Adventure docks at Selby

It was all hands on deck at Marina Jack on Sept. 26.

Sarasota Middle School science teacher Heather Nestle watched as her students clamored aboard Sarasota High School’s Carefree Learner boat for their marine field trip.

The students buckled their life jackets and were ready to shove off. It’s a routine Nestle has become accustomed to in her 11 years of leading field trips aboard the Carefree Learner, but soon that routine might have one minor adjustment.

Just minutes before Nestle and her students boarded the vessel, it was hosting another group of anxious adventurous — the staff and donors of Marie Selby Botanical Gardens.

The gardens dedicated its boat dock on Tuesday, with hopes of partnering with the Carefree Learner to supplement its offerings.

“Our ultimate goal is that we have more field trips,” Selby Gardens Marketing and Communications Director Mischa Kirby said.

Selby frequently hosted the Carefree Learner until six years ago, when the dock fell into disrepair. However, it was recently repaired thanks to the financial support of the Bank of America Client Foundation, potentially ushering in a new wave of programming at Selby Gardens.

Program Director for the Carefree Learner Megan Ehlers said the partnership between the marine science boat and the gardens will give students the opportunity to discuss the relationship between land and sea.

Selby Gardens is surrounded on three sides by water. Most of its seawall is covered by natural mangroves. The Carefree Learner’s trip through Sarasota Bay includes a ride past Selby Gardens to talk about the effect of mangroves on the local environment, but Ehlers said the ability to stop there will only supplement the discussion.

“It also allows some of our students to have a more up-close-and-personal experience with the mangroves,” Ehlers said. “We get to drive by and talk about things for a little bit, but it’s a little bit different if you are there on the land with them.”

It’s a partnership Selby Gardens is also excited to

explore.

“If you can get young kids out on the water … they can see the connection to land,” Kirby said. “You can’t just separate the two.”

Ehlers said they are still speaking with teachers about adding Selby to their field trip schedule, but said the interest is there. She is hopeful that the Carefree Learner will have its first field trip out of Selby booked within the next two weeks.

But it’s not just children Ehlers is excited to reach. She said now that Selby’s dock is available, she is looking forward to introducing the Carefree Learner to more adults.

“I am very excited. We don’t do that many adult trips. They are very enjoyable,” Ehlers said. “Also, we always have adults that want to go on our trips, but usually we only run a few days in the fall, but mostly in the spring.”

Selby has its first adult trip booked for late October.

As for Nestle, she looks forward to many more trips on the Carefree Learner.

“It’s a great field trip,” Nestle said. “If Selby jumps on the bandwagon it can only make it better.”