The Rookery Bay Environmental Learning Center auditorium played host to staff, volunteers and partners for a special screening of Guardians of Yellowstone: The Yellowstone Cougar Project. The documentary highlights more than 35 years of groundbreaking wildlife research in Yellowstone National Park.   

On August 12, the Coral Protection and Restoration Program, along with The Reef Institute, hosted the Florida’s Coral Reef Restoration & Recovery (FCR3) Initiative Implementation Meeting. Established in 2023, the FCR3 Initiative aims to support the long-term recovery of at least 25% of Florida’s Coral Reef by 2050 through the development of infrastructure, technology, workforce capacity and logistics.

On August 6, Coral Reef Conservation Program’s (CRCP) Awareness and Appreciation Coordinator, Maya Bhalla-Ladd, hosted an outreach event with local partner, Young At Art Children's Museum, to educate the new wave of ocean stewards with two back-to-back lessons on local coral ecology before diving into the six primary stony coral morphologies found on Florida’s Coral Reef. Participants then built a collaborative reef with molding clay!

Everyone measures success differently. When a teacher says, after being in a Teachers On The Estuary (TOTE) workshop, that she will slow the pace during activity transitions to give her pre-K students time to pause and observe ants crossing the sidewalk, that is success. American biologist and naturalist E. O. Wilson would have been pleased to hear that.

The Rookery Bay Environmental Learning Center recently welcomed a group of fourth and fifth graders participating in the Grace Place summer camp program. These visits often serve as a child’s first connection to natural Florida and its iconic species.    

Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve (GTMNERR) staff assisted Dr. Serina Wittyngham of the University of North Florida with fieldwork on the Guana Peninsula as part of a long-term monitoring project tracking marsh migration into upland areas.

What happens when two groups of young women wanting to do a service project at Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve met the Oyster Corps? First, a lot of vertical oyster gardens (VOGs) were made. Second, the role of oysters in the ecosystem became much clearer, and beyond that, a positive, constructive role for humans in the watershed became inspiring.

Van Morrison’s song “Tupelo Honey” contains the line “You can’t stop us ‘cause our eyes can see.” In the case of tupelo honey, we might add “’ cause our tongues can taste.” Tupelo trees and honey were featured in Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve’s second summer spotlight. Several visitors took part in a blended honey vs. tupelo blind taste test. The results were clear.

Rookery Bay Environmental Learning Center recently welcomed a group from STARability Foundation’s Trailblazer Academy, a program for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The group enjoyed a personalized tour with volunteer CJ Deal, a retired educator and a current bowling coach with Southwest Florida’s Special Olympics.

The Big Pine Key Library recently traded quiet reading corners for garden soil as local home-school students gathered for a special “Mangrove Propagule” educational event. Hosted by the Florida Keys Aquatic Preserves team, in partnership with the nonprofit Coastlove, students worked on potting their own little mangroves while learning all about their importance in the environment.