FGCU water school

Southwest Florida coastlines are undergoing a dramatic transformation. The relentless force of the ocean is devouring the coastline. Rising sea levels paired with more frequent and powerful storms have turned what was once an escape to paradise into a glimpse of a harsh reality for locals and researchers alike. However, a team of researchers from Florida Gulf Coast University is working to address this challenge with a unique solution.

FGCU Professor in the Department of Ecology & Envirornmental Studies Win Everham is set to give a lecture, Aug. 28, through the FGCU Scholar Series about his ongoing monitoring of the progress of the Picayune Strand Restoration Project.

Picayune Strand in Collier County was once slated to become the largest subdivision in the world. In the 1970s, momentum grew to restore the area’s natural hydrologic flow and environmental integrity. Now the ambitious Picayune Strand Restoration project is nearly complete. FGCU Professor in the Department of Ecology & Environmental Studies Win Everham, Ph.D. has been monitoring the site’s restoration progress by studying the status of several indicator species. He joins us to talk about the project ahead of his lecture later this month titled “Picayune Strand Restoration Project: It could have been Cape Coral South.”

The Vester Marine & Environmental Science Research Field Station, basically scoured by Hurricane Ian's storm surge, is once again taking middle school students on an environmental journey of discovery.

The Water School at FGCU recently deployed a new artificial reef complex eight miles off shore from the county line between Collier and Lee. While WGCU is producing a documentary about the reef and the scientific research it hopes to study, we will keep folks informed of the progress of the reef (past and present) with Dispatches from Kimberly’s Reef. Here is the third dispatch which tells how the FGCU reef team hired a marine construction company to make the reef a reality for the fall of 2022.

This spring, The Water School at FGCU deployed a new artificial reef complex eight miles off shore from the county line between Collier and Lee. While WGCU is producing a documentary about the reef and the scientific research it hopes to study, we will keep our friends informed of the progress of the reef and the documentary with Dispatches from Kimberly’s Reef. Here is the second dispatch which tells the story of the creation of the reef complex from cement culverts donated by Oldcastle Infrastructure in Cape Coral.

Weather dictates much of what we are able to do outside in Florida. Storm events, like Hurricane Ian, obviously cause major disruptions. But even an off-shore breeze can prevent a job on the water from being done. That was the next hurdle when it came to deploying FGCU’s newest artificial reef in the Gulf of Mexico.

Florida Gulf Coast University celebrated World Water Day to bring awareness to problems facing global efforts to provide drinking water to all.

Florida Gulf Coast University began installing the base of its new artificial reef, named Kimberly’s Reef, in the Gulf of Mexico. Groups of concrete culverts will create an 11-acre underwater laboratory for scientific experimentation and research.

A major regional climate conference this week brought together a diverse collection of people and their ideas to work together to find a sustainable way of life in the future despite some differing beliefs how to get from here to there. Dozens of community members from environmental nonprofits, academia, community groups, and local, state, and federal governments attended the day-long Southwest Florida Climate and Community Summit in Naples.