Water Less Heroes: How your neighbors are saving water
James Jackson’s home is a miniature wildlife sanctuary, his quarter-acre lot flourishing with 34 species of native Florida plants. But it wasn’t always so.
This man’s curiosity was sparked by a story he saw on TV. Now, Art Gallo of Winter Springs is helping his community pilot test new ways to save water outdoors.
Marek is the agent for the Marion County Florida-Friendly Landscaping (FFL) program, a part of the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension.
Florida receives an average of 52 inches of rain annually, but it doesn’t fall uniformly across the state. Long periods of dry weather can cause a decline in groundwater levels, the source of 90 percent of water used by people living in the St. Johns River Water Management District’s (SJRWMD) 18-county region.
Abbey Calhoun, recently retired, tends to her yard in Satellite Beach (Brevard County) with the same passion that she exhibited caring for her patients during her nursing career. She’s a Water Less hero whose back yard celebrates plucky creativity and the wondrous flora of natural Florida.
The St. Johns River Water Management District’s Florida Water StarSM program has turned hundreds of landscape and irrigation professionals into accredited water conservation experts.
Green fairways roll gently toward a native tree line at The Palencia Club, an Arthur Hills-designed championship golf course and private club in St. Augustine, Fla. The grass is flawless, like a jade carpet beneath the Florida sun.
Madison, a senior at Edgewood Junior/Senior High School in Merritt Island, is concerned about the Sunshine State’s streams, rivers, lakes and underground aquifers, so she focused her senior project on water conservation and what we can all do to preserve our precious water resources.
Florida newcomer finds help from utility, district to implement water savings around her home and yard.
It may be diminutive in size, but Deborah Weaver’s backyard is a private oasis of sun-dappled groundcover, broad-leafed potted plants and clusters of bromeliads. Learn how her efforts resulted in a beautiful and water-saving yard.