Tampa Bay Estuary Program

08/24/2026

Want to immerse yourself in the uplifting stories of the people who have dedicated themselves to our estuaries and all who call them home? Join us the evening of September 24 for, “Where Waters Meet: Stories of hope from Florida’s Gulf Coast estuaries”.

We’re hosting this special event in celebration of National Estuaries Week at the Bishop Museum of Science and Nature in Bradenton. The event is free and open to the public, but space is limited so be sure to register early to secure your spot. There will be a reception from 5-6 pm followed by the main event in the Planetarium from 6-8 pm.

To learn more and register, see https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/bx4d9wx/lp/7c6132c1-208f-4db6-a03d-617a48a3d704

08/19/2026

08/19/2026

Go on, explain it.

🎥 A person on a boat looks confused and points toward a causeway. Text reads, "If it can't be turned into a bridge, explain this". A hand holds up a drawing of a bridge in front of the causeway.

08/18/2026

10 days (but just one weekend!) left in the Great Bay Scallop Search!

If you're signed up for the Great Bay Scallop Search and you haven't already surveyed your location, this is a reminder that the deadline is August 28. So far, 22 scallops have been found! How many treasures will you find? Tampa Bay Watch

08/18/2026

The kids are back in school, but it's still summer. Enjoy the quiet time and do some relaxing summertime activities sans kiddos instead of doing yardwork, like reading by the pool or at the beach. 🏖 📚

Here are a few reading list recommendations for fans of . https://therevelator.org/environmental-books-june2026/

Whether you decide on a vacation or staycation, plan on finding inspiration in these books about owls, reptiles, climate justice, green gardening, and more.

08/11/2026

Did you know wildland firefighters fill prescriptions??? 💊🧑‍🚒

No, not THAT kind of prescription, but what they do does improve the health of something. Just like a pharmacist fills the prescription your doctor writes for treatment that will help you, wildland firefighters carry out treatments that have been prescribed by an area's prescribed fire manager, fire planner, or burn boss. 📋✍️ The "treatments" in this case are prescribed burns, also referred to as controlled burns. 🔥

What are the treatments for? That depends. Some prescribed fires have a singular purpose, like consuming overgrowth and fallen leaves and such so there isn't so much burnable material (a.k.a. fuel) present, which lowers the risk of devastating wildfires. Others have multiple purposes, like consuming fuel, stimulating fire-dependent plants' growth, maintaining healthy habitat for protected species, and killing vegetation that threatens to change an area, like invasive species.

And just like your doctor considers your unique needs when determining what will be the most effective treatment, fire planners determine what conditions are needed to safely achieve the needed treatment with a prescribed fire. When the conditions are right in an area—like wind direction, humidity, soil moisture—the area is said to be "within prescription" and the fire planner can proceed with the prescribed burn.

What questions do you have about prescribed fires? Comment below

📷 Everglades National Park Hillsborough County, Florida Government & Amy de Palma

08/06/2026

❌ Fishing tournament
✅ Trash tournament

The Tampa Bay Debris Derby is back September 26 at E.G. Simmons Park in Ruskin. 🙌 Gather your friends🤝, convince your neighbor to lend you his boat*🛥, and sign-up to participate in the Derby today✍! Every bag of trash or large item you bring in gives you the chance to win stellar prizes. Last year, over $10,000 of prizes were donated by our amazing sponsors. We also have awards for the most trash brought in by weight and the strangest item. 🏆You won't want to miss this opportunity to help clean up your favorite fish's home while having fun (and maybe taking home a prize or two!).

To learn more and register, go to https://tbep.org/debris-derby/. Go ahead and tag your angler friends, too.

*Boat not actually needed to participate, but maybe your neighbor wants to join anyway!



📹 Slide 4: People throwing trash into a dumpster with text overlay that says, "Debris Derby weight record: 7,000 lbs. Let's beat it"

07/30/2026

It’s back! Every two years, the Tampa Bay Estuary Program opens the Tampa Bay Community Survey to learn about the priorities, attitudes, perceptions, activities, and well-being of Tampa Bay residents. These data will continue to be used to inform TBEP’s priorities for improving the state of the bay and enhancing the well-being of the diverse people that call Tampa Bay home.

If you’d like to participate in this study, click the link here 🔗https://tbep.org/tbcs2026/ to access the 2026 Tampa Bay Community Survey before October 1st. The survey takes about 20 minutes, but you don’t have to complete it in one sitting. The survey is open to all residents within the Tampa Bay watershed that are at least 18 years old.

07/27/2026

Seagrass or Seaweed—can you tell the difference? 🧐

Campers in the Tampa Heights Junior Civic Association summer camp can. Last week they learned all about seagrass and seaweed, including how to tell them apart and how they support a healthy bay. But their learning wasn't limited to the classroom—campers got to visit a seagrass bed to see what they just learned about up close and personal.

This is the fourth year we've joined the THJCA to teach its campers about the Tampa Bay estuary. In previous years we've focused on marine food webs, nature journaling, measuring and estimating seagrasses, and nitrogen pollution. Teaching campers the sciencey stuff each summer has been a lot of fun—we are science nerds after all—but what truly inspires us is helping them build their own connections to the estuary. Connections we hope they'll continue to nurture and be nurtured by into adulthood. Learn more about THJCA here: https://www.thjca.org/

07/24/2026

Show our social media manager we did a good job and go to this link https://ow.ly/q3gw50Zp6oi to learn how and why you should be an ethical angler 🎣