Oftentimes keeping up with our state’s environmental news can be daunting — and sometimes discouraging as we tend to focus on the long list of problems to be solved. But, it’s just as important for us to focus on the good news.

We’ve curated a list of this month’s environmental success stories in Florida.   

• Last year, more than 1 million people from 122 countries participated in the 2019 International Coastal Cleanup and removed more than 23 million pounds of trash from the world’s coastal environments. The event continued in 2019 and while the cleanup team is still tallying the numbers, the results are promising. In Jacksonville alone, more than 8,000 pounds of trash was removed from area beaches and waterways.  

 

 

• Hurricane Michael devastated the Florida Panhandle last year, snapping pine trees in its path. But, thanks to dead, but still-standing pines, osprey populations in the Panhandle are in great shape. This is because ospreys build large stick nests in the tall branches and crooks of dead trees, known as snags. 

 

 

• The Florida Cabinet approved a $2.8 million conservation easement on the 3,562-acre Wetland Preserve in Putnam County, meaning the land will remain free from development in perpetuity and continue to be an important habitat for the Florida Black Bear as well as several endangered species, such as gopher tortoises, indigo snakes, and the red-cockaded woodpecker. 

 

 

• Researchers from Florida International University have discovered that Northern Flicker Woodpeckers prefer to nest in dead palm trees, which is a good thing, because it shows woodpeckers have learned to adapt and live in Miami.  

 

 

 

Have good news to share? Email us at earthsystems@floridamuseum.ufl.edu