Stephanie Byrne

You’re probably familiar with the show “Flip This House.” Florida now has a show called “Flip My Florida Yard” that you can apply to be on. But what makes the perfect Florida backyard, you ask? “When we found this spot, we just said, ‘Oh my goodness, this is so different,’ because of the nature and […]

The Water School at Florida Gulf Coast University has made a name for itself in the Southwest Florida community and throughout the state as being on the cutting edge of research. Those with The Water School say they’re doing all they can to tackle SWFL water issues. “I think The Water School was at the […]

More than a dozen cases of dengue fever have been reported in the Florida Keys during the month of July. Collier Mosquito Control District is monitoring any possibility of it reaching Collier County and shared steps families can take to protect themselves. Dengue-carrying mosquitoes primarily feed on humans, rarely travel more than 200 yards away […]

As we adapt to changes during the coronavirus pandemic, environmental nonprofits do the same. We spoke to a handful of environmental nonprofit groups in Southwest Florida recently. They told us, despite some hardships, their mission to protect our area’s wildlife and ecosystem remains the same. “I’ve been here 21 years, and we’ve never seen anything […]

Researchers have been taking samples from the Estero River to figure out what is happening. However, that isn’t a one-person job. “You can’t do it alone. You have a lot of equipment that needs to be used. You have single tasks that need a few hands-on,” said Samuel Ebert, an environmental studies student at FGCU. […]

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is looking for your help and opinions on how to keep the water healthy. Whether you hit Lake O for leisure, good fishing or simply getting from point A to point B, its health impacts more than people. “That includes wading birds, there’s snail kites and their nesting habitat, […]

Do you ever have days where you want to escape it all? You won’t have to go far if you can afford to buy an island in the Caloosahatchee River near downtown Fort Myers. Lofton’s Island, between the Edison and Caloosahatchee bridges, is up for sale. “They always have their mystique. Someone always wants to […]

A visiting scientist from China helped Florida Gulf Coast University with a newly-published study surrounding Lake Okeechobee, and the research was no easy feat. Lake O’s seemingly endless stretch of water is breathtaking. Now, research two years in the making gives us a better idea of what’s going on beneath the surface. That’s where FGCU’s […]

A grant from the state provided to Florida Gulf Coast University will help control harmful algal blooms that will soon come to our backyard. They look like tiny houses but the MPC-Buoy device runs on solar power and will help control algal blooms. “It’s a big grant. It sounds awesome because it’s a million-dollar grant,” […]

Does a new law designed to protect our waters go far enough? While many agree that the Clean Waterways Act is a step in the right direction, some believe it falls well short of what we really need and doesn’t get to the root of the problem that contributed to water woes in 2018. “It […]