Last month, hundreds acres of mesic flatwoods were maintained during a prescribed burn at the Buffer Preserve in Port St. Joe. Teams from the Gulf Corps, Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve, The Nature Conservancy & Bald Point State Park were there to help ensure burn went as efficiently as possible.

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.

Oklawaha River Aquatic Preserve staff had a very busy week of invasive fish removal and river maintenance. The team removed 75 invasive tilapia and 2 plecos over two days from the Silver River with the help of Silver Springs State Park kayak volunteers on safety patrol. In total this month, 50 plecos and 189 tilapia have been removed.

Staff from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Wekiva River Aquatic Preserve (WRAP) recently assisted the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's (FWC) Manatee Research and Rescue Team in the successful rescue of an injured manatee from the St. Johns River.

Last week, Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve completed the first phase of its aquatic acoustic telemetry array when Stewardship Coordinator Matt Bernanke deployed 11 receivers in the Matanzas River and its tributaries, bringing the total number of receivers within the NERR to 33.

FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) was recently awarded funding to pilot an environmental DNA (eDNA) fish study in a select number of Central Florida springs.