Environmentally speaking is intended to alert, inform and educate residents of Collier and Lee counties about educational events and threats that challenge our unique and delicate Southwest Florida ecosystem.

Join the SWFL RESET Center on October 25 from 6 to 7 p.m. for a RESET Zoom Conversation with Gene MacAvoy, associate director at the Southwest Florida Research & Education Center, on what regenerative agriculture practices work well in Southwest Florida. 

Visit SWFLReset.org.

Dirt—just one tablespoon of healthy, fertile soil can contain over 1 billion different microorganisms that pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere—a main driver of climate change.

A typical farm relies on synthetic nitrogen for fertility and controls weeds with synthetic herbicides. These practices result in poor soil quality, while also exposing farm workers to potentially unhealthy levels of agricultural chemicals.

We can improve bad soil good with regenerative farming, which uses organic agricultural practices that focus on the health of the soil. Healthy organic soil holds more water, prevents soil erosion and runoff into waterways and keep toxins out of the environment, away from workers, and uses fewer fossil fuels.