MAKE YARD A FOUR-LETTER WORD

Residential Yards Can Hurt or Help the Environment Fragile describes Florida’s environment and habitat. It would be that way even without the influx of twenty million plus people inhabiting it year-round then add in the tourists who flock here each year for days, weeks, or even months at a time. And of those millions of

MY KAYAKING ROOTS

Photos and essay by P.C. Zick (@PCZick) I began my water journeys in a canoe, but I never felt at home, either as the navigator in the back or the first mate in the front. However, I knew nothing else and loved the quiet and peace of the rivers of north Florida, mostly the Santa

Florida’s vanishing springs | Tampa Bay Times

North of Gainesville, a church camp once attracted thousands of visitors because it was built around the gushing waters of Hornsby Springs. Then the spring stopped flowing and the camp had to spend m Source: Florida’s vanishing springs | Tampa Bay Times

Florida’s ailing springs subject of clash over how much water to divert for development | Tampa Bay Times

From respected environmental reporter Craig Pittman comes this article. When will we learn? If we don’t protect our water, we won’t be able to survive. BROOKSVILLE — All over Florida, clashes are erupting over how much water can be diverted from the state’s springs to keep development going. The latest battleground was Tuesday’s meeting of

Leave Gentle Giants Alone

By Patricia Zick @PCZick Florida manatees flock together in the winter as they head to warmer waters. As the temperatures dip in the ocean and river mouths, some water remains at a constant temperature. Power plants with their warm water discharges are an attractive gathering place for the sea cows, which can cause some confusion

Florida’s Water or Lack Thereof

By P.C. Zick – @PCZick I moved from Florida two years ago, but I still keep track of this place I consider a part of my history. I learned to canoe and kayak on the Santa Fe River in North Florida. This river flows to the infamous Suwanee River, which eventually empties into the Gulf

Saving Florida’s Springs One Drop at a Time

[Originally published in Florida Wildlife Magazine, July/August 2010 issue. Photo of manatee taken at Wakulla Springs, Florida in November 2009.] By P.C. Zick – @PCZick Cave crayfish move out of the fissures in the limestone 100 feet underwater. The least killfish, the smallest vertebrate animal in North America, searches for snails among the waving tapegrass,