Florida-Friendly Success Stories Jane Tolbert, Senior Information Specialist

Challenges

• Water shortage

• NPS pollution

• Urbanization

• Population

Solutions

• 1 vision

• 3 programs

• 9 principles

• 48 counties

• Agents, MGs, volunteers

1 –Use right plant, right place

Right Plant

• Ocean Hammock HOA (Flagler)

– $50k savings – use hardier annuals

– $21k savings – plant/ space according to mature size

– 2009 Florida Nursery Growers and Landscape Assoc. Award of Excellence

2 – Water Efficiently

Water efficiently

• Workshop participants – save 4,500 gal/yr

• Tamarind Village (Broward) – 1/3 less water

• Royal Stewart Arms (Pinellas) 449 condos

– Oct 2006 – March 2007 – 2.28 million gal /yr at $10,678

– Oct 2007 - March 2008 – 502,000 gal/yr at $2,443

Water

Ocean Gallery – Las Palmas (St. Johns)

• Low-volume

• Soil moisture sensors

• Groundcover

• 10-million gallons in 2.5 years ($6,500/year)

3 – Fertilize Appropriately

Improper Fertilization

• Residential lawn runoff

• Algae buildup

• SWFWMD Fertilizer campaign => reduce nutrient loading, cleanup and retrofit

Fertilize

• Tamarind Village (Broward) – 117 homes

– Savings - $12,000

4 – Use Mulch

Mulch

• Saves irrigation (~ 15%)

• Reduces evaporation (< 75%)

• Decreases soil compaction & allows water to filter in

• Reduces weeds

5 - Attract Wildlife

6 – Manage Yard Pests Responsibly

• Beneficial insects (~ 97 % of those in yard)

• Ocean Gallery (St. Johns) – saved $7,500 – replaced plants & avoided pesticides

• Tamarind - $5,000 savings

7 – Recycle Yard Waste

Recycle

• Clippings clog drains, contribute nutrients to

waterways

• Alachua County

– Green waste = ~ 13% total waste stream

– ~ 23% of curbside pickup

Recycle – Alachua County

8 – Reduce Stormwater Runoff

Reduce Runoff – LID

Pervious pavers Swales

9 – Protect the Waterfront

Why is success important?

• Why it’s important

– Stakeholders, ROI

– Program credibility, promotion

• How it’s measured

• What is success

How is success measured?

• Short Term

– # Outreach activities

– Knowledge gain

– Behavior change / practices adopted

• Long Term

– Water quality improvements

– Reduced nutrient loading

How is success communicated?

• Problem

• Response / program - what you did / partners

• Results / what happened

• Impact / Big Picture

Questions?