Two outreach events in celebration of Save Our Waters Week. Our annual kayak tour returned after a year off due to Hurricane Helene, fittingly taking place on the storm’s one-year anniversary. Community members joined staff and partners from the Florida Public Archaeology Network, Crystal River Preserve State Park, and SMMAP for a guided paddle highlighting the area’s cultural and natural resources.

The Garden Club of Verona Walk (a very large Naples community) recently visited the Rookery Bay Environmental Learning Center, where they were welcomed by Verona Walk resident and longtime Rookery Bay volunteer Jeanne. A dedicated member of the Reserve’s volunteer team, Jeanne has contributed more than 2,000 hours of service. She has led countless groups through the center and helped visitors of all ages connect with the coastal environment.

Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve hosted a seining event with the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind (FSDB) in St. Augustine. Education Coordinator Josephine Spearman led a group of visiting summer campers from FSDB to pull a seine net through Guana Lake collecting species of fish, crabs and other organisms. The visiting campers finished the day with a tour of the reserve’s Visitor Center.