Hi! I’m Rob Diaz de Villegas, Ecology Producer at WFSU Public Media. I have a job that didn’t exist at our PBS/ NPR station until I’d been doing it a few years. One day, ecology went from being a part of what I did, to all of what I did. The work I do for this job is always changing. I’ll always produce short videos and write blog posts. But I may also be in the middle of producing a documentary about archaeology or geochemistry, or planning a bee-themed kids’ event. This year (2025), I started a podcast.
No one day is like any other, and I enjoy that. What stays constant is the mission. That mission is to explore the WFSU viewing area, and gather knowledge about the way it works. We live in a biodiversity hotspot with hundreds of thousands of acres of protected land. That’s rare for Florida. Our topography is also uncommon for our state, with tall hills and bluffs and deep ravines, and an abundance of springs and sinkholes. Our coastlines are wilder than in most of Florida.
As I go out and gather images, talk to researchers, and read up on our north Florida landscape, I aim to craft stories about how this area is unlike any other. In many ways that’s easy; this is a remarkable place. Here’s a small taste, from stories I’ve produced over the years:
Stories might take me to the deepest, most remote regions of our area. I might spend days on the Apalachicola River, or on a research vessel out at sea. Many of my stories, though, take place right in my yard, as I work to create a habitat for Florida wildlife. Every inch of this place affects the rest.
Coast to Canopy WFSU’s Ecology Podcast
New episodes drop the second Tuesday of every month. Available wherever you find podcasts. We also publish an “Illustrated” version on the blog, with images and videos.
WFSU Ecology Documentaries
WFSU has been producing nature documentaries since the 1970s. Our recent documentaries focus on topics as varied as oyster reef ecology, underwater prehistoric archeology, and the global ocean carbon cycle.
The WFSU Ecology Blog
The blog started in 2010 with a marine biology focus. We’ve since branched out, and continue to explore different aspects of our natural north Florida. There’s always a new plant or animal to meet, ecosystem to explore, or new research that helps us understand and appreciate where we live.
