. >> reporter: walter fuller has been watching over the wetlands for nearly 20 years. >> you can seet about all the wetlands you want to see. >> reporter: an avid bird-watcher, he found this in the "90, and found refuge when he world crumbled. >> reporter: you were laid off in 1996 and lost your mother. >> yes. >> reporter: homeless and alone this became his home and the birds his family. what was it about losing your mum and losing your job that drew you to the beach. >> i closed myself off and wanted to take care of the birds. his coastal refuge as not exactly a picture postcard. >> it was a dumping ground. tires, bottles, we even had some sites out here. >> reporter: people were murdered out here. here. >> reporter: ormond beach was a dumping ground for toxic rate. an engineering company operated a metal recycling plant, sending toxic run-off into the ponds at its basse at a matter of 1 million per month. he filed for bankruptcy and shut down in 2004. leaving behind an unsightly and dangerous slag pile that is a designated e.p.a. site. as if that weren't enough, the town's coast a