Sustainable Landscaping Symposium at New College, Sarasota, Florida

I had the opportunity to attend a symposium on sustainable landscaping held at New College in Sudakoff Hall. The symposium was sponsored by Florikan, a locally based manufacturer of fertilizers that require much less application than standard fertilizers, exposing your lawn to far less nutrients. When fertilizer nutrients travel into water bodies, they are thoughts to be harmful to humans and to be a major contributor to algal blooms that result in red tide, a phenomena that causes sea life to die and air quality to suffer. Many who attended the seminar were landscaping professionals, others master gardeners, and some were just normal folks like me who were interested in making their lawn more environmentally friendly.

Ed Rosenthal, owner of Florikan, spoke to the symposium attendees about best management practices for the use of fertilizers. Although he sells fertilizer, he believes it should be used only according to need, and his packaging reflects this. He cited research that showed that the use of Florikan fertilizers causes 60% less nitrogen to be released into the soil. Urea nitrogen is a base form of nitrogen - made up of excrement, an organic form of waste. It is found in fertilizers, and there is growing evidence of urea transfer to sensitive coastal areas. When this happens, it promotes a shift in phytoplankton species to organisms that are more noxious to the ecosystems and to human health. The word "eutrophication" continued to come up in his presentation; it refers to the accumulation of excessive nutrients in a lake or other body of water which causes a dense growth of plant life, the decomposition of which depletes the supply of oxygen, leading to the death of animal life.

Mr. Rosenthal advised that, instead of trying to reverse harmful algal blooms (HAB), we should focus on prevention, which includes reducing the amount of nutrients that make their way into bodies of water. The controlled release mechanism of fertilizers reduce the need for excess applications.

Shannon Staub, one of Sarasota's City Commissioners, also spoke to the group. She urged attendees to consider the design of landscapes and to include fertilizer-free zones and low-maintenance zones. She encouraged environmentally sensible landscapes that include a buffer between the lawn and any water bodies.

While I only stayed for half of the symposium, I did learn a lot about sustainable landscaping and the dangers involved when smart principles are not applied to your lawn. In Florida, more water is used for landscaping than for drinking. In a state where water is a precious and scarce resource, this trend needs to be reversed.