Located just 12 miles from the FGCU campus off Bonita Beach Road, the Vester Marine and Environmental Science Research Field Station comprises three buildings on Little Hickory Island along Fish Trap Bay, where the Imperial River empties into Estero Bay. The property was once a commercial fish house, then an old Florida-style resort. FGCU’s marine science program utilizes the Research Field Station to study the world’s oceans and coastal waters. The interdisciplinary program combines aspects of biology, chemistry, ecology, geology, meteorology, mathematics, and physics to provide a well-grounded education in the natural sciences.