by TRC_Admin | May 27, 2020 | Nature, Wildflowers
Photo: Mark Berlinger, a supervisor at the Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park in Pasco County, FL
“Amid all the fear, tension and frustration during the coronavirus pandemic, it’s easy to lose sight of the beauty surrounding you in Florida.
While everyone was hunkered down at home, spring officially sprung March 19.
As befuddling as the concept of linear time might seem after six weeks of quarantine, the tilt of the Earth on its rotation around the sun means the changing of seasons remains, literally, an unstoppable force of nature…
As a reminder, Patch is sharing some amazing nature photos taken by Mark Berlinger, a supervisor at the Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park, 10500 Wilderness Park Blvd., New Port Richey.
Many Pasco County Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources parks and facilities are open for limited recreational activities including hiking, biking, swimming and jogging…”
— D’Ann Lawrence White, Patch Staff
See more of these photos and read entire article here
by TRC_Admin | Sep 30, 2019 | Billboards, Environmental, Nature
Photo: Macdonalds Sweden
“Earlier this year, McDonald’s Sweden received global attention for a fun little (literally) publicity stunt that also raised awareness of the ongoing issue of dwindling bee populations. Billed as ‘the world’s smallest McDonald’s,’ this ‘McHive’ didn’t serve any food. Instead, it was a fully-functioning beehive designed to mimic a MickeyD’s outpost with features like small Golden Arches and a not-particularly-functional drive-thru.
Yet, as intentionally silly as the concept was, McHives caught on, with other Swedish locations adding one of the beehives to their roof. And now, after seeing the success of that campaign, the creative agency behind it, Nord DDB, are back again with another bee-benefiting concept for McDonald’s Sweden: building habitats for wild bees into and behind billboards.
‘It is estimated that 30 percent of Sweden’s wild bees are threatened,’ the announcement explains. ‘A big problem is that they lack places to rest.’ The solution is twofold: Some McDonald’s locations have replaced their usual billboards with wood installations that wild bees and other insects can use as a kind of ‘bee hotel.’ These signs are available to be ordered by any of McDonald’s’ Swedish franchises and can be customized to include whatever messaging the location wants.
Photo: Macdonalds Sweden
But even simpler still, the fast food chain has also teamed up with the massive billboard brand JC Decaux to place habitats for wild bees behind existing billboards in spaces that aren’t otherwise used. ‘Bees are most comfortable if their nests are in a south facing position,’ the campaign states. ‘The first test is now live in Jarfalla outside Stockholm, where six large bee hotels have been mounted on the backside of a north facing billboard with hopes of scaling up the initiative in spring 2020.’
You can see both styles of ‘bee hotels’ in action in this video:
‘The survival of bees is an important issue for society as a whole,’ Henrik Nerell, environmental manager at McDonald’s in Sweden, said. ‘That we can use our signs for a good cause feels great. The initiative, which has sprung from our franchisees’ personal commitment to the issue, has been made possible in collaboration with JCDecaux and we are proud and excited to welcome our flying guests soon as they move into our bee hotels.'”
— Mike Pomranz, Food and Wine Magazine
Read entire article
Read additional article in Good News Network
by TRC_Admin | Sep 30, 2019 | Environmental, Nature, Trees
“…The Charles E. Bennett Champion of the Environment Award which was created in 2001 originally by the Florida Coastal School of Law. The Jacksonville Environmental Protection Board took over presenting the award in 2010. The award is presented to recognize someone who has served as an advocate for the environment and its protection for many years.
Our recipient this year, Tracey I. Arpen, Jr., has been a quiet champion for Jacksonville’s environment, responsible land use, tree protection and scenic beauty for more than thirty years. During that time, he has been involved in or led virtually every effort promoting the enhancement of these issues.
Tracey has devoted his life and career to efforts that have preserved, protected and enhanced our beautiful North Florida environment. He has been president of JaxPride (and City Beautiful Jax), CAPSigns (Scenic Jacksonville), Greenscape of Jacksonville, JCCI, The Mandarin Community Club and currently serves on the board of directors of Citizens for a Scenic Florida, Scenic Jacksonville and Greenscape. He is a former member of the City’s Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee and served as chair of the State Attorney’s Select Committee on Environmental Crime. In 1990 he received the Jacksonville Bar Association’s Lawyer of the Year Award. He is also the recipient of the Lee and Mimi Adams Environmental Award, the JaxPride Leadership Award and the Distinguished Leadership Award presented by the National Association of Community Leadership Organizations.
Tracey Arpen’s lifetime commitment of leadership and dedication to the environment has had a significant and lasting impact on our community for which we are all grateful. Congratulations on this honor!”
— Jacksonville Environmental Protection Board
Visit Environmental Protection Board Awards site
by TRC_Admin | Aug 31, 2019 | Litter, Nature
Photo: WPTV
“The International Coastal Cleanup is the world’s largest, one-day volunteer effort to clean up the marine environment. Every September, volunteers from over 100 countries descend on local beaches, rivers, lakes and canals to show their commitment to cleaner waterways…”
Cleanup locations in Palm Beach County are included in this article and this popular activity will be held along beaches and waterways throughout our state.
— WPTV
Read entire article
by TRC_Admin | Aug 31, 2019 | Bus Bench, Nature
Photo: Mobilane, One of Utrecht’s green roof bus stops.
“Utrecht’s bee friendly bus shelters are capturing the world’s imagination with media from across the globe reporting on a solution to urban pollution that is both simple and effective.
From Mexico City to Melbourne, local officials have been in touch about how to make bus shelters a part of efforts to combat pollution and protect bees, the Volkskrant reported on Friday.
When Utrecht city council started looking for ways of making the city more sustainable Reclamebureau Limburg (RBL), which specialises in advertising in public spaces, was quick to take up the gauntlet.
Apart from bamboo seats, RBL’s new bus shelter, of which there are now over 300 in Utrecht, has a green roof . The hardy sedum plants provided by family firm Mobilane reduce the amount of lung-damaging fine dust, store rain water and combat heat. They also promote biodiversity, and the ‘bee stops’, as the foreign press dubbed them, could well play a part in saving this endangered insect.
With July entering the history books as the hottest ever recorded the shelters were put to the test almost immediately. RBL, which built and maintains the shelters from the proceeds of advertising, told the Volkskrant that the plants survived the heat wave ‘surprisingly well’. Sedum plants need little water and are able to withstand extreme temperatures…
While the sustainable shelters are not going to save the world, the 2,000 m2 of additional green roofs will contribute to cleaner air in the city and 96 of them have also been equipped with solar panels…”
— DutchNews.nl
Read entire article
by TRC_Admin | Aug 31, 2019 | Nature, Trees
Photo: Water Institute, USF
“Take Tampa, for example, which has established an Urban Forest Management Plan. According to a 2016 assessment by the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences and the University of South Florida, the city’s 32.3 percent canopy coverage saves Tampa $7 million in annual energy savings, $121 million a year in carbon sequestration and storage, and $3.4 million in storm water treatment savings.
Because trees provide shade and air to breathe, many cities have passed laws to prevent the removal of healthy and structurally sound trees, said Andrew Koeser, a UF/IFAS assistant professor of environmental horticulture based at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center in Balm.
Koeser and his colleagues wanted to know the impact of tree ordinances on Florida cities’ canopy. He led a newly completed study that looked at 43 cities in Florida. Researchers showed that Florida cities with tree ordinances that protect large trees have 6.7 percent more tree canopy coverage than those that don’t.
Some densely populated cities are only covered with, say, 17 to 18 percent tree canopy coverage, so 6.7 percent represents a significant increase, Koeser said. For example, in a city the size of Tampa this canopy increase could translate into millions of dollars saved each year in electrical and storm water treatment costs.
Although not part of the study, Koeser and his team have offered an example, given their past work quantifying tree-related benefits in Tampa. If canopy coverage for this city was increased by 6.7 percent, from 32.3 percent to 39 percent, Tampa could save an additional $1.47 million a year in energy costs.
The latest research shows the effectiveness of tree protection efforts and will inform local governments that are considering tree ordinances, said Koeser, who presented his team’s findings March 21 at the UF/IFAS Urban Landscape Summit in Gainesville…
For the new study, Koeser and his team conducted a dot-based canopy analysis of 43 Florida cities, using aerial images from 2014 and pairing the results with a comprehensive survey of urban forestry practices conducted by the University of Wisconsin the same year. Those cities included Sarasota, Davie, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale.
For the analysis, they laid 1,000 random dots over aerial imagery for each city and recorded how many of those dots fell on trees. If, for example, 330 dots fell on trees and the rest fall elsewhere, they estimated 33 percent canopy coverage.
The study has been accepted for publication in the journal Landscape and Urban Planning.”
— Brad Buck, Apalachtimes.com
Read entire article
