We’re kicking off 2024 with a rocking campaign to protect our home waters in New Smyrna Beach, FL. Once the most diverse estuary in North America, the Indian River Lagoon has suffered setbacks from algae blooms, nutrient-laden runoff and seagrass loss.
We’ve partnered with the Marine Discovery Center of New Smyrna Beach and their army of volunteers to help advocate for the protection and restoration of our backyard fishing grounds, and will fund the efforts with the sale of our IRL Camp Cup Collection. Featuring original artwork from tattooist Casey Anderson of four of the most popular maritime locals (bull shark, loggerhead turtle, squirrel tree frog and blue crab), these enamel metal cups are perfect for hosting a grain-based liquid, dirt-filled kitchen garden or hot cocoa-based child smile.
So check out the Camp Cups For A Cause, and find a way to fill with them something that will contribute positively to your local attitude, all while helping protect the Indian River Lagoon.
Learn More About the Cause
Ten years ago, the Indian River Lagoon was the most diverse estuary in North America with massive seagrass meadows and epic snook, seatrout and redfish Populations. These days, the IRL looks more like a moonscape. Massive algae blooms, nutrient-laden runoff and the loss of the majority of seagrasses has turned this fishing mecca from a saltwater playground to a milky colored desert.
We picked the Marine Discovery Center in New Smyrna Beach because of their longstanding commitment to the local water lovers and the Indian River Lagoon. With events like Lagoonacy, their annual fundraiser that features a homemade raft race, mermaids and countless other ways to get your feet wet, they just fit into our roll up and save the world lifestyle.
“We utilize a hands-on, feet-wet nature based educational systems to teach how to become good stewards of the environment and the natural world around us,” said Chad Truxall, Executive Director of the MDC. “The center provides opportunities to become personally involved in restoration and sustainability activities like oyster shell recycling, shoreline restoration, water quality testing, invasive plant eradication and seagrass and marine life surveys.”
The MDC has an army of volunteers, but what they don’t have is cash. So we’re going to help bankroll some of their projects by picking a quartet of our favorite Indian River locals and having our in-house tattoo artist/fishing guide design some groovy enamel metal camp cups around them. We’ll sell the cups and donate a portion of the proceeds to the MDC.
During the filming of his latest episode of Fishing With Jay, our in-house frat boy chased the hometown shark population and developed a legit fear of the testosterone-charged bull sharks which were just as willing to eat his hooked fish as they were to bite-test the keel of his boat. Thus the first cup has a bull shark on it so you can fill it with something that will bite back!
Cup two has a loggerhead turtle, the big-headed, hard-shelled, flipper-footed Labrador of the reef and a species that gets as much time on social media as a small legal firm. But let a nest of baby loggerheds hatch on a busy day, and the dune to beach trail will be bordered with hundreds of people cheering their marathon efforts to make it to sea.
For those mornings you wake up feeling crabby, we’ve got the cupitude to go with your mood. From shedding it shell to cleaning the bottom, the blue crab is one of the most self-sustaining crustaceans in the Indian River Lagoon, doing double-duty as a redfish, snook or tarpon hors d’ oeuvre.
Last of the camp cup crew is the squirrel tree frog. I know, “the what?” You know those baby frogs that seem to always be hitching a ride on your boat or tow vehicle? Well, they’re not babies, they full-grown suction-toed miniature frogs that are preyed upon by everything from a heron or bigger frog to a gust of wind.
So check out the Camp Cups For A Cause, and find a way to fill with them something that will contribute positively to your local attitude. Whether that’s a grain-based liquid, dirt-filled kitchen garden or cocoa-based child smile. All while making the MDC and the Indian River Lagoon just a little more ire’.
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