Bat Buddies Project

A Sarasota County 4-H Club Aims to Help a Misunderstood Species

by Madison Chapman

Editor’s Note: Deborah Chapman is the leader of the Sarasota County environmental science 4-H club known as the Reef Rovers. Her daughters, Madison (age 14) and Raven (age 11), became interested in bats when a colony invaded a home in their neighborhood. This led them to research bats, and, when they learned of their plight, they convinced their fellow Reef Rover club members to implement the Bat Buddies project to help these native mammals. The Reef Rovers have also participated in other community service initiatives, such as storm drain markings, beach clean-ups, exotic remov-als, and native plantings. Madison and Raven were honored in 2007 with the Sarasota County Youth Conservation Award for their environ-mental efforts. And in the fall of ‘07, they were recipients of the Sarasota Coun-ty 4-H Citizenship Award. Following is an explanation of the program written by Madison.

Members of the Sarasota County 4-H Reef Rovers club have gone batty. Over the last year, they have donated bat houses to various public parks, preserves, schools, and community centers throughout Sarasota and Manatee counties. The objective of their Bat Buddies program is to provide an alternative habitat for bats as well as increase public awareness about the ecological value of these native mammals.

While the Reef Rovers have participated in a variety of marine biology and conservation programs, including beach cleanups, native plantings, and storm drain markings, “They were eager to get involved with something wildlife-oriented,” club leader Debo-rah Chapman explains.

Bats are the most important natural controller of night-flying insects, with the average bat consuming over 3,000 insects per night. However, bats are disappearing at alarming rates due to the destruction of their habitats, which primarily are dead trees. Wooden bat-house boxes mounted high on posts offer safe, alternative roosts.

The Bat Buddies project is funded by a grant from the Sara-sota Bay Estuary Program (sarasotabay.org). While some of the bat houses were purchased from conservation groups, the students built, stained, and calked many of the bat houses themselves. And, with the help of a few dads, they mounted them on posts at 10 different locations: Pocono Trail in Nokomis, Curry Creek Preserve in Venice, Crowley Museum and the Cortez Schoolhouse in Manatee County, Twin Lakes Park & Longwood Run Park in Sarasota, the Sarasota Community Garden, and the Girl Scout Regional Headquarters. Pine View School in Osprey also received a bat house from the Reef Rovers. “We’ve had a bat infestation in several of our buildings, and this will provide a wonderful alternative to keep them on campus but away from our school buildings and our students,” environmental science teacher Wallace “Spike” Black explains.

The Reef Rovers are particularly excited about their bat house donation to the Humane Society of Sarasota County. Why? If bats decide to colonize the bat house there, it will be great for both the bats and the dogs, because bats eat mosquitoes and mosquitoes can transfer heartworm, a dangerous disease, to dogs. Also, the Education Department of the humane society has incorporated bat conservation into the curriculum of their summer camps and youth programs.

Though the Reef Rovers do not plan to put up any more bat houses, they continue to give educational presentations about bats at elementary schools, and they monitor their 10 bat houses for colonization. And they are proud to confirm a colony already at Twin Lakes Park. To learn more about bats or to get your own bat house, visit www.batcon.org or www.floridabats.org.

Coastal Erosion

by Gary Appelson

Florida is defined by its beaches. They are arguably our most important natu-ral resource. But Florida’s beaches are in trouble – from sand loss due to inlets and jetties, poorly sited coastal development, inadequate coastal construction setback policies, sea wall construction, stronger and more frequent erosion-causing storms, and slow-rising sea levels. As private prop-erties along the coast are threatened by erosion, panicked residents and resource managers look for relief through costly beach nourishment and other engineering solutions such as construction of unsightly and harmful sea walls and piles of rock. Defying long-term planning in the face of climate change, Florida continues to allow, encourage, and subsidize high-risk coastal development on the frontal dunes of even the most critically eroding shore-lines. This very real set of factors combines to create a sort of “perfect storm” that threatens the future of Florida’s sandy beaches and coastal habitats.

Most of the non-storm-related coastal erosion in Florida is attributable to the state’s system of navigation inlets and the jetties used to stabilize those inlets. These engineered inlets interrupt the natural flow of sand along beaches by causing it to accumulate in inlet channels or against the jetties. Coastal engineers estimate that up to 70 percent of coastal erosion may be attributed to inlets. And although a 1986 law required the Florida Depart-ment of Environmental Protection (FDEP) to develop an inlet management plan for all of the state’s 57 inlets and to bypass all sand captured by inlets to adjacent sand starved beaches, today only 17 plans have been adopted, and many of these have been implemented only partially.

Shoreline development on eroding beaches establishes a line in the sand that property owners try to defend with sea walls and other armoring structures as the surf gets closer. Sea wall construction reduces a beach’s natural resiliency to respond to storms by preventing the beach/dune sys-tem from retreating, by increasing erosion in front of and around the walls, and by locking up sand that would normally feed down-drift beaches.The FDEP estimates that nearly half of Florida’s 825 miles of sandy beaches are currently “critically eroded,” and both the beach and adjacent upland proper-ties are in need of protection. The state’s costly beach renourishment program is the primary strategy to combat coastal ero-sion, followed by coastal armoring. Given budget shortfalls, limited sand supplies, and environmental impacts, especially from armoring, some question the long-term sustainability of this strategy.It has been 30 years since the Florida Legislature adopted the current policies designed to manage shoreline construc-tion and protect the state’s beaches. The Coastal Construction Control Line (CCCL) program established a jurisdictional zone, within which homes are supposed to be built away from eroding shorelines in or-der to protect the beaches and dunes. Unfortunately, the program is fraught with inconsistencies and loopholes that allow homes to be built too far seaward, necessitating the need for future seawalls and beach nourishment. According to a recent study, about 50 percent of all the homes and condos built since the CCCL program was established now sit on critically eroding beaches and need protection. This is what the program was intended to prevent.

People often ask how it is that homes can be built so close to the ocean. While the CCCL program generally prohibits construction seaward of a line equal to where waves are projected to reach in 30 years, loopholes often render this sensible setback ineffective. Exemptions for building seaward of the 30-year ero-sion line are mandated for single-family homes on lots plated before 1986 and are routinely granted if there is an existing “line of construction” or a pending beach nourishment project. The 30-year erosion line is waved or moved seaward once a funding commitment for continual beach re-nourishment is secured. Structures are then allowed to be built on land known o be washing away. Such permits are based on the anticipation of long-term funding for re-nourishment and not on the expected life of any previous sand placement. Structures also are allowed to be built up to the existing line of con-struction. If a line of construction was established 30 years ago when there was 200 feet of beach between homes and high tide, and if today the beach is only 30 feet wide and the erosion rate is several feet per year, developers and homeowners still are permitted to build up to that line.

Complicating the problem is the fact that the state-financed Citizens Property Insurance Corporation (CPIC) subsidizes development in coastal high-hazard areas fronting vulnerable and eroding beaches. CPIC builder’s risk and wind insurance is provided to developers and homeowners along the shoreline, regardless of historical erosion rates, storm history, or frequency of repeat claims.

Solutions for long-term protection of Florida’s beaches are illusive. What is needed is a combination of strong lead-ership and creative strategies that con-sider all stakeholders. Citizens can help by learning about the issues, contacting elected officials and requesting creative solutions, and by supporting organizations that address these issues. People buying along the shore should inquire about local erosion rates and avoid structures located too close to critically eroding beaches. Citizens must encourage local and state officials to commit to long-term protection of our beaches. Ask them to support strategies that allow for a “strategic relocation” away from the shore wherever feasible. Such strategies will include tax incentives, conservation easements, transfer of devel-opment rights, and other mechanisms that create incentives for building or relocating landward. Florida also will need to commit more resources to coastal land acquisi-tion, better inlet management practices, and an overall reassessment of the CCCL program.

The fate of Florida’s beaches is in our hands, but time is running out on our ability to make the sort of policy changes needed to save Florida’s beaches. You can start by learning more about the issues. Watch the Caribbean Conservation Corporation’s new video, Higher Ground: The Battle to Save Florida’s Beaches, which can be seen online at www.cccturtle.org.

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Saving the Sea Turtle

The Caribbean Con-servation Corporation is the world’s oldest sea turtle conservation organi-zation. Established almost 50 years ago, its mission is to protect sea turtles and their habitats throughout the Caribbean and the Atlantic. CCC developed and sponsored the Sea Turtle Specialty License Plate, which now funds Florida’s Marine Turtle Protection Program. Ninety percent of all sea turtle nesting in North America occurs on Florida’s beaches. In an effort to educate the public about pressing coastal development and beach protection issues, CCC recently produced the educational video, Higher Ground: The Battle to Save Florida’s Beaches. The video is also intended to be a spring-board for discussion to help bring about creative leadership in addressing these issues. Higher Ground can be viewed on CCC’s website at www.cccturtle.org.

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Gary Appelson is the Policy Coordinator with the Gainesville-based Caribbean Conservation Corporation (CCC) and its Sea Turtle Survival League, through which he monitors the laws and regulations impact-ing coastal policies, the coastal environ-ment, and sea turtles, including the state’s regulatory program for coastal construction, beach nourishment, and coastal armoring. He also serves on the steering committee of the newly formed Oceans and Coastal Alliance, a group of national and Florida-based conservation organizations focus-ing on coastal and marine resource protection issues, and was just appointed to the Technical Working Group to the Governor’s Climate Action Team. Find out more about CCC at www.cccturtle.org

Efest NEWS July Update

Efest is proud to introduce you our newest list of Exhibitors. For a complete list visit us at www.efest.us

New Exhibitors:

• Junior League of Sarasota
• Scooter City of Sarasota
• Family Healing Center
• Great Burial Reef
• ArtisTree Landscape Maintenance & Design
• East West College of Natural Medicine
• GoPet Personal Electronic Transportation
• Juno & Jove
• My Green Buildings
• Global Organics Specialty Source
• Local Coffee and Tea
• Oceana
• Florida Voices for Animals
• AWH School of Ecology
• Kinslow Counseling Services
• Front Door Organics
  

New Sponsor:
For more information of new Sponsors joining Efest.us please visit us at Sponsors at Efest.us

• Pro-Motion Notions (Bronze)
• Mommy Magazine (Bronze) - MEDIA SPONSOR
  

New Music Artist:
For more information of new Music Artists joining Efest.us please visit us at Music & Dance at Efest.us

• The Spam Allstars
• My Friend Scott

Want to know how to participate? Contact us at randy@efest.us

Every day we are adding more exhibitors, sponsors, Artists, keep checking on Efest.us for more.

Plus, every month we will be adding articles for you to get information about the green community and Sarasota. Just click on Green Articles

Sarasota’s Ordinance Promotes Sustainable Fertilizers

by Jessica Benoit

Sarasota County’s new fertilizer ordinance is promoting sustainable landscaping practices by limiting the amount, time, and placement of fertilizers. At least eight other Florida cities have also adopted local ordinances in an attempt to protect the state’s water from overfertilization. In Florida, fertilizer use has risen from less than 16,000 tons in 2003 to more than two million tons in 2007. When nutrient levels increase, red tide outbreaks become more frequent and the size of the Dead Zone in the Gulf can become even larger. Our water’s condition largely depends on water quality standards that the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and State of Florida have been slow to implement. Fertilization misuse has cost millions in tax dollars and poses to diminish commercial and recreational fisheries and tourism which brings in an estimated 60 billion a year. Nicknamed the “chemical time bomb” in Europe, over-fertilization is a global problem as evidence has shown its devastating affects on the environment. Red tide blooms are increasing, and areas lacking oxygen called dead zones are becoming more common. Presently, states in the U.S. rely on Better Management Practices to regulate fertilizer use, but this is usually a voluntary system and therefore unenforceable. Mandatory BMPs exist in some highly sensitive areas like the Everglades in Wellington and St. John’s County Guana Marsh Basin but are criticized for being too lenient. Sarasota’s ordinance combines BMPs with other well-drafted considerations from horticultural experts.

While advocates are fighting for stronger laws in Florida, the dead zone located below the Mississippi River depends on what the states bordering the river do. These states, including Iowa, Ohio, and Illinois, receive some of the highest nitrogen rates, and as crop productions increase, mass amounts of fertilizer will wash down the Mississippi River, increasing the size of the dead zone. According to the Gulf Restoration Network (GRN), “In a 2007 report on Mississippi River water quality, the Nation Research Council (NRC) was highly critical of the lack of action by the EPA to reduce nitrogen and phosphorous pollution.” According to the NRC, “In order to meet water quality objectives in the Mississippi River and reduce the dead zone, the EPA and states must establish standards for nitrogen and phosphorous pollution.” Currently, Hawaii is the only state where all rivers and lakes have these standards. GRN quotes Illinois as “creating science that says nitrogen and phosphorous pollution aren’t the cause of algal blooms – it’s too much sunlight.” Most experts agree fertilizer nutrients are largely to blame for increasing red tide outbreaks, and poor agriculture policies have contributed to the damage. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) states, “Failed federal farm policies are leading to 1.7 billion tons of topsoil eroding from agricultural fields nationwide, polluting America’s waters and fisheries with sediment and millions of pounds of fertilizer and pesticides.”

While protection laws are slow to be implemented, supporters of them are continuing to develop and use sustainable landscaping practices. Ed Rosenthal, CEO of Florikan E.S.A. (Environmentally Sustainable Agriculture) who supports the new local ordinance, says, “Sarasota County Commissioners deserve a lot of credit for understanding the issue of reducing nutrient runoff by passing a law which drives the consumer to use less input of nitrogen and phosphate. Applying fertilizer correctly is the major focus, and as people become more educated in sustainability, they will want to do the right thing by using products that preserve and protect our natural resources.” Rosenthal, who has been pursuing the issue for 35 years, helped develop the “Sustainable Landscape Council with other like-minded companies as a continuing outreach program to educate the community to use more sustainable means of landscaping.” Rosenthal sponsors education symposiums and has created an Endowment Fund aimed at developing BMPs for improved environmental stewardship through the Horticultural Research Institute.

Using slow-release fertilizer is a major component of sustainable landscaping and a part of Sarasota’s new ordinance. Florikan won awards for its Staged Nutrient Release (Dynamite Plant food). Rosenthal explains that “the patented Florikan technology provides the nutrients that the plants need in controlled-release form at the exact time of plants’ growth when the plants can utilize and absorb the nutrients.” He also notes that “Improved efficiency of nutrient uptake is the proven result of this Staged Nutrient-release technology.”

Sarasota Ordinance Guidelines are as follows: (Sarasota Our Sarasota™ Website & Florikan)

1. Do not apply fertilizer with nitrogen and phosphorus to your lawns during the summer rainy months of June through September unless deemed necessary through soil and tissue testing.
2. Do not apply any fertilizer within 10 feet of any body of water. If you live on the bay or the gulf, use a larger setback of 25 to 50 feet. Mitigation zones of 10 feet between edge of turf and water runoff areas, surface water, rivers, creeks, etc. should be planted with xeriscape plants and mulched or planted with Zoysia grass or seashore perspallum (low-N and salt-tolerant plant).
3. When you do apply fertilizer in the spring or fall, use a blend that has at least 50 percent timed or slow release and apply no more than two pounds nitrogen and a quarter-pound of phosphorus (if needed) per 1000 square feet per application. Four pounds of nitrogen and a half pound of phosphorus are the maximum allowed per year.

Sustainable Landscaping Recommendations:

1. During the summer rainy season, add fertilizer with controlled-release potassium and controlled-release magnesium. This is found in Dynamite Plant Food or Florikan Landscape Fertilizer, available from Wholesale Landscape Supply in Sarasota. This will keep the plants and turf green and healthy in the summer rainy season. The zero-nitrogen, zero-phosphate fertilizer is called Summer Safe.
2. Remove as much sod as possible in favor of beds of Florida Native plants or Perennial Peanut or Sunshine Mimosa (they need no fertilizer or watering once established), mulched with Melaluca (an invasive plant) mulch. (Do not use Cypress mulch, as wetland trees are cut down and ground up to make it.)
3. If you live near a pond or other water element, plant aquatic plants at the edges. Some decorative types are: Pickerelweed, Duck Potato, Canna Lily, and Water Lily. Grants are available from Sarasota County, Sarasota Bay Estuary Program, and Southwest Florida Water Management District.
4. St. Augustine grass should be removed. Zoysia grass seems to be a much more ecofriendly turf. It does not require as much nitrogen as St. Augustine and is more pest resistant, allowing less harmful pesticides to be applied. It has a higher drought tolerance as well.
5. Use compost fertilizer.

Jessica Benoit received her bachelor’s degree in Professional and Technical Writing at USF in Sarasota, where she was born and raised. She is an advocate in the pursuit of a healthy, progressive lifestyle. Contact her at benwasp@ hotmail.com.

Please let us know what you think about this article by writing your comments in our Green Blog.

SMR Headquarters Building Certified Green; Crist Sees

SMR’s Building Certified Green – Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, the parent company of the developer of Lakewood Ranch, announces that its corporate headquarters is the first commercial building to be certified Green by the Florida Green Building Coalition. The two-story, 32,000-square-foot building is located on Covenant Way, just north of University Parkway on the east side of Lorraine Road. SMR has a history of practicing wise stewardship of their land and resources, and building Green is an extension of their commitment to quality building practices. The Green building features for the SMR corporate headquarters includes energy-efficient and healthful building construction, environmental responsibility, sustainability, and economic viability. Features include the use of drought-tolerant plants in the outdoor landscaping, the use of recycled building materials, the recycling of more than 75 percent of the construction waste, the use of efficient systems for heating, cooling and water resources, solar powered sprinkler systems, the use of iSynergy software from iDaix to reduce the use of paper, friction track flooring to eliminate the use of toxic glues, energy-efficient windows, low VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) paints, low flow faucets and dual flush toilets, and a daily recycling program at individual desks. Lakewood Ranch recently received the Green Homes Marketing of the Year award at the National Association of Home Builders’ eighth annual National Green Building Conference.


Crist Sees Florida as Green Leader – Governor
Charlie Crist wants to follow California’s lead and turn Florida into a green state by
capping greenhouse gas emissions, requiring environmentally friendly building codes, and turning state government into a model of energy efficiency. He is pushing to require dirty power plants to dramatically reduce emissions while converting 20 percent of their production to renewable energy. Greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles would also be cut.

Many of his proposals were presented at the recent Summit on Global Change in Miami July 12–13, 2007. The summit featured scientists, alternative energy experts, policy makers, academics, media, and environmental officials from around the globe. More than 600 people participated at the Summit.

Crist is pushing to set caps on emissions by electric utilities. The caps will come in stages, with the first reduction goals coming in 2017 when power plant emissions would be capped at 2000 levels. By 2050, emissions couldn’t exceed 20 percent of the 1990 levels. Utilities could also be asked to produce 20 percent of their power with renewable sources, such as solar and wind energy.

“Florida is providing the moral leadership needed to preserve our state’s beautiful natural environment, and state government is leading by example by taking immediate action to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions,” Governor Crist said. “However, our actions do not stop here. During the next few months, Florida’s Action Team on Energy and Climate Change will develop further recommendations for our state’s long-term climate-friendly efforts.

“Global climate change is one of the most important issues we face this century, and we must take action. We must make every effort to boldly do our best to do what is right – for our environment, for our economy, and for future generations. We have a responsibility to be good stewards of Florida’s natural resources and beautiful surroundings.”

Governor Crist called for Florida to become a leader in renewable and alternative energies such as ethanol and biofuels, solar and wind energy. Florida has the greatest capacity in the nation to produce ethanol because of a year-long growing season and robust agricultural lands. Florida’s sugar cane and citrus industries have great potential to become a statewide asset when converted to ethanol. In this way, energy diversification can be vital to Florida’s economic development and security.

Governor Crist also signed agreements with the governments of Germany and the United Kingdom calling for a post- Kyoto Protocol that protects the planet’s climate systems by reducing emissions of greenhouse gasses beyond 2012.

Moore Attends Builders Conference – Bryan Moore, a partner with Positive Change Media and the site coordinator for Efest 2007, recently attended the Southeast Builders Conference in Orlando. The event featured more than 800 exhibitors. Moore visited all the companies offering green products and services to build relationships and to make owners aware of the opportunity to exhibit at Efest. He also connected with some of the Efest 2007 sponsors and registered exhibitors such as Two Trails Green Consulting, Solar Direct, and Tankless Water Heater Systems.

Efest 2008 will expand to two days to accommodate as many as 200 exhibitors. It will be the largest green living music and arts festival in the history of Florida. Efest 2009 is expected to attract innovative green businesses from throughout the U.S. and other nations.

Submit suggested Regional Green News listings to randy@efest.us.

Please let us know what you think about this article by writing your comments in our Green Blog.