The EcoPlex project team has dedicated itself to the application and exploration of dolphin assisted therapy. Spearheaded by Jim Jacoby, of Jacoby Development, Inc., in Atlanta, Georgia, this effort in forward thinking, ecologically conscious development will yield the first dolphin interaction center in the world to focus exclusively on human-dolphin therapy and research.

Located in Ft. Myers, Florida, EcoPlex will facilitate dolphin assisted therapy programs, dolphin interaction research, adjunct therapeutic modalities, and research and development in related neurotechnology and virtual reality enterprises. The preeminent doctor in the field of dolphin assisted therapy, Dr. Dave Nathanson, will relocate his highly successful Dolphin Human Therapy organization to the facility. Dr. Hillburn Hillestad has brought his expertise in environmental preservation to the project, providing for a development which is a benefit to the humans who will visit the facility, the environment surrounding it, and the dolphins and other marine mammals which will be cared for there. AquaThought's chairman, David Cole, will head the EcoPlex interaction research program. A high-bandwidth Internet connection and a variety of tele-presence imaging and acoustic transduction devices will tie the facility to academic organizations, other dolphin therapy and research programs, and to the World Wide Web.

Addressing a Need

Limited access to permanent facilities which provide interaction between humans and dolphins has been the primary factor impeding research in dolphin assisted therapy. As field work, this research is severely constrained by time limits, impracticalities in accessing dolphins, poor access for ill and handicapped individuals, and difficulties in transporting equipment. The promise of what can develop from human-dolphin interaction research has only been hinted at by what has been undertaken so far. What is needed is a facility which invites research, participates in the publishing and distribution of information, offers research oversight and has the technical knowledge to develop and propagate technologies which will emerge from that research. By inviting research organizations from around the world with diverse disciplines to its facility, EcoPlex will establish itself as a focal point of cooperation in dolphin research. In this effort, EcoPlex will join the ranks of facilities such as Dolphin Discovery and the Dolphin Research Center as pioneers in advancing the human-dolphin interaction field.

Aerial Photo

Facility Plans

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