Through the cooperative efforts of the Volusia County Parks and Recreation Department, the Volusia County Department of Environmental Management, and the St. Johns River Water Management District, Mainland High School has been given 33 acres of the Spruce Creek Tract to manage and develop as a park. This ecologically significant tract of land is adjacent to Rose Bay, a freshwater site surrounded by estuarine marshes, saltwater marshes, and brackish bays (satellite view).  This tract is of particular significance now, as the Florida Department of Transportation is making preparations to remove the current U.S. 1 bridge over Rose Bay, and will replace it with a longer bridge that will allow a vastly increased free flow of water through and from the bay. Our efforts in the park will be part of an ongoing water quality testing project to document the rate of water quality restoration and related estuarine improvement due to the new bridge.  The park currently serves as an ecology education center for visitors and students; it is in the process of further development for this purpose.