ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – He's no superhero but Noah Shaffer is trying to save the world.

“I have always felt more at peace and connected with the world when I’m out in nature,” said Shaffer, manager of Ecomersion Eco Tours.

He’s out on the waters of Tampa Bay around Weedon Island almost every day. The water is his office.

“This is the famous entrance to the Weedon Island mangrove tunnels. Over 3.8 miles of mangroves tunnels here at Weedon Island,” said Shaffer.

And it’s his job to help people appreciate it.

Shaffer started Ecomersion at the end of 2019, with a goal to show people first-hand the importance of environments.

“Here along these roots you can see the oysters and those are important for filtering water. They can filter almost all the water in Tampa Bay in a day. They’re also important because of the way their root systems grow, they’re holding the soil in place. Without them, Florida is pretty sandy, and that soil would have been washed away hundreds of thousands of years ago,” said Shaffer.

They’ve operated for about three years now, but only in January did they move into Weedon Island after winning a bid to be the exclusive eco tour company in the preserve.

He says it’s encouraging that the county believes in his mission of preservation and conservation.

“My background is not in conservation and biology, but the rest of our teams background is. And without them we wouldn’t be able to have the impact we do on the local ecosystems and do the projects we’re trying to accomplish in Weedon Island and throughout the area,” said Shaffer.

So what’s next, remains to be seen. 

“I have always felt more at peace and connected with the world when I’m out in nature, and there’s a good portion of the population that also feels that way and feels it’s good to get outside and enjoy the nature world so it’s important for us to preserve that,” said Shaffer.

If you would like to book a tour with Shaffer or one of his team members, you can visit ecomersion.com.