by Lana Chehabeddine November 2022 Maine has officially broken U.S. (food) history, by opening the doors for its consumers to embrace and implement the idea behind ‘the right to food’. You may be thinking, “but doesn’t this exist already”? The answer is not so black and white. Typically, state and local regulations prevent consumers from […]

An Ecology Florida Feature  October 6, 2022 by Monica Starr The Florida Keys is a marine protected area that includes productive seagrass beds, mangrove forests and over 6,000 species of marine life [1]. North America’s only coral barrier reef is often subject to activities including snorkeling, fishing, sailing, scuba diving, kayaking and boating. The 120-mile-long […]

Ecology Florida August 2022  by Monica Starr The monarch butterfly embarks on an annual migration which can reach up to 2,800 miles from southeast Canada to central Mexico [1]. These beautiful insects have two pairs of orange-red wings with black veins and distinguishing white spots along the edges. The males have black dots along the […]

July 2022  An Ecology Florida Feature by Monica Starr As the end of citrus season approaches here in the state of Florida, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has estimated a record-low harvest. Compared to the previous growing season, the production of oranges, grapefruit and other specialty crops is already down about 22% [1]. This season, […]

It was confirmed on June 23rd that a Giant African land snail was present in Pasco County. The recent snail sighting was discovered by a Master Gardener in the New Port Richey area near Massachusetts Avenue and Rowan Road [1]. This first snail confirmed was nearly eight inches long which is about the maximum size […]

by Monica Starr  June 2022  Fleet Farming is an Orlando-based non-profit urban agriculture project that transforms lawns into productive micro farms and gardens. Creating localized food systems in areas without access to fresh produce, it converts underutilized lawn space to edible gardens at schools, community centers, and affordable housing units. Besides addressing food-security issues, Fleet […]

by Monica Starr April 2022  An Ecology Florida Feature Every year, April 22nd represents the start of the modern environmental movement. Since 1970, we have been celebrating the planet while providing a voice to the environmental concerns here in the United States. Today, there are almost 200 countries around the world that are engaged with […]