Marine Discovery Center Salt Marsh
Sound
On/Off
[ Date ]
05 04 2026
The salt marsh at the Marine Discovery Center is a restored coastal wetland within the Indian River Lagoon system, designed to support habitat conservation, shoreline stabilization, and environmental education. Once a heavily disturbed site, the area was rebuilt using native marsh grasses, mangroves, oyster shell, coquina rock, and terraced living shoreline techniques instead of hardened seawalls. Today, it functions as both an active habitat for fish, birds, crabs, and native plant communities, and as a demonstration site for restoration practices that support resilience against erosion, sea-level rise, and climate change.
[ Geographic Features ]
Estuary, Lagoon, Tidal Creek, Shoreline, Wetland, Watershed, Coastal Plain
[ Patterns of Land Use ]
Boardwalk, Waterfront Access, Conservation Land
[ Data Set ]
7:36 PM EST
29.035333, -80.919639
72°F, Sunny
East wind, 11 mph with gusts up to 14 mph
The salt marsh at the Marine Discovery Center opens without a clear edge, where water moves quietly through mangroves and marsh grasses, reflecting the sky in long pale bands. Black needlerush and smooth cordgrass gather at the shoreline, while mangrove roots hold the softer ground against tide and erosion.
What now feels settled was once a stark restoration site—described as a moonscape before years of planting and patient return allowed the landscape to recover. Native plants, oyster shell, coquina rock, and terraced slopes were used to shape a living shoreline, stabilizing the edge without seawalls and leaving space for the marsh to shift with tide, season, and rising water.
Birdhouses rise above the grasses for returning purple martins, egrets move through the shallows, and oyster beds surface in scattered clusters along the water’s edge. The tide continues its slow work of reshaping the shoreline, in a landscape defined by restoration, adaptation, and constant change.
[ Plants ]
Sensitive Plant
Common Names: Sunshine Mimosa, Powderpuff Plant
Botanical Name: Mimosa pudica
Low-growing perennial herb with pink spherical flowers and sensitive leaflets that fold when touched. Found in open grassy edges near the marsh.
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Genus: Mimosa
Species: M. pudica
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Groundseltree
Common Names: Eastern Baccharis, Saltbush, Groundsel Bush
Botanical Name: Baccharis halimifolia
Salt-tolerant coastal shrub common in marsh edges and brackish wetlands, helping stabilize disturbed shorelines.
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Baccharis
Species: B. halimifolia
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Black Mangrove
Common Names: Black Mangrove
Botanical Name: Avicennia germinans
Coastal mangrove shrub/tree with salt-tolerant leaves and pneumatophores that help oxygenate roots in tidal soils.
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Lamiales
Family: Acanthaceae
Genus: Avicennia
Species: A. germinans
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Wax Myrtle
Common Names: Southern Wax Myrtle, Bayberry
Botanical Name: Morella cerifera
Dense evergreen shrub common in coastal Florida, often forming windbreaks along marsh transition zones.
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Fagales
Family: Myricaceae
Genus: Morella
Species: M. cerifera
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Jesuit's Bark
Common Names: Marsh Elder, High-Tide Bush
Botanical Name: Iva frutescens
Woody salt marsh shrub found along higher marsh elevations and tidal creek edges.
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Iva
Species: I. frutescens
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Deergrass
Common Names: Deer Grass, Muhly Grass
Botanical Name: Muhlenbergia capillaris
Native bunchgrass forming dense clumps, often used in restoration for erosion control and habitat structure.
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Genus: Muhlenbergia
Species: M. capillaris