the Mango Festival. (I’m a little embarrassed!) (The fruit was by far the best part of the Festival, BTW.). Thank you for taking the training and being prepared — I hope the spill doesn’t make its way to Lee County but it is not looking too hopeful for anyone these days. Horrible.
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Great topic and good post! Especially wonderful that you are willing to give back to the community – looking forward to more posts on this subject.
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It is good how people from all walks of life can help in any way they can.
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Very interesting and informative post you’ve got here. Thanks for sharing!
RT~Straw/blueberry pie
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I hope that the west coast of Florida can be spared the worst of the oil sheen – the beautiful sand needs to be as pristine as it can be…
As for made in the USA, the shame is that we don’t support the Gulf shrimp industry. Yes in the northeast, we do consume far too much Taiwan, Thai and Chinese shrimp industry instead of the Gulf. The best seafood I’ve had was in Biloxi MS, true fresh Gulf shrimp. Why the Gulf has to suffer so much (so often) is truly a mystery…
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Good for you. I hope that the oil doesn’t reach Sanibel and Captiva but it is going to do what it is going to do.
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Very good that you are helping with the clean-up down there. Sounds like a really nice place to be.
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