Palm Beach County Commissioners Tour Florida Atlantic’s Marine Science Lab

Several elected Palm Beach County officials visited the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science’s Marine Science Laboratory throughout the fall semester to visit the unique site. The lab, housed within the Gumbo Limbo Environmental Complex in Boca Raton, serves as a multi-disciplinary space for Schmidt College of Science faculty and students who conduct world-class research on how marine organisms interact with their environment.

During their respective visits, Commissioner Marci Woodward (District 4), former Commissioner Michael A. Barnett (District 3), Commissioner Gregg Weiss (District 2), and former Commissioner Mack Bernard (District 7), who was recently elected to the Florida Senate (District 24), enjoyed lab tours led by renowned sea turtle scientist, Professor Jeanette Wyneken, Ph.D., Department of Biological Sciences. Student researchers from the Marine Science Lab, staff from the Schmidt College of Science, and members from Florida Atlantic's Office of Government Relations also participated in the visits.

The commissioners and their staff got an up-close look at the science behind sea turtle research and community engagement the lab offers at their public Visitors’ Gallery that overlooks the lab. The lab is often home to hundreds of hatchlings from a range of species, including green sea turtles, leatherback, hawksbill, and loggerhead. The team closely studies the turtles to determine the sex ratios of nests and the impacts of extreme heat, understand their visual perception, and prepare them for specialized satellite tags to temporarily track their movements in the open ocean.

As part of the tours, the public officials and their guests also learned how Wyneken’s leatherback husbandry team—the only one in the world—successfully raises neonate leatherbacks for study and release each year. Because neonate leatherbacks cannot be found at sea, much of their biology must be learned from captive-raised animals. This process is especially difficult and requires a highly specialized diet, carefully filtered and temperature-controlled water, and constant monitoring of each turtle.

Many of the lab’s students are Glenn W. and Cornelia T. Bailey Marine SEA Scholars who were able to showcase their knowledge and unparalleled experiential student learning opportunities with the visiting commissioners. Earlier this year, Florida Atlantic University received $1.6 million from the Glenn W. Bailey Foundation to extend its Marine SEA (Science, Education, and Arts) Scholars Program within the laboratory. The gift provides financial assistance to students who demonstrate academic excellence and a commitment to become ambassadors of community outreach focused on Marine Science Lab studies, discoveries, and activities. The initial gift to establish the SEA Scholars program was received in 2020, and this latest gift will extend the program for five more years.

For over 40 years, Gumbo Limbo has served as a beacon for environmental education, research, and conservation. The Marine Science Lab and gallery is open for public viewing and attracts more than 212,000 visitors annually, which makes it an ideal platform for scientists to communicate their research discoveries and educate the community about the importance of a healthy marine environment.

Gumbo Limbo is surrounded by a rare remnant of coastal tropical hammock, located on Boca Raton’s barrier island. Founded in 1984, Gumbo Limbo Environmental Complex is a cooperative project of the City of Boca Raton, the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District, Florida Atlantic University, and the Gumbo Limbo Coastal Stewards.