A week after an FGCU alert cautioned that bears were seen in the North Village student housing area of the university, a student at the South Village captured a wandering Yogi on video.The morning of June 24 the university issued a warning — "Eagle Alert: Bears seen near North Lake Village area, searching for trash. Please exercise caution. Use trash compactor-no trash bags in breezeways or open dumpsters."

Dr. Jerry Jackson is known to WGCU listeners as the creator and host of With the Wild Things, heard weekday mornings at 7:19 and weekday afternoons at 5:18. He’s a professor emeritus of Ecological Sciences at Florida Gulf Coast University, and a professor emeritus at Mississippi State University. Nick Penniman is a retired newspaper publisher, and he is chair emeritus of the Conservancy of Southwest Florida and a Florida Master Naturalist. He and Dr. Jackson gave a talk together at Florida Gulf Coast University in April as part of the school’s Provost’s Seminar Series titled Getting to Know the World Around You: an Illustrated Conversation” so we had them come by the studio to chat.

Phillippi Creek in Sarasota County won’t be dredged this hurricane season, no emergency permit issued.

The summer’s Tour De Turtles, a race hosted by The Sea Turtle Conservancy, made a stop at Coquina Beach South in Bradenton. Organizers will tag 11 nesting turtles on various Florida beaches and track which turtle travels the farthest distance in three months.

On April 10 WGCU hosted an event at Florida Gulf Coast University’s Water School that featured NOVA Executive Producer Chris Schmidt. That day we screened parts of the NOVA episode Weathering the Future for an audience of about 200 people. Between the segments we chatted with him, as well as two FGCU professors about issues raised in the film and the challenges we face in Southwest Florida when it comes to adapting to our changing climate. Chris talked about the challenges NOVA faces in communicating science to a broad audience, and Dr. Win Everham and Dr. Molly Nation helped tie it all together.

A new report from The Everglades Foundation found the River of Grass will generate more than $1 trillion for Florida’s economy during the next half-century.

A cadre of engineers and planners who design America’s roads, bridges, hospitals and other critical infrastructure fear that an emerging tool that would replace the nation’s out-of-date rainfall and flood data is on the Trump Administration chopping block.The new tool, Atlas 15, uses modernized rainfall data to allow engineers to design and build infrastructure to withstand flooding for decades to come as extreme rainfall predictably worsens.Without it, the engineers and planners say, they would be forced to rely on old data that understate flood risks and put infrastructure in harm’s way.

It’s sea turtle nesting season, and everyone knows what that means — turn off your lights at night. Flipping your light switch is an easy way to feel like an environmental superstar, but what else can you do to support these little turtles?

Wildland firefighters in the Big Cypress National Preserve are planning to light the first of three prescribed fires on June 9 to clear out dead underbrush. The so-called Mullet fire is being lit less than a week after decent rains fell on Florida for the first time in five months, and Southwest Florida and the Everglades are still gripped by drought.

Microcystis, a type of cyanobacteria commonly called blue-green algae seen above under high magnification, can bloom in Florida freshwater systems. Microcystis species are well-known for forming harmful algal blooms in Florida lakes, rivers, and estuaries, including Lake Okeechobee and the Caloosahatchee River. These blooms often appear as fluorescent green surface scums and can produce toxins that can pose health risks to humans and animals. Microcystis blooms are common in warm, nutrient-rich freshwater environments in Florida, especially during summer, but can occur year-round.