Plans Begin For Memorial At Site Of Pulse Nightclub Shooting

By Amy Green
NPR
As the first anniversary of the Pulse shooting approaches, there's an effort underway to transform the Orlando nightclub into a museum and a memorial to the 49 people killed. Listen here.

Florida Battles With Tricky Removal Of Costly Muck In Indian River Lagoon

By Amy Green
NPR
In Florida, an effort is underway to remove more than million cubic feet of muck sullying the Indian River Lagoon, considered one of North America's most biologically diverse estuaries. It's a mess. Listen here.

RIVER OF GRASS, DYING OF THIRST: A WMFE, WLRN series examining the Everglades

By Amy Green and Kate Stein
WMFE and WLRN
The Everglades. One of the world’s most diverse ecosystems, where seagrass meets sawgrass and alligators live with apple snails.

Settlers came to the Everglades lured by promises of bountiful land for agriculture and development. They found “land by the gallon” -- a swamp covered with a slow-moving water sheet. But over time, the new Floridians drained the water and developed the land into railroads, farms and cities. They tamed “the monstropolous beast” known as Lake Okeechobee.

They intertwined Florida’s well-being with the Everglades’ well-being. 

Over the past century, it’s become clear we’re sending the Everglades towards destruction. Listen here.

Invasive Fern In Florida Threatens To Take Down More Than Just Trees

By Amy Green
NPR
LeRoy Rodgers spends plenty of time in the Florida Everglades — mainly in airboats. He works for the South Florida Water Management District.

On a recent day, he eases his boat alongside a tree island. He doesn't like some of the changes he's seen, so he pulls a pair of clippers from a bag and hops over the side.

Rodgers will need the clippers to cut a path through the Old World climbing fern that has almost swallowed the island. Listen here. 

Six Months Later, Pulse Owner Reflects On Mass Shooting In First In-Depth Interview

By Amy Green
WMFE
Six months ago Monday a gunman opened fire at Pulse, leaving more than 100 dead or wounded in the worst mass shooting in modern American history.

The massacre put Orlando at the center of national debate about gun control, terrorism and xenophobia as mass attacks continue as an all-too-common occurrence.

90.7’s Amy Green talked with Pulse owner Barbara Poma in her first in-depth interview about the ordeal at the gay nightclub she established as a tribute to her brother, who died of AIDS. Listen here.

'Last Gasp' To Save The Florida Grasshopper Sparrow From Extinction

By Amy Green

NPR
A tiny bird called the Florida grasshopper sparrow is on the brink of extinction. Fewer than 150 are believed to remain in the wild. Listen here.

Historians Preserve Memorials After Mass Shootings

By Amy Green
NPR
At mass shooting sites from Orlando to Newtown to Virginia Tech, historians are collecting items that mourners and sympathizers leave and preserving them in archives. Listen here.