land. water. wildlife.

Matt and Allie of the SCCF Policy team break down the potential Lee County amendment that would remove long-standing community plans, including the Captiva Plan and those for 16 other unincorporated areas in Lee County. They discuss the amendment's full history, its current status, and how these sweeping changes could significantly affect Lee County if approved. 

Read proposed changes to Captiva Plan and changes to the other community plans.

In this episode, SCCF Shorebird Biologist Audrey Albrecht and Environmental Policy Director Matt DePaolis discuss the 2026 shorebird nesting season and the importance of protected nesting zones. They review the season's interesting, unexpected, and record-breaking events and how we can all be better stewards to protect these species. 

In this episode, the Policy team breaks down recent all-time records related to Earth's climate, including sea surface temperature, heat waves, and atmospheric emissions. They discuss the impacts of these events on the environment and human health, why these records keep rising, and what we can each do to help slow this trend. 

Matt and Allie from SCCF's Policy team discuss the recent sewage spill in LaBelle, which released 2.5 times more sewage into the local environment than any other sewage spill in our region's history. They break down how disasters like this occur, what can be done to prevent them in the future, and how sanitation plays such a large role in protecting water quality. 

If you care about what's flowing into our waters, this is a conversation you'll want to hear.

SCCF's Environmental Policy team breaks down the newly permitted industrial fish farm off the coast of Sarasota. They discuss the wide-ranging environmental impacts of industrial aquaculture in the Gulf ecosystem, the mechanism by which this permit was granted, and how we must fight to protect the Gulf from exploitation by extractive industries in the future. 

SCCF Environmental Policy Director Matt DePaolis interviews Wildlife & Habitat Management Director Chris Lechowicz about prescribed burns on Sanibel. They discuss the history of prescribed burns on the island, the ecological reasoning for this practice in fire-dependent ecosystems, and how SCCF manages land through carefully considered prescribed burns. 

SCCF's Environmental Policy team unpacks the study of animal intelligence and how our understanding of animal cognition has vastly evolved in recent history.

They discuss how modern science has shaped this understanding and how policy is influenced as a result.

Listen to hear some incredible stories of intelligence across the animal kingdom. 

SCCF's Environmental Policy team discusses the significant impacts our roadways and associated vehicle strikes have on local wildlife populations. They are then joined by SCCF Shorebird Biologist Audrey Albrecht, who shares recent data on vehicle strikes and why local species continue to be so impacted by our roadways. They also discuss individual and collective solutions to address the issue. 

In this episode, SCCF Environmental Policy Director Matt DePaolis interviews Andrew Shipotofsky, Meteorologist with WINK News Weather Authority. They discuss the upcoming transition from dry to wet season and how Southwest Florida may be impacted by a transition to an El Niño climate pattern. 

They also talk about the prolonged drought our region has experienced, its impact on hydrology and ecosystem health, and predictions for weather, climate, and hurricane patterns for the upcoming wet season.

Follow Andrew Shipotofsky's forecasting and reporting.

In this episode, the Environmental Policy team breaks down recent federal actions impacting the environment including oil drilling in the Gulf and other waters of the U.S., the recent Boundary Waters decision in Minnesota and a narrowly avoided attempt to alter the Endangered Species Act. Specifically highlighted is the use of emergency power declarations to sidestep bedrock environmental protection processes in the United States.