The Carolina Parakeet was on the brink of extinction when the father of ornithology went hunting for them in Florida.   This week, we chat with Michelle Nijhuis, author of Beloved Beasts, about conservation through history, the complexity of those leading the cause, and how we carry the ideas from the past into our future. Get your WFM Merch at Cast & Clay Co. on Etsy! Go to the Wait Five Minutes website for more!   Explore more about birds in Florida at Audubon Florida!   All of the music in this episode was originally composed. 

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The Carolina Parakeet (w/ Michelle Nijhuis)

Today, to kick off our Conservation Season, we chat with Toni Westland, Supervisory Refuge Ranger for J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island. We discuss birds, manatees, viewfinders, Aldo Leopold, duck stamps, cute rats and the importance of getting out in nature.  Get your WFM Merch at Cast & Clay Co. on Etsy! Go to the Wait Five Minutes website for more!   Plan your visit to Ding Refuge right here! Read the Island Sun newspaper right here! Hear more about the history of Sanibel in our previous episode!   All of the music in this episode was originally composed. 

A Conversation with a Florida Refuge Ranger

This is the prologue to the Conservation Season, where we'll spend all autumn talking about the nature of Florida and the experts fighting to protect it.  Get your WFM Merch at Cast & Clay Co. on Etsy! Go to the Wait Five Minutes website for more!   Featuring clips from: Michelle Nijhuis, Author Neil Maher, Professor Max Chesnes, Journalist Toni Westland, Ranger

Welcome to the Conservation Season

The Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow was Walt Disney's greatest dream: a city focused on innovation and problem-solving. When the Magic Kingdom opened in Orlando, Florida, EPCOT was part of that original design -- until it wasn't. Thank you to A Trombo Creative for sponsoring this season of Wait Five Minutes! Book your first appointment here! Get your WFM Merch at Cast & Clay Co. on Etsy! Go to the Wait Five Minutes website for more!   Thank you to Melissa Procko from the Orange County Regional History Center for all of your help. Plan your visit to the History Center here!    All of the music used in this episode was originally composed.

The Original EPCOT

The Land Boom swept through Florida in the 1920s, and big dreams soon followed. Hollywood tried to make a mark on the Sunshine State, but the tides of history had other plans. Thank you to A Trombo Creative for sponsoring this season of Wait Five Minutes! Book your first appointment here! Get your WFM Merch at Cast & Clay Co. on Etsy! Go to the Wait Five Minutes website for more!   Thank you to Rick Crary for his help! Read more about the Treasure Coast in Rick Crary's book here! Thank you to Greg and Alice Luckhardt for their help! Read more about the history of Hobe Sound right here!   Hear more about the 1920s in Florida in these episodes! The End of Greyhound Racing The Rum Runners   All of the music used in this episode was originally composed.

Picture City, Florida

The Havana Sugar Kings were a unique minor league team in the time they existed, in the way they came to be, in the way they reached their ending, and the way they are still being remembered. Thank you to A Trombo Creative for sponsoring this season of Wait Five Minutes! Book your first appointment here! Get your WFM Merch at Cast & Clay Co. on Etsy! Go to the Wait Five Minutes website for more!   Thank you to John Burbridge for his help! Read his article about the Sugar Kings right here. Read more about the life of Bobby Maduro.   Listen to previous episodes about baseball! The Grapefruit League Jackie Robinson's First Game   All of the music in this episode was originally composed. 

The Havana Sugar Kings

A collection of wood-carved birds. The unique stylings of racing cars through the generations. An island retreat for newlyweds. We're nearing the end of summer, so it's time to collect some stories from the season that we couldn't fit in before -- and celebrate the museums that tell the tales.  Thank you to A Trombo Creative for sponsoring this season of Wait Five Minutes! Book your first appointment here! Get your WFM Merch at Cast & Clay Co. on Etsy! Go to the Wait Five Minutes website for more!   Thank you to the folks at the Motorsports Hall of Fame for all their help! Plan your visit right here. Thank you to Brad Bertelli for all of your help! Visit his museum right here!    All of the music in this episode was originally composed. 

The Museums of Summer

In the summer of 1998, a perfect storm of environmental conditions led to Florida's ecosystem facing a dire situation. How does a wildfire begin? How do we prevent them? How did the firestorm change the way we think about fire? Thank you to A Trombo Creative for sponsoring this season of Wait Five Minutes! Book your first appointment here! Get your WFM Merch at Cast & Clay Co. on Etsy! Go to the Wait Five Minutes website for more!   Thank you to Cinnamon Dixon for being the expert in this episode! Read more about Tall Timbers and their work here.  Thank to Mellisa Procko for her help with the research. Pay a visit to the  History Center!   All of the music in this episode was originally composed. 

The 1998 Firestorm

All across Florida, from the Keys to the Panhandle, people have been finding their own version of Bigfoot. The Skunk Ape hides in all of our forests and, if the stories presented within are true, some of us have found evidence of them. Thank you to A Trombo Creative for sponsoring this season of Wait Five Minutes! Book your first appointment here! Get your WFM Merch at Cast & Clay Co. on Etsy! Go to the Wait Five Minutes website for more!   Thank you to Brad Bertelli for all of your help! Check out his book right here! Follow the Southernmost Skunk Ape Society on Twitter!   All of the music in this episode was originally composed. 

The Other Skunk Apes

Our beaches are unique, a defining characteristic of our entire ecosystem. What sets them apart? What unites them? For the three year anniversary of Wait Five Minutes, we talk to Dr. Beach about his iconic Top Ten Beaches list, his origins in the field, and humanity's draw to our coasts. Thank you to A Trombo Creative for sponsoring this season of Wait Five Minutes! Book your first appointment here! Get your WFM Merch at Cast & Clay Co. on Etsy! Go to the Wait Five Minutes website for more!   Thank you to Dr. Stephen Leatherman for all of his help on this episode! Read more about Dr. Beach and his work right here! Read more about red tide from our friends at the Tampa Bay Times.   All of the music in this episode was originally composed. 

Our Beaches (with Dr. Beach)

At the turn of the 20th century, rich adventurers would roar down the sands of Daytona Beach in motorized vehicles. Over the following several decades, the sport grew, from land speed records to the very first NASCAR race. Thank you to A Trombo Creative for sponsoring this season of Wait Five Minutes! Book your first appointment here! Get your WFM Merch at Cast & Clay Co. on Etsy! Go to the Wait Five Minutes website for more!   Thank you the folks at the Motorsports Hall of Fame for all their help! Plan your visit right here. Listen to the this February's episode about The Big Sombrero right here!   All of the music in this episode was originally composed. 

Daytona's First Racers

After the massive success of Jaws in 1975, sequels were quickly put into production. Two of the three sequels were partially filmed in Florida and, though they are less than perfect, they can teach us a lot about creating -- and failure. Thank you to A Trombo Creative for sponsoring this season of Wait Five Minutes! Book your first appointment here! Get your WFM Merch at Cast & Clay Co. on Etsy! Go to the Wait Five Minutes website for more!   Listen to a similar episode, about Homosassa Springs and Hollywood, right here!   All of the music in this episode was originally composed. 

Jaws: The Sequels

Florida is mostly coastline, and for centuries, our lighthouses guided sailors to safety. Today, they are falling into antiquity. Despite that, an organization of vigilant enthusiasts are trying to keep the lights lit. Thank you to A Trombo Creative for sponsoring this season of Wait Five Minutes! Book your first appointment here! Get your WFM Merch at Cast & Clay Co. on Etsy! Go to the Wait Five Minutes website for more!   Thank you to Josh Liller for all of his help! Pick up Josh's book right here! Read more about FLA right here!      All of the music used in this episode was originally composed.

Saving The Lighthouses

As Prohibition came to the United States, the people of the Florida Keys fought back. With their knowledge of the waters and their proximity to neighboring countries, the Keys became a hub of all sorts of rum running characters -- and dangerous consequences.   Thank you to A Trombo Creative for sponsoring this season of Wait Five Minutes! Book your first appointment here! Get your WFM Merch at Cast & Clay Co. on Etsy! Go to the Wait Five Minutes website for more!   Thank you to Laura Albritton for her help! Check out more of Laura's work right here.   All of the music used in this episode was originally composed.

The Rum Runners

When the sun sinks to the edge of the horizon, incredible things are happening. The environment is telling us about itself, and all we have to do is look up and see. Thank you to A Trombo Creative for sponsoring this season of Wait Five Minutes! Book your first appointment here! Get your WFM Merch at Cast & Clay Co. on Etsy! Go to the Wait Five Minutes website for more!   Thank you to Steve Corfidi for all of his help on this episode! Read more about his studies into sunsets right here!   All of the music used in this episode was originally composed.

Our Florida Sunsets

Wait Five Minutes: The Floridian Podcast is about the curious stories and cultural changes sweeping through the Sunshine State. Join us every Friday for an informative and charming look into an issue on America's infamous peninsula.

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