Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival Debut a Qualified Success

Thank you to all the great volunteers who turned out to help for this two-night, inspirational happening! We hope that it will become an eagerly-anticipated annual event! While the turnout was less than we had anticipated, we had a great time, were able to attract many new faces, and added 8 new members. Thanks especially go to the Suncoast Sierra Club for joining us as a partner in this new endeavor. We hope that they are glad they did!

Pinellas County Fertilizer Ordinance Is Now In Effect

Pinellas County’s fertilizer ordinance, Article XIII, Chapter 58, is intended to protect the water quality and natural habitats of creeks, lakes and marine waters that receive discharge from our stormdrain system. The ordinance regulates landscape maintenance practices and the sale and use of fertilizers containing nitrogen and/or phosphorus within Pinellas County. This means that homeowners, landscapers and lawn care services must adhere to specific practices as outlined in the ordinance. Violators of the fertilizer ordinance may be fined up to $10,000 per day.

Approximately 74% of Pinellas County's surface waters are "impaired" according to criteria set forth by the EPA. Complying with the provisions of the Clean Water Act will be costly for taxpayers, but could be less so if we all take measures to reduce contributing pollutants by minimizing or eliminating the use of chemical fertilizers.

The Tampa Bay Estuary Program is spearheading a public education project to increase awareness of, and compliance with, the new ordinance. Volunteers are needed to distribute door-hangers in their own neighborhoods or a nearby neighborhood. To help, contact TBEP Public Outreach Coordinator Nanette O’Hara (727-893-2765) and she’ll mail you the door-hangers. Please let her know where you plan to distribute them so that efforts are not duplicated by volunteers and/or County staffers. Nanette’s contact information is available below. Please help us move forward with this important fertilizer education to protect our waterways.

For a brochure that you can read, print and distribute to friends and neighbors, click here. To read the text of the ordinance, click here.

Help Plan C Initiative Expand Palm Harbor Library Landscape This Saturday, Jun 26th

If you want to learn more about Florida native plants and how to create your own native landscape, join Claudia Lewis's Plan C Initiative on Saturday, June 26th at 8:30 AM to help install the new plants in the southwest area of the Palm Harbor Library. Bring a hat, gloves,water, sunscreen and a shovel. You can volunteer for a little bit or the entire morning, whatever fits your schedule. Lunch and drinks will be provided. If you can't come on the 26th, you'll have another opportunity on July 17th, when Plan C Initiative will be installing the last phase of the Library re-landscape; it will be a reading garden complete with a bamboo pergola and a green wall.

Also This Saturday, Another "Hands Across the Sand" Event...

Join others who want clean energy and oil-free beaches on June 26th for a nationwide "Hands Across the Sand" protest event. Be sure to bring your friends and family—everyone is welcome! This movement is made up of people from all walks of life, and it crosses political affiliations. It is not about politics; it is about protection of our shorelines, our waterways, our tourism, our coastal military missions and our valuable properties. Let us share our knowledge, energies and passion for protecting all of the above from the devastating effects of oil drilling. To find an event in Pinellas County, click here.

The mission of Hands Across the Sand is:

To raise awareness about the devastating effects oil drilling could have on our coastal economies and environment.
To organize a national coastal movement to protest lifting the bans on near and offshore oil drilling. These protests will bring thousands of America’s citizens to our beaches and will draw metaphorical and actual lines in the sand; human lines in the sand against oil drilling in our waters. Event dates will be announced.
To convince our State Legislators, Governors, Congress and President Obama to adopt policies encouraging clean and renewable energy sources. Create legislation that creates tax incentives to encourage clean energy industries to bring business and jobs to our coastal states. Create legislation that gives Americans tax incentives to adopt in–home solar technology.

...And More! Workday at Crescent Lake Park in St. Petersburg This Saturday

Join Lucy Trimarco, Gary Crosby, and other neighborhood residents who will be working at the north end of Crescent Lake this Saturday morning, June 26, from 9:00 a.m. to noon. Come and join in on the fun! Be sure to wear close-toed shoes to protect your feet.

Other upcoming volunteer Saturdays this year: 9:00 a.m. - noon: July 31, August 28, Sept. 25, October 23, and November 20.

For more information, email Lucy (or call 727-798-0313) or visit the Crescent Lake Neighborhood Association website.

Plan Now for Next Month's Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary Field Trip

On July 17th we are planning a trip to Naples to visit the National Audubon Society's Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. Yes, we know it's summer and it's HOT, but the boardwalk at Corkscrew is shady and this is the time of year when the opportunity exists to see a rare ghost orchid in bloom. We'll be gathering for a 10 a.m. traverse of the Sanctuary's loop trail. Or...

Get off the boardwalk and join us for a guided backcountry tour of the Sanctuary on Audubon's "swamp buggy." The 3-hour tour will depart at 7 a.m. and costs $45 per person. We will join the boardwalk group at 10 a.m. to see the ghost orchid (now with 8–10 buds) and other treasures of the Sanctuary. Inexpensive accommodations are available for Friday night, and undoubtedly there will be opportunities to share accommodations for those so inclined. If you would like to sign up for the swamp buggy side trip, please contact Mary Sanders. We need at least 5 people to reserve the swamp buggy. To RSVP for the field trip (whether you're planning to take the swamp buggy tour or not) please email Alexa Wilcox Huegel.

Serenoa Chapter Offering Course for Landscape Architects & Designers

On Friday, August 13, the Serenoa Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society will conduct an educational short course on "Landscaping with Florida Native Plants" for Landscape Architects and designers. The course, which will be from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. will have the following components:

9:00 a.m.    Registration
10:00 a.m. A Sense of Place Landscaping with Michael Miller
11:00 a.m. Community ButterflyScaping & Florida FriendlyTM Landscaping with Kathy Malone
12:00 p.m. Lunch and self-guided tour of Marie Selby Botanical Gardens
1:00 p.m.   Aesthetic Landscape Preferences:"Cues to Care" with Dr. Gail Hansen
2:00 p.m.   Green Streets as a Low Impact Development Tool with Thomas F. Levin
3:00 p.m.   Q & A, Completion of Forms, CEUs issued
3:15 p.m.   Adjourned

Continuing Education Units (CEUs):
ASLA: 4 CEUs pending
FNGLA: 4 CEUs
Fee: $35 by July 30; $45 after July 30, 2010; includes lunch
Register at: http://floridalandscapearchitectshortcourse.eventbrite.com
Information: 941-794-8773 or srepens@gmail.com

Tampa Bay Watch Recruiting for Midsummer Coastal Cleanup July 10th

Tampa Bay Watch is recruiting volunteers of all ages to assist with a Midsummer Coastal Cleanup, a special event that is in partnership with Keep Pinellas Beautiful and 10Connects. TBW will be deploying both a land- and sea-based cleanup effort at Fort De Soto park after the busy fourth of July holiday weekend. This is a great opportunity to give back to an area that we all love and enjoy. Please feel free to bring your kayak or canoe if you wish to participate in the water-based cleanup.

Meeting places:
For groups of four or more: Shelter 12 near the Bay Pier within Fort De Soto Park
For canoe or kayak volunteers: entrance to the Fort De Soto Park boat ramp
For individual land volunteers: Tampa Bay Watch Marine Center, 3000 Pinellas Bayway S, Tierra Verde 33715

When: Time: 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Wear/bring: Closed-toe or water shoes, hat, garden gloves, sunscreen, bug spray, water & picker for trash if you have one
*** Trashbags, latex gloves, sunscreen and water will be provided. ***

RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED! Please use the online registration page to sign up your group (or yourself), and let TBP know if you will be bringing your kayak.

Apply online for Splash! SWFWMD School Grants

Teachers interested in securing a Splash! school grant for hands-on water resources projects through the Southwest Florida Water Management District can begin applying online. The application is available on the District’s web site. Grant applications are due Sept. 10, 2010.

The District’s Splash! grants provide teachers with funding for classroom projects on water quality, water conservation, alternative sources, water supply, flood protection or watersheds. The goal of the school grant program is to promote hands-on water education that teaches students about their local watersheds and the freshwater resources within them. Splash! grants are available for public, private, charter and home school groups and provide up to $5,000 per school on a reimbursement basis only.

Last year the District awarded Splash! grants to 209 educators reaching more than 113,000 students with school-based water projects. Past school grant projects include student monitoring of local water quality, environmental field trips, student-designed butterfly gardens and short videos promoting awareness of water-conserving practices.

In addition to school grants, the District offers teacher professional development, classroom presentations, virtual watershed excursions and curriculum tools. Free water education materials can be ordered on the District’s web site at http://www.WaterMatters.org/publications/. Contact Mary Margaret Hull, District lead youth education coordinator, at 1-800-423-1476, ext. 4774 with questions about the Splash! school grant application process or the District’s other educational materials.