Friends of Rookery Bay received a $240,000 gift from the estate of Elizabeth A. McCarthy, an art teacher in the Detroit area who retired to Naples in 1987 with her husband, Henry, who worked for Uniroyal. McCarthy died in 2022 and left estate gifts to six nonprofit organizations nationwide. Friends of Rookery Bay is the state-designated Citizen Support Organization for the 110,000-acre Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, encompassing 40% of Collier County’s coastline. The work of the scientists and biologists protects the local waters, land, animals, plants and community while the educators and community outreach team members develop an understanding of the many reasons for protecting this important ecosystem.