Nature

The world-famous ghost orchid is blooming at Audubon Florida’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. Endangered Species Act protections for the family of flowers delayed

Native plant walks in Sanibel will resume to show how vegetation has recovered after Hurricane Ian.

When developer Syd Kitson purchased the 91,000-acre Babcock Ranch in northeast Lee & southeast Charlotte counties in 2005 he said he was going to create a sustainable community and preserve most of the land. While many people were skeptical at the time, Kitson has gone on to build pretty much exactly what he said he would. About 67,000-acres became the Babcock Ranch Preserve, and more than half of the rest of the land has been preserved amidst the growing number of smart homes with high speed internet built to Florida Green Building Coalition standards. Mr. Kitson joined us on this show quite a few times during the early days of its development, long before groundbreaking and the first homes were built. We look back on the picture he painted back then, and how well it aligns with what's there today.

Shorebird and seabird nesting season has begun all over the state of Florida. Look out for eggs.

Stunning pictures of Sarasota’s Marie Selby Botanical Gardens abound in the winner’s categories of the esteemed orchid and bromeliad research and cultivation center’s summer photography contest.The Gardens received nearly 300 submissions to the 42nd Annual Virtual Juried Photographic Exhibition. The photos had to be taken within the past two years at either Selby’s main campus on the bayfront in downtown Sarasota, or at the Historic Spanish Point campus in Osprey.

The puss caterpillar has venomous barbs along its hairy body, and they cause extreme pain for many people who come into contact with one of the fuzzy little bugs.

Wildlife biologist, photographer, journalist and author Douglas Chadwick shares his philosophy on the interconnectedness between humans and nature. His latest book is titled, "Four Fifths a Grizzly: A New Perspective on Nature that Just Might Save Us All."

In his latest book, "Four Fifths a Grizzly: A New Perspective on Nature that Just Might Save Us All," Chadwick explores the surprisingly close relationship between human DNA and that of mammals like grizzly bears, with whom we share 80 percent of our DNA. In it, he reflects on the value of exposure to nature on human biochemistry and mentality, that we are not that far removed from our ancestors who lived closer to nature.

Learn about ospreys and the place they hold in Southwest Florida’s ecosystem.

If the stay-at-home order has allowed you to get to know your local birds better, you can contribute what you’re seeing to a worldwide scientific effort.…