Shell Yeah!

Sea turtles have navigated Earth’s oceans for over 100 million years, returning annually to the sandy shores of Southwest Florida to lay their eggs. But between development, predation, flooding, and climate change, the odds are increasingly stacked against them.

At Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, a coalition of staff, interns, and volunteers is working tirelessly to change that. And thanks to a lively community event at Ankrolab Brewing Company, they’re not doing it alone.

Held on July 31, “Sea Turtle Conservation Night” brought together ocean lovers, trivia fans, and brew buffs in support of Rookery Bay’s sea turtle monitoring efforts. Guests enjoyed Turtle Season beer and a custom cocktail, with $1 from every purchase supporting the reserve's conservation work. Friends of Rookery Bay hosted sea turtle games, trivia, and giveaways, while guests mingled, learned, and sipped with purpose.

“The generosity of our supporters through the Adopt-a-Nest program allows us to fund the interns, supplies, and equipment needed to monitor our beaches seven days a week,” said Raquel Herrera, Program Manager at Friends of Rookery Bay. “This year, we’ve already protected 342 nests within the reserve.”

Those efforts are part of a broader collaboration between Rookery Bay, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, Collier County Natural Resources, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife. Teams patrol nesting beaches from Cape Romano to the Ten Thousand Islands, identifying nests, caging them to deter predators, and tracking disorientation events.

And the 2025 nesting season is proving to be a standout. According to the most recent countywide data, Collier County has documented 2,100 nests so far this year- up from 1,711 at this time last year. Keewaydin Island alone accounts for 531 nests, 107 of which have already hatched.

Keewaydin is also home to the longest-running incubation temperature study in Florida, led by Rookery Bay GIS specialist and sea turtle team member Jill Schmidt. Since 2001, Schmidt has deployed more than 1,400 data loggers into turtle nests to monitor internal temperatures - critical data since sea turtle sex is determined by incubation temperature. Keewaydin's data show a trend toward cooler, male-producing nests, making the island a vital stronghold for genetic diversity in Florida’s loggerhead population.

The event at Ankrolab wasn’t just a fun evening - it was part of a broader July partnership between the brewery and Friends of Rookery Bay. Anyone who adopted a nest throughout the month received 20% off their tab at the brewery. Adoption donations support the purchase of protective cages, monitoring equipment, and the internships that power much of the fieldwork. This season, thanks to increased donations, the program was able to fund a third intern to monitor co-managed lands in the Ten Thousand Island Wildlife Refuge, which lost critical funding earlier this year.

“Our interns, Lauren Luce, Louisa Mai, and Cierra Schmauch, are grateful to gain real-world conservation experience while helping give hatchlings a better chance at survival,” Herrera said.

With sea turtle nesting season continuing through October 31, Rookery Bay’s team will remain in the field each sunrise, checking for new nests, monitoring hatch-outs, and ensuring these threatened species have a fighting chance. And if Ankrolab's crowd was any indication, the turtles have more allies than ever.