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No Mow March & Rewilding in North Florida | Coast to Canopy Episode 1

March in north Florida is when laewns erupt in "weeds." Many of these are native wildflowers, while others are naturalized non-natives. This is also the month when many overwintering bees and butterflies emerge, and they're looking for food. You could benefit these important pollinators... by doing nothing at all. On this episode of Coast to Canopy, we talk No Mow March.

And then, we take it a little further. What if you wanted to let things grow wild past March? In the second half of the show, we talk about rewilding. You can't expect an urban or suburban yard to become a fully-functional forest just because you leave it alone. It takes work to rewild a space in a way that is ecologically beneficial.

Visit the WFSU Ecology Blog for a full write-up with photos.

Meet the Guests

In 1980, Donna Legare started Native Nurseries of Tallahassee with her husband, Jody Walthall. They handed ownership of the nursery to a team of former employees a few years ago, but you might still see them helping out.

Mark Tancig is the Horticulture Extension Agent for the University of Florida/ IFAS Leon County Extension. He’s no stranger to the WFSU Ecology Blog, having appeared in videos about bee habitat, native soils, mistletoe, and more.

Regan McCarthy joined me as a cohost. Regan is WFSU’s Assistant News Director, and a lover of bees and plants.

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Rob Diaz de Villegas is WFSU Public Media's Ecology Producer. After years of producing WFSU's music program, OutLoud, Rob found himself in a salt marsh with a camera. This new beginning was the National Science Foundation-funded In the Grass, On the Reef, which became the award-winning <a href="https://blog.wfsu.org/blog-coastal-health/" target="_blank" link-data="{&quot;cms.site.owner&quot;:{&quot;_ref&quot;:&quot;0000016e-ccea-ddc2-a56e-edfe5af20000&quot;,&quot;_type&quot;:&quot;ae3387cc-b875-31b7-b82d-63fd8d758c20&quot;},&quot;cms.content.publishDate&quot;:1743000691921,&quot;cms.content.publishUser&quot;:{&quot;_ref&quot;:&quot;00000195-cdda-dd16-a5d5-cffa0b530000&quot;,&quot;_type&quot;:&quot;6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdcc&quot;},&quot;cms.content.updateDate&quot;:1743000691921,&quot;cms.content.updateUser&quot;:{&quot;_ref&quot;:&quot;00000195-cdda-dd16-a5d5-cffa0b530000&quot;,&quot;_type&quot;:&quot;6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdcc&quot;},&quot;cms.directory.paths&quot;:[],&quot;anchorable.showAnchor&quot;:false,&quot;link&quot;:{&quot;attributes&quot;:[],&quot;cms.directory.paths&quot;:[],&quot;linkText&quot;:&quot;WFSU Ecology Blog&quot;,&quot;target&quot;:&quot;NEW&quot;,&quot;attachSourceUrl&quot;:false,&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://blog.wfsu.org/blog-coastal-health/&quot;,&quot;_id&quot;:&quot;00000195-d2ef-d9f3-abfd-daff9f400001&quot;,&quot;_type&quot;:&quot;ff658216-e70f-39d0-b660-bdfe57a5599a&quot;},&quot;_id&quot;:&quot;00000195-d2ef-d9f3-abfd-daff9f400000&quot;,&quot;_type&quot;:&quot;809caec9-30e2-3666-8b71-b32ddbffc288&quot;}">WFSU Ecology Blog</a>. Rob's Ecology work includes full-length documentaries, short-form television and radio stories, and podcasts. Rob is married with two children/ reluctant outdoor adventure companions.