RICHARD A. KELLY and CAMILLE S. YATES present Treasured Waters ~ The Indian River Lagoon

Friday, February 5th at 4 p.m.

The Indian River Lagoon is an estuary situated along 157 miles of Florida's east coast spanning from New Smyrna Beach south to Jupiter, Florida. Within the Indian River Lagoon, there are three separate major bodies of water including the Mosquito Lagoon, the Banana River, and the Indian River. Since the span of the Indian River Lagoon is so long, the area is home to a very diverse array of plants and animals. In fact, the Indian River Lagoon has been designated by the National Estuary Program as one of the most diverse estuaries in the United States. Over 4,300 species call the Indian River Lagoon "home".

Florida's east coast is becoming more and more popular, with several thousand people moving to the area each month. As a result, the Indian River Lagoon has seen some negative impacts due to increased development along its shoreline and westward in its watershed.

Artist, Rick Kelly, is documenting the Lagoon's precious habitats through oil on canvas landscape paintings of the Lagoon. The paintings depict the variety of habitats from each different area of the Lagoon with spartina grass marshes in the north to the worm rock reef and mangrove habitat in the southern Lagoon.