Chilling Out at Moody Gardens!

Baby, it's cold inside. This year, the staff of Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS), the R/V Manta crew, and the Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Communities (MDBC) team took a field trip to Moody Gardens ICE LAND to celebrate a year of incredible partnerships that helped advance the sanctuary mission.

While there are so many special partners to acknowledge, a special thanks goes to our aquarium friends at Moody Gardens, who truly went above and beyond this year. To show our appreciation, our teams traded the Gulf waters for ICE LAND: Christmas Around the World. Exploring two million pounds of hand-carved ice was the perfect way to wrap up the season. While the thermostat dipped to 9 degrees Fahrenheit, our spirits stayed high (and some of us even kept our Texas flip-flops on despite the freezing temperatures). 

Happy Holidays and warm New Year wishes from the team at Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary and the Deep Water Horizon Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Communities (MDBC) Restoration team!

Back row from left to right: Taylor Galaviz (FGBNMS), Sasha Francis (MDBC), Donavon French (FGBNMS), Ryan Hannum (FGBNMS), Kaleb Sackett (R/V Manta), Jorge Jaime (R/V Manta), Justin Blake (R/V Manta), John Windemiller (R/V Manta)

Front row left to right: Claire Mullaney (MDBC), Kelly Martin (MDBC), Kelly O'Connell (FGBNMS), Olivia Eisenbach (FGBNMS), Michelle Johnston (FGBNMS)

Not pictured this year but with us in spirit are LT Desda Sisson (NOAA Corps), Brooke Cammarn (R/V Manta) and Marissa Nuttall (FGBNMS)

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