Four students from Yale University, Nico Theunissen, Isabella Chiaravalloti, Mingyu Zhang and Rocco D'Ascanio, recently visited Rookery Bay Research Reserve to study the Fruit Farm Creek mangrove restoration site. Guided by Research Coordinator Nerea Ubierna and Stewardship Coordinator Jared Franklin, the team explored both the land and surrounding waters to better understand how the restored mangroves are functioning.  

Registration has just opened for Rookery Bay Research Reserve’s popular Student Institute for Marine Science Camp (SIMS). Now in its 20th year, SIMS gives students entering grades 7–10 the chance to explore Southwest Florida’s coastal habitats alongside real biologists from Rookery Bay.  

Rookery Bay Stewardship Coordinator, Jared Franklin, hosted an international group of plant conservation experts for a field visit to Rookery Bay’s Cannon and Keewaydin Islands a few weeks ago.   The visiting scientists were in Southwest Florida for a meeting hosted by Naples Botanical Garden as part of the Caribbean and Central American Botanic Gardens Network.

Rookery Bay’s Education Team recently attended the 2026 STEM Fair at JetBlue Park, home to the Boston Red Sox spring training. Almost 1,000 elementary students rotated through hands-on exhibits hosted by eight science, environmental and technology organizations. Rookery Bay was proud to be among them.   The undeniable star of the day was Rookery Bay’s new Vusem Interactive Microscope!

Rookery Bay’s popular Lunch & Learn series continued its successful streak last week. The Environmental Learning Center auditorium was a full house for “Living with Bears in Southwest Florida.” This second program in the 2026 Birds, Bears and Bees series featured Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Bear Biologist Chris Boyce.

Rookery Bay’s Coastal Training and Engagement Team recently hosted another well-received session in the Reserve’s new Wildlife Interaction Workshop Series. This time the focus was placed on the mammals that call Collier County home. Participants explored the lives and behaviors of local species, from panthers and bats to dolphins and manatees. They also learned practical ways to protect these animals and the habitats they depend on.

Over the past month, Rookery Bay Environmental Learning Center welcomed five groups from STARability Foundation’s Trailblazer Academy, a program for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Each group enjoyed a personalized, hands-on learning experience about Rookery Bay’s coastal habitats and wildlife. It was also a pleasant surprise to see past Friends of Rookery Bay staff member Abigail Swisher leading one of the groups.

Guests and staff at the Rookery Bay Environmental Learning Center were in for quite a surprise recently when a Florida black bear was seen (numerous times) wandering through the grounds! One day the bear even stopped to snack from a bird feeder outside the administrative office and literally tore it down before continuing his stroll around the building and back into the woods.

Rookery Bay Research Reserve was honored to take part in a special panel discussion on mangroves at the Naples Baker Museum, alongside representatives from the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida and artist Nathalie Alfonso, whose work is currently featured in the Entangled in the Mangroves exhibit.

Rookery Bay staff teamed up with the Von Arx Wildlife Hospital to release a rehabilitated Black tern back into the wild. After receiving care at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida’s Von Arx Hospital, the bird was transported by boat to the Second Chance Critical Wildlife Area in the southern region of the reserve. Here it soared once again over the Gulf.