Rookery Bay Staff & Volunteers Join International Coastal Cleanup Day

On International Coastal Cleanup Day, Rookery Bay staff and volunteers met at Shell Island Road (SIR) within the reserve for a successful cleanup effort. The morning began with just a few participants, but the group quickly grew to include more than a dozen volunteers, staff and students from Florida Gulf Coast University.

Rookery Bay’s aquarist Patti led the event. Volunteers split into teams to cover the roadways between the SIR parking lot, the boat launch area and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation parking lot. Transportation support from Reserve staff helped late arrivals join cleanup teams quickly.

Among the volunteers were FGCU students Eric Busby, Zak Miyahira and J.R. Bellis, who worked alongside Reserve staff. By the end of the morning, the recycling dumpster was filled more than halfway with bottles, cans, four discarded tires, a fiberglass seat, wooden materials and even an old pair Birkenstocks and Nikes! Numerous bags of trash had been removed. In addition, two large piles of palm fronds were gathered and moved to the Reserve’s burn pile.

Special thanks to everyone for making the event successful! The effort highlighted the value of community partnerships and student involvement in protecting local estuarine habitats.