Roadside milkweed is giving monarchs a new migration highway
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Researchers have planted 9,000 milkweed plants along roads in six North Florida counties, with 6,000 more going in before 2029. Monarchs are already showing up at the sites. The work is part of a national effort led by the University of Illinois Chicago to Read More...
Tree cities: regreening and making cities more climate-resilient
We decided to revamp a story about a wonderful solution: tree cities. At The Optimist Daily, as you’ve probably guessed, we love solutions for urban green spaces. We’ve written quite a bit about these, with their ability to offset carbon emissions, help grow food, and help animals and Read More...
ReTreePC: Reinvigorating the community and the canopy in Panama City
At The Optimist Daily, as you’ve probably guessed, we love solutions for urban green spaces. We’ve written quite a bit about these, with their ability to offset carbon emissions, help grow food, and help animals and humans cohabitate. We can’t get enough of it! Another aspect of urban green Read More...
Florida volunteers feed manatees with lettuce
In Florida’s Indian River Lagoon, a bold initiative began where volunteers gather to pour pallets of leafy greens into the water to feed the manatees gathered there. Initially, after some hesitation, a bold and curious pair of cows approached and started eating lettuce. More would soon join, Read More...
US Fish & Wildlife Service approves unprecedented move to save manatees
In Florida, near Cape Canaveral, wildlife conservationists are getting desperate to save the wild manatee population, which has been dying at alarming rates. More than 1,000 manatees have perished in 2021. The primary cause of death is pollution, which has brought the seagrasses in the Indian River Read More...
Florida rejects plan to drill oil well in ecologically sensitive Everglades
From rising sea levels to more frequent and powerful hurricanes, Florida is highly threatened by climate change. That’s why it makes a lot of sense that state environmental regulators have recently rejected a plan to drill for oil in the Everglades. The Florida Department of Environmental Read More...
Florida animal sanctuary opens its doors to former circus elephants
The use of wild animals, like elephants, in circus performances is banned in many parts of the US, but the question of what to do with these animals once they are no longer in use still remains. The White Oak Conservation Center in Yulee, Florida is a 135-acre sanctuary intended to give Read More...
Scientists unravel the mystery of where sea turtles go after they hatch
The first few moments of a green sea turtle’s life consist of an incredibly hazardous journey to the sea that requires them to avoid the hungry beaks of seagulls and the pinchers of crabs, among other life-threatening dangers. Once they manage to get past the breaking waves, their fate is a Read More...
These Florida waterways are taking developers to court
If nature could speak, would it defend its rights from damaging human activity? Last November, Orange County, Florida passed a measure called the “rights of nature” that allows for entities such as waterways to bring people to court should someone infringe on their rights. Two weeks ago, a Read More...
Florida is cracking down on the exotic pet trade
Reports of pythons eating local cats have become more and more common in Florida as exotic pet ownership has gone off the rails. Snakes, iguanas, and other reptiles are posing a serious ecological threat in the state where many people adopt exotic pets only to realize how difficult they are to care Read More...