Florida Uncut – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Alex Freeze has been part of the movement to connect and protect wild Florida for well over a decade and now works as the Corridor Connect Director at the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation. Alex brings a wealth of experience as a conservation photographer, environmental educator, and advocate for Florida's natural landscapes. Did I mention she was a field producer for the Emmy award-winning film, Path of the Panther?

In this conversation, Alex shares her journey from being a 6th-generation Floridian to a leading voice in conservation, highlighting her work in visual storytelling and her role in coordinating collaborative conservation efforts across the state. We explore the challenges and triumphs of preserving Florida's unique ecosystems, the importance of community engagement, and the innovative collaborative strategies Alex employs to advance the Corridor an acre at a time. 

Alex is also the driving force behind the upcoming Corridor Connect summit, Florida’s premiere statewide gathering of conservation professionals happening June 3-5, 2025. It’s a powerful convening of storytellers, scientists, landowners, and policymakers to collaborate on one of the most urgent conservation efforts in the country. Be sure to follow the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation on socials to hear and see what goes on!

Resources mentioned in the episode: 

• Alex’s master’s thesis on students’ impression of conservation photography: https://www.montreat.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/exploring-student-impressions-of-conservation-photographs-a-potential-strategy-for-classroom-environmental-education.pdf
• Dear Tampa Film: https://www.nwf.org/Our-Work/Waters/Gulf-Restoration/Dear-Tampa
• 10 things you can do to help the Florida Wildlife Corridor: https://floridawildlifecorridor.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/10-things.pdf

Connect with Alex Freeze:

• Website: alexfreeze.com
• Instagram: @alexofthewild

Learn More About the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation:

• Website: floridawildlifecorridor.org
• Instagram: @floridawildlifecorridor
• Facebook: Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation

Learn more about the summit: corridorconnect.org/page/summit-2025

In this episode of Florida Uncut, we sit down with Brent Setchell, Drainage Design Engineer with the Florida Department of Transportation’s District 1, to talk about something most drivers rarely see—but Florida’s wildlife depends on: wildlife crossings.

Brent grew up immersed in the outdoors, and now he’s helping ensure Florida’s wild places remain connected. From panthers and bears to otters and deer, these crossings save lives—animal and human alike. But what goes into building one? When and where is the right time to act? And how many crossings do we actually need?

We dig into the data, the planning, and the unexpected benefits that come with making Florida’s highways a little more humane and its wild spaces more connected. Brent also shares the story behind one of the state’s standout crossings near the Hilochee Wildlife Management Area, as well as the first overpass wildlife crossing currently under construction on I-4. 

Resources/links from episode:

• Watch FDOT and fStop’s film, Building Wild Spaces, Connectivity on I-4 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3TPkSaQ4e8&t=51s
• Map of current and upcoming Florida wildlife crossings: https://www.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=a105b26615f64b19b543eb9ab61fe197&extent=-9237486.6341%2C2933269.2122%2C-8868754.4097%2C3305670.414%2C102100
• Learn more about the Lakeland Mural Unveiling with the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation on 4/18 at 3pm. I’ll be there! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lakeland-mural-unveiling-tickets-1308877881979
• Request an invitation to the Corridor Connect Summit, happening June 3-5! https://corridorconnect.org/page/summit-2025

Support Florida Uncut on Patreon.

There are not many folks more central to the idea of a “connected and protected” Florida than Dr. Tom Hoctor. He’s the director of the Center for Landscape Conservation Planning at the University of Florida and is the co-founder of the Florida Wildlife Corridor, considered one of the most ambitious landscape conservation plans in the country. 

As we’ll learn, the concept of a statewide ecological corridor is not new. Decades of scientific research has led to the understanding that connected landscape-scale conservation is imperative to the survival of many species and among the best methods of preventing habitat loss and fragmentation. 

Before it was called the Florida Wildlife Corridor, this idea of a connected greenspace in the Sunshine state was known as the Florida Ecological Greenways Network, 

More info about Dr. Hoctor and links to topics discussed:

• Faculty page, University of Florida
• Florida Wildlife Corridor History
• University of Florida Center for Landscape Conservation Planning
• University of Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research (BEBR)

Do you have an idea for a guest for the show? Submit guest suggestions here.

I have missed posting an episode for the last couple of months, but the good news is I’m catching up today with three guests at once!

Joining us for a talk about conservation, recreation, and education are the Florida Madcaps, made up of Chelsey and Chris Stevens and Ryan Worthington. They’re three friends who love to volunteer, guide, and educate Floridians on our best natural resources. Although they all do their own form of volunteering and advocacy, they join forces weekly to produce the Florida Madcaps podcast to talk about these topics. 

I figured I’d start sharing other podcasts to listen to as they’re more consistent and do a great job sharing new places to explore in wild Florida. 

Episode resources:

• Listen to the Florida Madcaps anywhere you get podcasts. 
• Website: https://thefloridamadcaps.buzzsprout.com/
• Social: https://www.instagram.com/florida_madcaps_podcast/
• You can follow Chelsey and Chris, aka the Sunshine State Seekers here: https://www.instagram.com/sunshinestateseekers/
• You can follow Ryan, aka the Florida Excursionist here: https://www.instagram.com/the_fl_excursionist/
• Their episode about the 2024 Legislative Session and Environmentally Harmful Bills with Ryan Smart of the Florida Springs Council can be found here. 
• Bradenton Herald’s recent feature of Florida Uncut can be read here: https://www.bradenton.com/news/local/article289855064.html

If you have an idea for a future FU guest, please submit that to our guest suggestion form here.

Hey folks!

The show was recently featured in the Bradenton Herald and we have a lot of new listeners. You can read that article here: ‘Saved or paved.’ Palmetto-based podcast host explores Florida conservation stories

If you have an idea for a future Florida Uncut guest, please fill out this form.

Looking forward to bringing you more stories very soon!

How does the Florida Wildlife Corridor help provide resilience to climate change?

Florida is ground-zero for climate change impacts as our natural and human communities grapple with increasing heat, flooding, sea level rise, and wildfire risk. 

In today's episode, we talk with Joshua Daskin, the Director of Conservation at Archbold Biological Station, about a recent assessment with Florida Atlantic University that identified the overlaps between land conservation in the Florida Wildlife Corridor and the resilience of the state's nature and people to advancing climate change. Archbold's conservation program uses the report's results to credibly motivate the Corridor's protection.

At Archbold, Josh works to expand the use of science in conservation of biodiversity and ecosystems. He leads Archbold's conservation strategy, connecting researchers with agencies, landowners, NGOs, and science collaborators to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of conservation actions from Archbold's own 20,000 acres to the statewide Florida Wildlife Corridor and beyond. 

Since 2021, he has been a leader of the scientific arm of the campaign to conserve the Corridor.

Josh earned a B.S. in Biology and Environmental Studies from Brandeis University, a M.Sc. in Zoology while a Fulbright Scholar at James Cook University in Australia, and a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Princeton University. Previously, Josh researched the impacts of war on African wildlife and helped reestablish scientific capacity in Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique following the country's civil conflict. He was also a Donnelley Postdoctoral fellow at Yale University, a biologist in the US Fish and Wildlife Service headquarters office, and a research assistant at Archbold.

Articles and links mentioned in the episode:

• Climate and Wildlife Corridors overview page: https://www.archbold-station.org/projects/climate-and-wildlife-corridors/
• The Florida Wildlife Corridor and Climate Change Full Report: https://archbold-cms.payloadcms.app/media/ClimateReport_FINAL_04152024-1.pdf
• Planning Future Landscapes report: https://www.archbold-station.org/projects/cfrpc/
• Florida Wildlife Corridor Planning and Development Data (database of current building permit requests): https://archbold-cms.payloadcms.app/media/FLWC%20Statewide%20Study%20-%20Summary%20Report%20(2023-10-23).pdf
• The full interactive ‘Bear Necessities’ Story Map of M34, the Black Bear that inspired the FWC: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/0cdea7371c874357a9307ac8ea701568
• FWC and Climate Change Water Report Executive Summary: https://archbold-cms.payloadcms.app/media/Climate%20Report%20-%20Executive%20Summary%20FINAL-2.pdf

Craig is a native Floridian and spent over 30 years as a journalist for the Tampa Bay Times. He has authored a half-dozen award-winning books about the wild ideas and quirkiness of our state. Among his publications are Oh Florida!, Cat Tale, The State You're In, and Manatee Insanity. 

In 2022, Craig was given the Rachel Carson Award by the Sierra Club, which honors sustained achievement by professional journalists or authors and was also awarded a Florida Literary Legend by the Florida Heritage Book Festival.

Craig is now a columnist for the Florida Phoenix and co-hosts the weekly Welcome to Florida podcast. 

https://www.instagram.com/craigpittman78/

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/welcome-to-florida

Andrew loves exploring the mangroves down in Key Biscayne where he calls home. However, he got sick and tired of seeing trash each time he went out to enjoy wild Florida. 

Like many of our guests, Andrew is action-oriented and decided to do something about it. His big plan? Start picking up all the trash. It was that simple. 

His impact has grown into dozens of others doing similar work to him, making it their passion to clean south Florida. 

Andrew drives awareness in other ways too. He carried a 35-pound bag of mangrove trash (currently in History Miami’s permanent collection) the length of the 2019 Miami Marathon and led a team that hauled a 130-pound trash cart throughout the 2020 Miami Marathon. These efforts raised over $30,500 to protect Miami’s coastal habitats. Andrew has a recurring guest lecture series at the University of Miami, Cornell, Clemson, and local middle and high schools about his adventures in litter. 

Andrew has also worked as a research associate at the Harvard Business School, where his 17 academic publications sold over 10,000 copies. He implemented U.S. foreign policy at the State Department. As Mexican President Felipe Calderón’s assistant, he facilitated the decision-making process of one of the world’s highest-level policymakers.

Follow Andrew:

https://www.instagram.com/andrewotazo/?hl=en

Read his book, Miami Creation Myth here: https://miamicreationmyth.com/

Traci of Conservation Florida and Chad of Crawford Entertainment teamed up to produce the 6-part documentary, Protect Our Paradise, a riveting series that follows Chad around the state of Florida as he discovers some of Florida’s most pressing environmental issues. 

Every episode showcases a distinctive facet of Florida's environment and highlights individuals dedicated to safeguarding its wildlife, untamed landscapes, and pristine waters.

As a 6th generation Floridian born in Homestead, Florida, Traci is passionate about

protecting Florida’s wild and working lands for the generations of Floridians to

come. She leads the Conservation Florida team as CEO, a statewide accredited land trust working to protect Florida's natural & agricultural landscapes for future generations.

As a 3rd generation Floridian, Chad Crawford has always loved his home state, and he's made it his mission to share it with the world. He’s a four-time Emmy award-winning producer and director for shows like How to Do Florida and Flip My Florida Yard.

Watch the six part Protect Our Paradise at DiscoverFloridaChannel.com

Be sure to check out the four part webinar about the Florida Wildlife Corridor from 1000 Friends of Florida here: 1000fof.org/upcoming-webinars

Conservationfla.org

Crawfordentertainment.tv

Karlos’ passion for off-road bike route building came out of the necessity to learn the skills needed to complete the Tour Divide. Filled with the desire to create training routes in his local area of Florida, he discovered a talent for connecting green spaces and reviving old pathways and started inviting folks to join his crazy adventures…and they came willingly.

Over 15 years later, Karlos is known as the best bikepacking route builder in Florida and is responsible for getting hundreds of people per year to experience the Florida Wildlife Corridor, many for the first time. You can learn more about Karlos and his Florida-focused routes and guided trips at singletracksamurai.com, on Facebook, and on Instagram @singletracksamurai.

This interview was originally featured on Adventure Sports Podcast.