Each month, a student-led team at the UF Thompson Earth Systems Institute curates Florida’s environmental news and explains what’s going on, why it matters, and what we can do about it.
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View current issue: Volume 5, Issue 8
View last issue: Volume 5, Issue 7
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Feature Story
More Feature Stories
The Dead Do Tell Tales: How Fossils Can Inform Ecosystem Restoration and Management
Learn how conservation paleobiologists use clues from the past to inform climate change management decisions.
Seagrasses, Sea Turtles, and Shifting Baselines
As green sea turtle populations rise, are seagrass meadows at risk?
Florida’s Environment: What Happened in the 2023 State Legislative Session?
Lawmakers approved a $117 billion state budget and several bills related to our state's environment.
Feature Video
Over the past two decades, jellyfish have begun to overwhelm our oceans. If things stay on their current trajectory, we could be headed for a future where the entire ocean is overpopulated with jellyfish. So, is there anything that can keep these gelatinous creatures under control?
Learn more in this TEDEd video and associated lesson plan produced in collaboration with TESI assistant scientist Mariela Pajuelo and Javier Antonio Quinones, a biologist with IMARPE (Instituto del Mar del Peru).
Learn more about Earth systems-related topics through our other student-produced educational videos!
What’s Going on in Florida? Environmental Stories to Watch
To pair with the rest of our educational content in each Earth to Florida newsletter, we bring you monthly updates on Florida news.
Florida’s Environment: 10 Stories to Watch for August
Florida’s Environment: 12 Stories to Watch for July
Florida’s Environment: 13 Stories to Watch for June
Action of the Week
Action of the Week: Start a Nature Journal
Every naturalist carries a notebook for writing down their observations and drawing sketches of the plants and animals they encounter.
Action of the Week: Make Your Windows Bird-Friendly
Each year in the United States, nearly one billion birds die after colliding with glass.
Action of the Week: Visit State and National Parks
With 11 national parks, 175 state parks and 9 state trails, Florida’s wealth of recreational opportunities can provide adventure, fun and a deeper connection...
What We’re Reading
Environmental protection and social justice are deeply intertwined, and we cannot accurately communicate the environmental issues facing our state without acknowledging this relationship. In this monthly Earth to Florida segment, we will share articles and videos that help explain these connections.
- “Cooked” Alive: Inmates Stew in Florida Prisons’ Extreme Heat
- An Indigenous leader inspired an Amazon city to grant personhood to an endangered river
- New study finds far more hurricane-related deaths in US, especially among poor and vulnerable
- As Tampa’s homeless sweltered, city ‘cooling centers’ went mostly unused
Tell Me About
Explore the posts below to learn about various environmental issues in Florida! Be sure to follow us on Instagram (@UFEarthSystems) for more!
Tell Me About: Cane Toads in Florida
Tell Me About: El Nino- Southern Oscillation
Tell Me About: Cuban Treefrogs in Florida
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