Tom Bayles
WGCU Environmental ReporterTom Bayles is WGCU's Senior Environmental Reporter and a 35-year veteran journalist in Florida. Prior to his tenure at WGCU Public Media, he worked for The New York Times Co. in Sarasota, The Associated Press in Miami and Tallahassee, and the Tampa Bay Times in Clearwater. He earned a master's degree in journalism and a bachelors in education, both from the University of South Florida. The proud father of three sons, Bayles spends his free time fishing along the Southwest Florida coast in his 20-foot Aquasport with his Whippet pup, Spencer.
Bayles is a recipient of the Gold Medal for Public Service from the Florida Association of News Editors, the Waldo Proffitt Award for Excellence in Environmental Reporting, was named top environmental journalist in Florida by the Florida Press Club, and received a Gold Charley Award for public service long-form feature writing from the Florida Magazine Association. Bayles has been nominated four times for a Pulitzer Prize.
Email: tbayles@wgcu.org
-
Nearly two dozen newborn gray squirrels are healing at the von Arx Wildlife Hospital at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida after being found dazed on the ground after tree trimmers and high storm winds forced them from their nests -
WGCU's Tom Bayles predicts hurricane season will heat up and, if so, he believes a Category 2 or 3 hurricane may be in Southwest Florida's near future. He hopes he's wrong. -
Calusa Waterkeeper will explain the current water conditions, outline health risks, and share tips about the drainage creek, which measures Enterococcus levels 21 times higher than Florida allows. -
James Gaddis leaked the plans to add golf courses, 350-room hotels, and pickle board courts to nine state parks, which sparked public outrage and got him fired in the process. -
AccuWeather lowered storm total expectation but neither Colorado State nor the National Weather Service did, even after five weeks of only minor rumblings in the Atlantic hurricane season which typically peaks in less than two weeks -
The orbiters that might link to the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation's marine reporting system, can categorize environmental hazards and help scientists see patterns caused by climate change. -
It's been one year since Jimmy Buffett died, and the environmentalist wrote in his will that his holdings need to be environmentally sound, forever -
Lee County residents now own more than 40 acres of undeveloped land along Moody Road on the northern shore of the Caloosahatchee River in North Fort Myers under the Conservation 20/20 program. -
The new LOSOM touts improvements in water quality, protection of ecosystems in the Everglades, and better management of water resources.to prevent harmful algal blooms in the Caloosahatchee River. Is all that possible at the same time? -
Collecting, cleaning, and recycling clam and oyster shells to restore and create new reefs is a growing volunteer movement in Florida to enhance and protect coastal ecosystems, improve water quality, and protect shorelines from erosion
