A six-year-old boy walks through a crowd of protesters holding up signs saying "kayaks not cruise ships," and "healthy bay equals healthy economy."
In his hand is a sailboat he just made out of found objects: coconut husk for the hull, a long white feather as the mast, and a Seagrape leaf is the mainsail.
Emmett Eversoll walks his sandy red crocs into the water. Sandwiched between mangrove trees, he gently places his new toy into Terra Ceia Bay.
“I still need to work on it a little bit because it’s taking on water,” the boy said – his father Ted watches from the shore.
“This is exactly what we came here for. It's a perfect example,” the smiling dad said.
He, his wife, and two young sons recently moved to Terra Ceia from St. Petersburg for some space and quiet.
“We have a little small pond in our front yard, and there's a little wetland in the backyard … I'm an avid birder, as well as my wife, with over 70 species of birds in our yard,” he said.
Seagrass roots campaign
Ted Eversoll and his family joined hundreds of others at Seabreeze Park in Terra Ceia on Saturday to rally against a proposed cruise port for larger ships off the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Manatee County.
ALSO READ: How a proposed cruise port could risk Lower Tampa Bay's environment and economy
So far, there’s only been preliminary communication between the cruise terminal developer SSA Marine and Manatee County officials, but a community group quickly formed in response: People Protecting Terra Ceia Aquatic Preserve.
Referring to it as a "seagrass roots" campaign, Terra Ceia residents arranged this event.
Local resident Ashley Bowling is one of the organizers.
"It's old Florida … there's not many places like this in Florida left, and they are disappearing quickly,” she said. “I hope people walk away from this more informed."
The crowd found shade under trees or a pavilion to hear from eight presenters.
A commercial fisherman of 35 years talked about his distrust with developers and elected officials, while a charter boat captain said this is one of the last untouched shorelines on this side of the Skyway Bridge.
“The only thing that would be left is Robinson Preserve and Egmont Key … when is that next?” David L. White said.
ALSO READ: Opposition grows against a proposed cruise ship terminal south of the Sunshine Skyway
Former state biologist and marine construction professional, Tom Glancey, used his expertise to make an educated guess on the logistics of dredging for a project of this magnitude.
"I figured out they would have to dredge a channel approximately four and a half miles long, about 1,000 feet wide and up to 60 feet deep, from their property all the way up to the existing shipping channel," Glancey said.
Abbey Tyrna of Suncoast Waterkeeper quantified the environmental impacts:
“The project footprint includes 85 football fields of seagrass beds, more than 85 football fields of mangrove forests, and three football fields of hard bottom shellfish areas,” she said.
“All of that we have in the direct path of this development, all the rest of it is going to be unintended consequences of the development.”
Lawyering up
Local resident and lawyer Kathryn Sole said collecting record evidence, which could include things like documents, data or recordings, is really important right now.
If Manatee County denies SSA Marine's port proposal, the company can appeal within 30 days.
"They're going to come in and say, ‘Well, there wasn't enough record evidence, so we want to go back and try again,'” Sole said.
“It's incumbent upon us, as registered opponents, to put that record evidence together. And the other reason it's important, obviously, is because if we lose … we have 30 days to come in and say, ‘Here is our record evidence.’”
Two lawyers agreed to represent the Terra Ceia Village Improvement Association’s Stewardship Committee in partnership with Suncoast Waterkeeper in their efforts to protect these waters from development.
Sole advised against anyone approaching county commissioners off the record and without someone from SSA Marine present because commissioners could be accused of being biased, which would taint the process.
"We start all over - that would be a disaster," she said.
People Protecting Terra Ceia Aquatic Preserve had lines of folks signing up to volunteer, while collecting more petition signatures.
Father-son fishing
As the event died down, a small boat quietly floated up through the mangroves to dock at the park.
Daniel Voliva was just out fishing with his 15-year-old son Arlis after rebuilding the motor together.
"This is just what we do. We come out. We ride around. We catch fish. We just enjoy the water," Voliva said. “I'm a native to this area, so it's just been a part of life forever.”
His son, Arlis, said he wants to get his own boat one day.
"And be able to do the same thing he does with me, with my kids," he said.
The father and son didn't come here intentionally to protest, but they also don't want a cruise port built.
“The destruction it would bring would be monumental … that would be anywhere as well, but in my opinion, just don't do it here,” Daniel Voliva said.
