Throughout the year, SCCF educators work with teachers at the Sanibel School to coordinate and conduct environmental education programs. One of the most-used sites for these programs is SCCF’s Pick Preserve, located directly across from the school.

Since Sanibel School students were located in Fort Myers at Heights Elementary School for months following Hurricane Milton in October 2024, both teachers and students were anxious and excited to get back to exploring the ecological wonders of Pick Preserve with SCCF Environmental Educator Richard Finkel.

Discovering Wetland Habitats

“Fourth grade students conducted a habitat study within the Pick Preserve’s interior freshwater wetlands and were amazed with the changes from pre-hurricane field trips they took,” Finkel said. “After observing small fish, fishing spiders, and water bugs from their wetlands sampling, students noted how adaptive and resilient these habitats can be.”

In addition, Finkel led third grade students through a plant life survey along the Pick Preserve Nature Trail. They categorized and recorded the state of various plant habitats after Hurricanes Helene and Milton. 

Mangrove Growth Project

Mangrove trees play a vital role in buffering inland areas from storms, stabilizing our shorelines, and providing a base for a vast and complex food web to which we are all ultimately connected. 

That’s why SCCF is thrilled to be spreading the message about mangroves as part of our ongoing education partnership with the Sanibel School.

Since the beginning of the school year, SCCF Environmental Educator Richard Finkel has been leading sixth grade students through a red mangrove growth study, which will culminate with a habitat restoration planting in the spring at an SCCF Coastal Watch restoration site.

Leading up to the planting, students are learning about mangrove ecology by experimenting how red mangrove propagules (seedlings) grow in different soil types and various concentrations of salinity, as well as looking at mangrove habitats around the islands.