Nearly 60 people participated in the Tampa Bay Estuary Program’s annual “Estuary Academy” held in October at Weedon Island Preserve in St. Petersburg.

The Academy’s mission is to introduce citizens to the wealth of scientific research being conducted on (and in) Tampa Bay – and give them practical information on how they can help protect the bay. Morning sessions featured a keynote “State of the Bay” presentation by TBEP Science Director Holly Greening. Workshops allowedparticipants to collect bay critters from the shallow seagrass flats; examine plankton through microscopes; take a guided hike through a mangrove forest; sample edible insects; and fashion homemade gifts from objects found in nature.