land. water. wildlife.

SCCF Environmental Policy Associate Allie Pecenka is joined by Players Circle Theater Co-Founder and Producing Director Carrie Lund Cacioppo and SCCF Adult Education Director Jenny Evans for an engaging discussion about the staging of several short plays locally through the worldwide Climate Change Theatre festival.

Discover the inspiration behind the festival's creation, and why the time is now to advocate for our environment in the face of global stressors.

You'll also learn about SCCF's motivation to bring the festival to the community, why theatre can be a powerful tool for driving advocacy, and where to attend the performances locally.

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Matt and Allie from SCCF's environmental policy team discuss priorities for the upcoming 2026 Florida legislative session, which kicks off on Jan. 13. They also provide a lively and engaging backdrop on what's happening now as bills take shape in pre-session presentations by stakeholders at local delegation meetings.

Their play-by-play continues with an explanation of how the Florida legislature functions during its 60-day session and how SCCF can help you follow along and take action when needed.

Learn what makes Florida's legislative process unique and what's in store this year for bills that failed in previous sessions and are likely to be sponsored once again.

Learn more about SCCF's 2026 legislative priorities.

Environmental Policy Associate Allie Pecenka talks with Shorebird Biologist Audrey Albrecht about the history of ⁠⁠shorebird monitoring⁠⁠ at SCCF, current areas of focus within the program, and general shorebird and seabird ecology on the islands. Audrey also provides an overview of the recent shorebird nesting season, highlighting the most successful season for least terns on the Causeway since the 1990s.

Their conversation also addresses large scale trends for shorebird populations, the biggest threats they face, and what we can do about it.

SCCF's Environmental Policy team discusses the recent developments with Conservation 20/20 — Lee County’s environmentally sensitive land acquisition and management program that voters enacted through a 1996 referendum.

In September, the Board of County Commissioners decided not to add funding to it in its 2025-26 budget despite a significant shortfall of the fund's required $40 million minimum balance.

To date, more than 30,000 acres of conservation land have been protected through the program. Learn why it's critical that the program continues to be funded to meet its ordinance-required mandate and to protect the county's water quality, wetlands, water supply, and vital wildlife habitat.

SCCF's policy team answers the Top Ten questions they are most commonly asked about the Caloosahatchee estuary. Their discussion includes answers to these questions and more.

• Why do we even want any flows from Lake Okeechobee?
• Why does the estuary require a specific salinity balance?
• How do lake management decisions and watershed runoff impact that balance?
• How are indicator species used to monitor estuary health?

• How do too high (or low) of flows stress the estuary?
• What projects exist to improve the health of the estuary? 

Subscribe to our Weekly Water Conditions Tracker to receive updates every Friday on the current state of our waters. We also provide a weekly Caloosahatchee Conditions Report on Wednesdays that is fed by data from our Marine Lab's RECON.

Email us at [email protected] with your questions!

Learn all about SCCF's Coastal Watch program with Policy Associate Allie Pecenka and Coastal Watch Director Kealy Pfau. Each season, Coastal Watch engages hundreds of volunteers, who help us restore oyster and mangrove habitat, clean our beaches, replant native marshes, and manage our preserve lands. Whether you're a visitor to Sanibel and Captiva, a permanent resident, or just passing through for the day, Coastal Watch has tons of opportunities to get involved in helping our environment.

Pecenka and Pfau discuss the history of the program, the physical and mental health benefits of volunteering, and the importance of community-based restoration. They discuss the ups and downs of restoration through recent storm events, share exciting new opportunities to get involved in 2025-26, and highlight our Voluntourism program, which is engaging tourists to make a difference during their time on the islands.

SCCF Research Associate Mark Thompson joins Environmental Policy Director Matt DePaolis to talk about why Sanibel is holding more standing water than in pre-Ian times.

The discussion focuses on the impacts that several significant storm surges have had on Sanibel's groundwater storage capacity. They also talk about the integral role vegetation plays through evapotranspiration in helping to move water off the island and how repeated hurricanes have altered that process.

You'll also learn how planting native vegetation and creating tree canopies in your own backyard can help boost the island's evapotranspiration capacity.

For the past 17 years, Thompson has studied freshwater systems on the islands at the SCCF ⁠⁠Marine Lab⁠⁠, conducting research and monitoring to assist the City of Sanibel with freshwater management.

The Environmental Policy team talks with Coastal Wildlife Director Kelly Sloan and Sea Turtle Biologist Jack Brzoza about coyotes on the islands and their impact on sea turtles. They discuss the state of coyote populations, the impacts they have on coastal wildlife, and methods used to deter them from sea turtle nest depredation.

Learn more about SCCF's sea turtle program.

Call our Sea Turtle Hotline at 978-728-3663 to report any issues with nests, nesting turtles, or hatchlings.

FOX-4 Meteorologist Andrew Shipley joins SCCF Environmental Policy Director Matt DePaolis to discuss forecasting technology for the 2025 hurricane season. They talk about the planned decommissioning of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) and its potential impact on this season's hurricane forecasting, as well as its effects on long-term research initiatives. 

PLEASE NOTE: After the release of this episode, NOAA announced that the DMSP satellite data would remain available to hurricane forecasters.

Special thanks to SCCF Policy interns Jill Blavet and Ellie Appelgren for contributing additional background research for this episode.

The SCCF environmental policy team discusses the global decline of insect biodiversity, the forces driving the decline, and the steps individuals and communities can take to counteract it, including policies that protect the environment. They also touch upon how the global decline relates to current perceptions of huge amounts of mosquitoes and no-see-ums on the islands.

Visit SCCF's Native Landscapes & Garden Center to protect insect biodiversity by planting native.