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Celebrating
20 Years
of
Community
Partnership
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Fertilize Like a Floridian
June 1 - Sept. 30
Summer rains can wash fertilizer into our lakes and waterways, spoiling our water.
Protect our fun! Skip fertilizers with nitrogen and phosporous during summer months. In Pinellas County, it's the law.
For more information on fertilizing wisely and the Pinellas County ordinance, please visit
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 Boater Decals Now Available |
The Estuary Program has provided funding to Save the Manatee Club to reprint the Club's popular boat decals urging boaters to report manatees in distress. The bright yellow decals remind boaters to go slow in manatee areas and include the toll-free hotline to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's law enforcement staff.
All fish and wildlife violations can be reported through this number.
Manatees are widely scattered throughout Tampa Bay in the summer, feeding in seagrass beds and traveling to quiet backwaters to give birth. Please be on the lookout for these special creatures that share the bay with us.
To get your free
boat decal, email saveit@tbep.org
and provide your mailing address.
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Photo by Joe Bailey
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Tampa Bay: 20/20
Twenty images by local photographers depicting the beauty and diversity of Tampa Bay are featured in "Tampa Bay: 20/20," an exhibit celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Tampa Bay Estuary Program. The exhibit, sponsored by Mosaic, is on display at The Mosaic Company in Riverview through Aug. 26. It moves to the South Shore Regional Library in Ruskin Sept. 1-30 and The Florida Aquarium in Tampa from
Oct. 10- Nov. 30.
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Do Fertilizer Ordinances Work?
TBEP study aims
to find out
TBEP is coordinating a 4-year research project, beginning this summer, to compare nitrogen levels in stormwater ponds in each of our three counties.
The objective is to determine any water quality improvements within those Tampa Bay municipalities where residential fertilizer ordinances have been enacted. The study also will assess the role of education in changing the way residents care for their landscapes.
The communities to be studied consist of sections of newer subdivisions with stormwater ponds, where the primary source of the stormwater is the homes within the study area. Water quality sampling for nitrogen will be conducted in these ponds during both wet and dry seasons, for four years, to detect changes in nitrogen levels. Social surveys also will determine whether, and to what extent, homeowners in those neighborhoods have changed their lawn care practices as a result of the ordinances and associated educational programs.
The work will be conducted by a team led by Applied Ecology, Inc., in partnership with researchers from the University of Central Florida and the University of Florida.
Funding for the work is being provided by the Estuary Program and Pinellas County, with in-kind contributions from the City of Tampa, Manatee County, and the Environmental Protection Commission of Hillsborough County.
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Tampa, Manatee OK Summer Restrictions on Fertilizer
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Research has linked a build-up of thick, noxious muck in Old Tampa Bay near Safety Harbor to runoff from lawn fertilizer in the surrounding watershed.
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Elected officials in both the City of Tampa and Manatee County recently approved ordinances banning the use of lawn and landscape fertilizers with nitrogen or phosphorous during the summer.
Tampa also prohibited the sale of nitrogen and phosphorous based fertilizers starting June 1, 2012. This sales ban mimics the current Pinellas County ordinance now in effect from June through September of each year.That measure is based on a Model Ordinance developed by the Tampa Bay Estuary Program.
Both communities also adopted a requirement that only fertilizers with at least 50% of the nitrogen in slow-release form can be used outside the summer season. As in Pinellas, Tampa will prohibit the sale of fertilizers with less than 50% slow-release nitrogen from October through May of each year, also starting in 2012.
The new ordinances apply to homeowners as well as lawn care companies that apply fertilizer. Both the Tampa and Manatee County ordinances take effect next year.
The Estuary Program will work with both governments to expand its "Be Floridian" fertilizer education campaign to those communities beginning next Spring.
Nitrogen is the major pollutant in Tampa Bay. TBEP's Policy Board has supported local fertilizer ordinances as a cost-effective way to reduce the amount of harmful nitrogen flowing into Tampa Bay.
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Shoreline restoration is one of many projects that can win funding through a Bay Mini-Grant.
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Bay Mini-Grants Deadline is Oct. 1
TBEP's annual Bay Mini-Grants Program is seeking applicants for the 2011-12 year. The deadline to apply is October 3, 2011.
The Bay Mini-Grants program supports community-based restoration, pollution prevention and education projects in Hillsborough, Manatee and Pinellas counties. The maximum award is $5,000, but grants for as little as $500 are permitted.
Neighborhood associations, community groups, non-profits and schools are eligible to apply. Projects or campaigns that have long-term applicability, and that may serve as models for addressing bay issues, will receive priority consideration.
Funds will be awarded by mid-December and projects must begin within six months and be completed within one year.
 The Bay Mini-Grants program is financed by sales of the
Tampa Bay Estuary license plate.
More information and application forms are available on our website.
Questions? Call or email Misty Cladas at (727) 893-2765 or misty@tbep.org
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Calling All Volunteers:
'Give A Day' Season Starts Oct. 15
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Volunteers at Cockroach Bay assisted in a marsh planting in a recent Give A Day for the Bay
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After a summer hiatus, the "Give A Day for the Bay" volunteer workdays crank up again this fall. Workdays are as follows:
October 15, 2011
TBA, Manatee County
November 5, 2011
Lake Seminole Park, Pinellas County
Invasive plant removal
December 03, 2011
Gandy Park South, Tampa
Invasive plant removal
You can receive more infromation about these workdays by signing up for our Give A Day For The Bay email list.
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Invasive Species Poetry Contest Got Down and Jiggy With It ...
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Burmese python
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You were serious, you were silly, you were full of haikus and rhymes and all sorts of creative genius in our Invasive Species Poetry Contest! We received nearly 100 entries from young and old who answered our call for poems about unwanted critters and plants. You entertained us with volumes of verse (and even a rap) on everything from pythons, bufo toads and lionfish to air potato, Brazilian pepper and kudzu.
Thanks to everyone who entered ... and the winners are:
Adult Category
Christine Jamesson of Clearwater.
Read Christine's poem "A Trio of Evil."
Junior Category (age 11 and under)
Kristen Gallo of Odessa.
Read Kristen's poem "The Evil Plant."
Junior Category (age 12 and over)
James Hsiung of Tampa.
Read James' poem "Neglecting The Natives."
Congratulations to our winners who will be awarded
$250 each!
We received so many great poems in the contest that we want to share them all! Look for an online album of all the poems on our website this Fall, and a link to the album in the October/November Bay PostScript
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Estuary Academy Motivates Lifestyle Changes Among Participants
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Nearly 90 percent of the participants in this year's Estuary Academy -- held in March at Weedon Island Preserve -- report making some lifestyle changes to benefit the environment as a result of what they learned at the Academy.
We recently asked the 79 participants in this year's Academy what they thought of the event, and what they did with the knowledge they gained. This year's Academy focused on ways citizens could directly reduce their environmental impact by making simple changes in their own communities, homes and landscapes. Most of the workshops were taught by experts with the Pinellas County Extension Service.
Participants left the Academy with free rain barrels, compost bins, energy conservation kits and a wealth of great information about how to design low-impact, water-thrifty landscapes, coexist with wildlife, and reduce their carbon footprint..And they put their newfound knowledge to work!
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Rain Barrel workshop participants drill holes and insert spigots into their free barrels
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More than 60% of participants responded to the event evaluation, with 89.6% reporting they made changes indoors or outdoors in their homes because of something they learned at the Academy. The most frequently reported change was the installation of rain barrels, followed by composting, installing CFL or LED light bulbs, and converting at least part of their landscape to a more Florida-compatible design, featuring mulched beds of flowers, shrubs and groundcovers that need less water and fertilizer.
One participant, who had recently moved into a home built for her by Habitat for Humanity, had this to say about the Academy:
"I have designed 5 phases and completed 1 phase of my Florida-Friendly yard! I am using all of my materials provided for us at our academy. I have included a rain garden, herb garden, butterfly garden, and more! I am planning on installing my rain barrel. I have shared with many friends and with Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas County regarding what I have learned and having this type of workshop for our Home Owner Candidates!! I have a blue recycle bin now, and recycle everyday!! I have studied and shared all materials provided at the Estuary Acedemy. I moved into my Habitat for Humanity home back in December 2010, and love my home, however I was not prepared to think "green," and how to take care of my yard, along with preserving water. Please know I am grateful for all the things that Estuary Academy educated me with!!! Thank you so much. "
We thank all our talented instructors, as well as our eager, enthusiastic and dedicated participants for making Estuary Academy 2011 a tremendous success!
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About the Tampa Bay Estuary Program
The Tampa Bay Estuary Program is an intergovernmental partnership dedicated to restoring and protecting Tampa Bay, Florida's largest open-water estuary. TBEP is one of 28 "Estuaries of National Significance" designated by Congress
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