Every year, we celebrate our planet in honor of Earth Month. This month, I’d like to bring some awareness to challenges that the Earth faces as a result of a growing human population, and ways to help combat these challenges. They are not ... READ MORE
Category: Coasts & Marine, Conservation, Natural Resources, Water, Wildlife
As with many environmentally themed holidays, I consider them as taking place every day, and World Reef Awareness Day is no different. Coral biology 101 Coral reefs are made up of a multitude of organisms, but the shining star of the group ... READ MORE
Category: Coasts & Marine, Conservation, Natural Resources, Water
It’s no secret that Florida is one of the top fishing destinations in the world. Fortunately, our fisheries are very well-managed with regulations set by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) in federal waters, and Florida ... READ MORE
Category: Coasts & Marine, Conservation, Natural Resources, Recreation, Water, Wildlife
Have you ever wondered where the saying, “busy like a bee” comes from? Well, it comes from the worker honey bee - known to be the most active bee of their species, Apis millifera, as they are faced with many different tasks and duties throughout ... READ MORE
Category: 4-H & Youth, Agribusiness, Agriculture, Camp, Clubs & Volunteers, Community Volunteers, Conservation, Crops, Events, Farm Management, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Forests, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Livestock, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, Recreation, Relationships & Family, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research, UF/IFAS Teaching, Wildlife, Work & Life
Last Saturday, volunteers around the world gathered together to take part in The Ocean Conservancy’s (TOC) International Coastal Cleanup (ICC). On this one day, people around the world remove debris from shorelines and aquatic systems, catalog ... READ MORE
Category: Conservation, Natural Resources
Or why average rainfall records do not fully relay the ups and downs of rainy season (nor dry season). As I sit writing this blog we are soaked in rain from a brush with Ian. This rainfall event and the past 10 days of rainy weather have ... READ MORE
Category: , Coasts & Marine, Conservation, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Natural Resources, Water, Wildlife
Update: Tuesday, October 25, 2022 In about one weeks' time, the North Biscayne Bay fish kill event is now over. The collective response efforts of the multiple organizations listed below in the original post revealed the consistently higher ... READ MORE
Category: Coasts & Marine, Conservation, Natural Resources, Water, Wildlife
Earlier in 2022, the Florida Sea Grant Extension Program in Miami-Dade County launched Florida Horseshoe Crab Watch (FHCW), a program designed to capture data about local horseshoe crab populations. Prior to the expansion of this citizen science ... READ MORE
Category: , Coasts & Marine, Conservation, Natural Resources, Water, Wildlife
Since 2020, our state marine mammal, the manatee has been experiencing an Unusual Mortality Event (UME), meaning that unusually high numbers of these animals have died. These deaths have been centered on the Atlantic coast in Florida, namely, ... READ MORE
Category: Conservation, Natural Resources, Water, WildlifeWe Sea Grant Agents joke that every day is Earth Day, and similarly, that every day is World Ocean Day. On World Ocean Day 2023, I got to participate in water-based activities, which of course filled my soul as they always do. For the second ... READ MORE
Category: Coasts & Marine, Conservation, Natural Resources, Water