On Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, a North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) and her calf passed through GTMNERR’s Middle Beach area heading south towards St. Augustine. Many staff ventured out to view this rare event. Each year from November to April, female right whales migrate from their northern feeding grounds to their southern calving areas to give birth and raise their calves.

Oyster monitoring season is underway at the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve (GTMNERR), marking the start of another year of hands-on data collection across the Reserve’s intertidal reefs. The season began in mid-December with a volunteer training day focused on assessing oyster reef condition, including estimating percent cover and counting oyster clusters. 

Guana Tolomato Matanzas Estuarine Research Reserve (GTMNERR) Water Quality Manager Katrin Villinger and Volunteer Coordinator Abby Kuhn hosted Pam Shipley, the winner of Friends of GTM’s “Researcher for a Day” fundraiser prize.

Just after sunrise on Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025, Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Reaserche Reserve (GTMNERR) volunteer Jeff Finnan witnessed one of the quiet closing scenes of coastal wildlife’s annual rhythm: the emergence of the final sea turtle nest of the season.

Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve’s alligators have outgrown their tank in the reptile room! Every couple of years, they are exchanged for three babies. Otherwise, they would become too big for the tank. Ranger Zach Lepera and Aquarist Sarah Moulton took the overgrown alligators back to Gatorland in Orlando, and exchanged them for babies that hatched earlier this year.

To encourage visitors to recreate responsibly, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, the GTM Research Reserve (GTMNERR) gave away water bottles to each visitor who completed a brief survey and committed to switching to reusable bottles. These bottles can be filled at one of the reserve’s water bottle refilling stations. This is just one of many steps GTMNERR and the aquatic preserves are taking to promote more sustainable practices. 

November 4-6, 2025, the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) held an Education Sector Meeting at GTMNERR (GTM Research Reserve). Education coordinators (ECs) from the 30 NERRS across the country spent three days meeting on topics such as the Teachers on the Estuary (TOTE) teacher training/professional development program, community partnerships and market analysis/needs assessments.

On Homeschool Friday, Guana Tolomato Matanzas Research Reserve’s (GTMNERR) education team and volunteers taught students from Classical Conversations homeschool about seining. It was a great opportunity for the students to pull a seine net through Guana Lake, collecting fish, crabs and other species and learning about them.

For the Forest Expeditions program, GTM Research Reserve’s (GTMNERR) education team hosted 25 students ages 6-12 and 15 adults from the Classical Conversations homeschool group on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. Education provided information about the reserve and its cultural and indigenous history. Native species were discussed, a game about invasive species was played and a hike was taken.

On Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, GTM Research Reserve attended the Cub Scout Pack 277 “Back to Pack” event, held at Christ Church in Ponte Vedra Beach. The purpose of the event was to get Cub Scouts excited about scouting in the upcoming year. Outreach Specialist Kristine Seager introduced the group to Princess Diana, a diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) turtle, one of the reserve’s animal ambassadors.