Environment

Gainesville got a little cleaner this past weekend as about 160 volunteers collected 19,121 pounds of trash during the fifth annual Clean Creek Revival, according to Megan Black, executive director of Current Problems, a nonprofit environmental group.

Residents of the Kanapaha Prairie area southwest of Gainesville are calling for more immediate solutions as floodwaters rise near their neighborhood.

On Tuesday, the board of county commissioners voted to exercise the option to purchase and protect 340 acres of private forests and wetlands.

Joy Hughes recently opened Life Unplastic in the Thornebrook Village Shopping Center as the first plastic-free shop in Gainesville.

Dozens of people crowded into an urban farm during the first half hour of a workshop intended to help Florida's population of monarch butterflies.

Florida is preparing a new statewide ban on the practice by fishermen along the state’s iconic beaches of dumping bloody fish guts into the ocean to lure sharks closer to shore – and possibly closer to swimmers and waders. Land-based anglers say the ban threatens long traditions of shark fishing and penalizes fishermen who can’t afford their own boats or expensive charters.

The City of Gainesville passed a plastic ban earlier this year. Some local scientists see this ordinance as a good first step, but don't think it goes far enough. Here are their proposals:

Devil’s Millhopper Geological State Park has seen a decrease in visitors since its most popular attraction, the sinkhole, has been under construction. However, Gainesville locals continue to enjoy the park through other outdoor activities and classes.