1) use sustainable landscaping methods when maintaining public lands? If so, what practices?  Are they mandated?

Jackson

Yes--use of native plants is encouraged, also low maintenance plants when possible. Not mandated.

Pasco

Pasco County enacted a progressive Landscaping and Irrigation Ordinance effective Feb. 26, 2002. It requires the use of native plants, microirrigated landscape beds, efficient irrigation system design and limits permanent in-ground turf irrigation to a maximum of 50% of the eligible greenspace. New County facilities meet the same requirements and exceed them by eliminating turf irrigation entirely by using drought tolerant turf. The original ordinance was amended in 2006 to promote the use of smart irrigation technology (e.g. soil moisture sensors) to eliminate over watering due to clock based irrigation scheduling. Numerous other sustainable landscaping elements are also included and may be found in the ordinance online through the county website at pascocountyfl.net The county also has a Tree Preservation Ordinance that requires replacement of trees removed during development and installation of minimum numbers of trees in new home lots and common areas.

Hernando

On Hernando County's Environmentally Sensitive Lands (ESL) sustainable habitats are the main focus. This is done through surveying the lands for exotics, and eradicating any nuisance plants, and/or wildlife that may intrude. The ESL program also practices sustainability by allowing passive recreation only. This means horseback-riding, recreational vehicles, ball fields, picnic areas, etc. are not permitted. The ESL program was approved by a bond referendum in 1988 to authorize the County to levy taxes in support of the program. On Hernando County’s traditional parks the planning department does encourage sustainable, Florida Friendly landscaping. The planning staff works with other departments such as Building and Zoning, Parks and Recreation, and the County Extension to achieve this common goal.

Bay

Not much. The county and cities do what is easiest, not what is sustainable. I do hope to do some educational programs in the future to TRY to get them to do more sustainable landscaping practices. The only thing that the county mandates is the use of plants and you have to have so many plants in an area and some have to be native.

Polk

Not mandated but are used at a couple of sites including the new welcome center, Outpost 27.

Sumter

New plantings are beginning to use Florida Friendly Landscaping Practices. The new extension office has a water conservation landscape and wildflower demonstration.

Seminole

If you mean following best management practices (BMP's) for landscape maintenance, we teach that approach through our extension programs and they are well attended by county maintenance personnel. They are not mandated but recommended.

Collier

I perform landscape reviews for code compliance for commercial and multi-family residential. We require a certain percentage of native trees and shrubs, 75% trees and 1--%-50% shrubs depending on the region. Generally a lower native requirement north and east of I-75. 

Orange, Lake & Seminole

Counties are starting to open up to sustainable and have meetings discussing sustainable ordinances, but Orange, Lake & Seminole, at this time, do not mandate it.

2) practice stormwise and firewise principles in maintaining public lands? If so, are your citizens likewise encouraged?

Collier

Yes we keep these considerations in mind when reviewing plans but have no code requirements to date that restrict trees and plant material near buildings and foundations.

Seminole

We teach BMP's to prevent stormwater runoff of fertilizer nutrients. I'm sure that the stormwater and fire departments in Seminole County have plans for out of the ordinary weather and fire related events.

Volusia

Volusia County has a stormwater ordinance. Firewise landscaping is practiced but not required. Extension and Division of Forestry promote firewise landscaping

Jackson

These topics have not been addressed openly. We use irrigation on the plant beds and turf near our (newer) buildings, so the Firewise principle has not been a factor. Stormwise, we are conscious about dead or dying trees, and trees vulnerable to damages, and do not plant them or try to keep them in the landscape.

Hernando

The construction of fire lanes (a gap in vegetation or other combustible material that is expected to slow or stop the progress of a wildfire. wikipedia.org/wiki/Firebreak) is an important part of the County’s ESL management program that is administered by the planning staff. Neighboring citizens are educated on the healthy results of prescribed burns, and are notified in advance of any scheduled burns on the County’s acquired lands. Through the extension service citizens are able to obtain information on fires and the urban interface. The County’s extension service also provides citizens with information on landscaping for storms as well as, tree removal and trimming. 

Pasco

Public Lands in Pasco County are managed by Parks and Recreation, The Environmental Lands Program (ELAMP) and the Southwest Florida Water Management District. These lands are managed with practices that include prescribed burning. The Cooperative Extension Service consults with the Road and Bridge Department to identify hazard trees that require removal from public right of ways. The Extension office provides educational events for the development industry with current Univ. of Florida research regarding trees and hurricanes to better inform their landscaping choices. Those events also include information on Firewise Community planning which becomes a consideration for community development. Currently, Pasco Extension and the Florida Department of Forestry are collaborating to guide the Starkey Ranch DRI in achieving certification as a Firewise Community. Educational displays featuring Tree management and hurricane preparation/recovery are currently setup in the lobby of the County Administration Building.

Bay

Not that I am aware of. Our Sea grant Agent has developed a brochure to let people know about storm water run off and the importance of reducing stormwater run off. I wrote an article on firewise landscaping and in the article let people know we had a packet free of charge they could receive from our office but so far no one has.

Citrus

Encouraged. Some trees are provided using funds from our Tree Preservation Fund.

Polk

Do practice some firewise principles on public lands. Citizens are not directly encouraged to do so by county government but are by DOF, Extension and TNC.

3) make compost from yard waste available to citizens at no charge?  Is it free of plastic bag scraps?  Does the county use it in its landscaping and maintenance activities? 

Leon

Yes... reasonably clean. Yes, I think the county probably uses some of it in their parks.

Citrus

Free mulch is available at our landfill.

Jackson

We do not have this program, but several tree trimmers do offer to dump their chips in local neighborhoods near where they work. The county does not use these chips for mulch, but purchases finely ground chips from other sustainable sources.

Pasco

Mulch from yard waste is available to citizens at no charge from several county facilities. Bulk Mulch and Compost is available from several private companies in Pasco or adjacent counties. No information about plastic bag scraps is known. The county uses tree trimmings and removed trees as mulch for road median shrub/tree plantings and at some county facilities.

Volusia

Not compost but mulch. It's free to the public. Not sure about plastic bag scraps - that's a question for Solid Waste. I know the county uses it for trails.

Bay

Not that I am aware of. We have a very poor recycling department here. The county doesn't have a big enough budget to have a decent recycle program or to keep good recycle coordinators. 

Orange, Lake & Seminole

Orange County Yes. Yes. Yes. Lake, sometimes. no. no. Seminole County uses the yard waste as alternative fuel.

Brevard

The county chips up the yard wastes and offers it as a mulch but they do not compost it. The county also provides a golden mulch which is just chipped up tree trunks of pines and oaks and that is used on county properties and by residents who know to ask for it.

Hernando

The County landfill offers recycled mulch which is free of non-organic debris. 

Miami- Dade

We encourage homeowners to create their own compost with landscape waste and to reuse in there yard.

Highlands

Yes, and yes. Landscape maintenance uses it when available.

Volusia

Yes, Volusia County has compost available. Some is free of debris. The county does use the material.

4) encourage its citizens to use rain barrels and to build rain gardens to ease the stormwater runoff? 

Jackson

Have not had the problem of stormwater runoff here, as we generally have some elevation. We do have retention and settling ponds for parking lots, etc. that hold water for a specific period of time and a set quantity to avert flooding. 

Bay

No. We are trying to develop a program. I plan to get with our Sea grant Agent and do some programs on this topic.

Madison

Not that I am aware of. The extension office had a brochure on this that I had piccked up but I don't know how they are getting this out to the public

Hernando

The County extension service provides several classes per year on the use of rain barrels, and the County utilities department provides seminars on storm water runoff. We currently are revising our County’s landscape ordinance to better encourage water conservation, and tree preservation. 

Sumter

The extension office offers rain barrel workshops to the public but a large portion of the population lives in deed restricted areas that do not allow water collection.

Pasco

The Florida Yards & Neighborhoods Homeowner Program offers numerous rain barrel workshops at County Park events (e.g. Earth Day) and in conjunction with other private partners regularly. Workshops are usually very well attended and demand often exceeds the supply of available recycled barrels. Extension also encourages the use of a wide range of pervious surfaces (e.g. porous pavement, grass pavers, mulch, stone etc.) to homeowners and the development industry. Cisterns and other rainwater harvesting reservoirs are also encouraged for both stormwater management and irrigation augmentation. 

Orange, Lake & Seminole

The UF/IFAS FYN progam in Orange, Lake & Seminole Counties promotes rain barrels and rain gardens.

Volusia

The Volusia County Extension and Public Works Department promote rain gardens and have developed a few demonstration sites. 

Brevard

We hold rain barrel workshops throughout the year.

Polk

Yes through the FYN program of the Cooperative Extension Service.

Miami-
Dade

Yes we offer a class which allows you to take home a rain barrel.

Highlands

Yes, sell approximately 50 rain barrels this past year. Florida Yards and Neighborhood Program covers these programs.

Volusia

Yes. Our county promotes the use of rain barrels in the Utilities news letter.

Flagler

Yes. The Flagler County Extension Service provides educational programs on these topics and through its Master Gardener Club offers rain barrels for sale at various times of the year.

5) have an "adopt a stormwater retention pond" program?  If so, how well is it working? 

Volusia

Volusia County was one of the first counties in the nation to adopt a stormwater ordinance in 1978.

Citrus

We are doing a countywide watershed management plan. We are also in the process of updating stormwater regs to reflect best management practices.

6) have any other programs to encourage its citizens to be more sustainable? If so, what are they and who's in charge?

Leon

Again, Extension administers the Florida Yards & Neighborhoods program and recognizes Florida Friendly Yards. 

Citrus

As we update our land development code, we will be proposing sustainable development standards in response to the goals set by our Board of County Commissioners.

Polk

Both Lakeland and Winter Haven have programs to encourage sustainable practices especially affecting watersheds. Cooperative Extension has been the major educator in this arena with the FYN, and lakes education program. There is also a group, Lakes Education/Action Drive that encourages sustainability through outreach and often cooperates with Extension and other groups.

Sumter

Florida Friendly Landscape program at Sumter County Extension, sponsored by SWFWMD.

Hernando

It is the responsibility of all the County employees to encourage its citizens to be more sustainable. Planning, Parks and Recreation, Engineering, Utilities, Building and Zoning, and the Extension Service all employ people who can assist and encourage citizens with questions on sustainability. 

Washington

Other than extension, the county does nothing else that I am aware of.

Highlands

State-wide, Florida Yards and Neighborhoods Program: county-\ wide we have FYN agents implementing this nine step program

Orange, Lake & Seminole

The Central Florida Yards & Neighborhoods program.

Flagler

The Flagler County Extension Service Horticulture Program offers several educational programs throughout the year to the general public. Many are given at the local public library, Extension Service office and local Civic groups (upon request). Some of our programs are also given at annual county events such as the Emergency Operations Center Annual Disaster Preparation Exp. Along with the Division of Forestry, we give a talk on Landscaping with Fire in Mind and Preparing your Landscape for Hurricanes. Fact sheets on these topics from University of Florida and Division of Forestry are also given out at this event. Flagler County Extension Service Horticulture programs- “Go Native!” Landscaping and Wildlife program, Florida Yards & Neighborhoods 9 Principles of Florida Friendly Landscaping (3 part series), Master Gardener training program (10 week course), Jr. Master Gardener training (8 week course in summer), Spring Horticulture Series (6- 2 hour programs) include ‘Planning your Landscape’, ‘Turfgrass Care and Maintenance’, ‘Landscape Tips, Tricks and Traps’, ‘Caring for Roses’, ‘Growing Citrus’ and ‘Growing. 

Pasco

The Florida Yards & Neighborhoods Program has three dedicated professionals to encourage sustainable landscaping to Homeowners, Homeowner Associations and the Residential and Commercial Development industry. HOA common areas are eligible for a free landscape evaluation with custom recommendations based upon an onsite visit. Green Building is promoted to private industry with a growing number of Builders and Developers pursuing Florida Green Building Certification. The Pasco School Board is constructing several facilities that will be LEED certified. The Board of County Commissioners is pursuing LEED certification for new county buildings. Pasco County Extension supports private and government efforts with education and landscape/irrigation plan review services. The Extension Service is well supported by a growing number of Master Gardeners that leverage public support with volunteer hours in support of many projects. The Pasco County Cooperative Extension Service Director is the primary manager of all of the educational outreach programs.

Jackson

This probably does not apply to sustainable gardening or landscaping, but the county has received grant funds to carry out "White Goods" disposal and "Amnesty" for pesticides and hazardous waste, and that has been a tremendous help and enticement for our homeowners and small businesses to clean up their property. The Community Development dept and the Recycling Office is in charge of those programs, respectively, in cooperation with the Road and Bridge Dept, Corrections and our office. City of Marianna is a participant in Tree City program and uses as many native trees and other plants that are survivable in its plantings at city entrances. Chuck Sims of the Downtown Improvement Group is in charge.

Volusia

We have a Water Wise Landscaping Ordinance. It limits the amount of medium and high volume irrigation that can be installed. There is also a provision to keep native areas on a development site - if a developer keeps at least 25% of the native vegetation and does not irrigate it, the remaining 75% can be installed with high volume irrigation.

Seminole

We teach sustainability - combining plant and animal production, integrating natural biological cycles, and making the most use of non-renewable resources - in much of our educational programming, particularly as it relates to integrated pest management (IPM). 

Miami-
Dade

Yes in several areas Ag as well as urban.

Do you have any other comments or suggestions??

Flagler

As you can see we are a big advocate of protecting our natural resources along with several other organizations. It is critical, especially in our county, that we maintain quality water sources to sustain quality life! Flagler County has been noted several times as the “fastest growing county in the nation”, but will our water supply be enough for that kind of demand? I guess that remains to be seen! Hopefully, our efforts will make a difference for the better.

Madison

I am encouraging developers to use native, low maintenance landscaping and to leave as much of the existing landscaping as possible when planning their subdivision and to work around the existing low natural retention areas.

Bay

My county is far behind in many ways. The county and the cities are slow to adapt. They have no vision except if it has to do with condos and tourism. Most of the professional horticulture companies have no idea what they are doing, even after they attend programs presented by the University/IFAS or the county extension. I am planning to do some programming in 2008 to see if I can get the county and cities to do real sustainable landscaping and maintenance. I am glad to see you doing thus book for Florida.

Jackson

Our biggest asset is clean and abundant water in the aquifer here. Occasionally, we have had to have irrigation wells re-done as the water levels have dropped. Thus far, we have not had to resort to water rationing or restrictions, but we came close in the early part of June. Marianna is relatively small and does not have many budgetary resources to devote to sustainable plant practices, but has made a good effort to initiate some of the least cost inputs in the past three years. I serve on the Tree Board/Arborvitae Committee as an advisor. The Garden Clubs in Marianna, Graceville, and Sneads do make efforts to promote tree planting and beautification of public land sites.

Volusia

Sustainable gardening should include the installation of a rain sensor device or soil moisture sensing device for those landscapes irrigated with automatic sprinkler systems.