EVENTS
GTM RESEARCH RESERVE TEACHING ECOLOGICAL LESSONS
~Ecology club encourages outdoor appreciation and offers lessons in marine ecology ~
PONTE VEDRA BEACH—Members of a St. Johns County Marine Ecology Club recently competed, and won scholarships and prizes for their marine knowledge at the statewide 4-H Marine Ecology competition. The event was held at the Osceola County Extension Office in Kissimmee last November. More than 130 boys and girls participated at the annual contest.
The St. Johns County Marine Ecology Club club meets monthly at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve (GTM Research Reserve) in Ponte Vedra Beach. The GTM Reserve, in partnership with the St. Johns County 4-H Program, sponsors the club.
“We are very pleased that each of the two teams from our club took home a trophy after competing at the statewide Marine Ecology Event (MEE) in Kissimmee this past November,” said program coordinator and GTM Research Reserve volunteer Janet Koehler. “The GTM Research Reserve is an ideal location for the ecology club because the children have the opportunity to learn firsthand about marine science at the reserve estuary.”