By the beaches of South Florida the lifestyle is relaxed, with plenty of time for outdoor activities. We meet Sean Reyngoudt, whose life changed when he lost a leg in an accident as a teenager. But that didn’t stop him becoming a wakeboarding champion and enjoying life to the fullest.

Jesse Kennon’s family are the only permanent residents of Coopertown, and he takes on responsibilities as town mayor. A short way further up the coast lies Miami, once another small town, which underwent an almost miraculous growth to become the vibrant tourism, relaxation, and business hub we know today.

We head northward into the great swampy wilderness of the Florida Everglades. Airboat Captain Jesse Kennon knows his way around these marshes and where to find their most well-known and well-feared inhabitant: the alligator!

The only coral barrier reef in the United States surrounds the Florida Keys archipelago, and has been badly damaged by environmental pressures including ocean warming. The Coral Restoration Foundation is dedicated to its salvation, and in underwater nurseries, new coral is being grown to replenish the reef.

The town of Marathon in the Florida Keys is home to a unique hospital dedicated solely to caring for sea turtles. Marine biologist Bette Zirkelbach tells us about the dangers that sea turtles face in the wild. A lifesaving operation takes place, and a turtle is treated for a mysterious viral infection.

When the Fisher family of treasure seekers finally struck it rich, the local authorities tried to claim the bounty for themselves, and the case went to the Supreme Court. We learn how the “Florida Keys” got their name, and how these small outlying islands are linked to the mainland.

The East Coast of the United States of America stretches from the tropical blue seas and white sand of Florida’s Sunshine State to the Canadian border in the North. We begin our journey in the warm and relaxed islands of the Florida Keys, where modern-day treasure hunters are still at work, hunting for sunken Spanish gold.

There's been some bad news for the Great Barrier Reef, with experts declaring another mass bleaching—the fifth in just eight years. We find out what coral bleaching is and how it's impacting Australia's World Heritage-listed wonder.

The king salmon swim upstream to spawn and complete their lifecycle, also providing a meal for a dipper. On the hillside, it’s the elks’ breeding season, and a black bear fattens up on berries before winter closes in across this magnificently diverse landscape.

A fledgling bald eagle is the fastest-growing young bird in North America, yet it faces a challenging journey to maturity and acquiring its iconic adult plumage. As autumn storms arrive, king salmon migrate to river mouths and their freshwater spawning grounds, while resident orca pods expertly hunt them for a nutritious meal.

In springtime, the sheer cliffs along the wild coastline of the park have become home to the common murre, a bird that comes to land only to breed. The eagles, further along in their nesting process, have a rapidly growing eaglet in need of constant nourishment, and, unfortunately, the murre colony makes easy pickings for them.

While the male bear is distracted by harbor seals, the cubs make their escape. Out at sea, the seals are safe from bears, but not from killer whales. Just to the north of the park lies a deep underwater canyon that can only be explored by submarine. It’s a birthing place for sharks, and a world of rarely glimpsed marine life.

In the summer, the denizens of Olympia National Park feed in the lush alpine meadows, while a mother bear and her cubs forage for food along the shore. Tasty and nutritious crabs make a perfect snack, even in their shells!

Spring has sprung and new life stirs on the Olympic Mountain ranges, the third great wilderness environment of this most diverse of national parks. The eponymous Olympic marmots awaken from their winter slumber to enjoy a feast, but must remain on the lookout for the bald eagle.

Gray whales migrating north from Mexico must pass through dangerous waters off the coast of Olympic National Park, where groups of orcas are actively hunting them and their young.