Meet Brian Niemann

Brian Niemann,
Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ Extension Agent 

I cannot tell you how excited I am to be returning to my home county to fill the role of Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ (FFL) Extension Agent. I welcome the challenge and can’t wait to get started. In fact, you can join me for my first Rainwater Harvesting Workshop on August 31st at Weedon Island Preserve. Register online at 2013rainwaterharvesting.eventbrite.com.

My family originally hails from the suburbs of Chicago, but the warm weather and sandy beaches of the Florida Gulf Coast attracted them in the late ‘70s. When I was growing up, my parents owned a landscape material yard and land clearing business, which meant I spent my summers picking up trash before dad came through with the tractor to make short work of the knee high weeds I had just waded through. By the time I was 13, I graduated to operating the tractor and Bobcat loaders under his watchful eye. I continued to work for them through high school and when college rolled around, I decided I wanted a career within the landscape industry.

I chose the Landscape Architecture path. I wanted to work with the landscape, but I didn’t want to be outside in the Florida heat every day. I spent some wonderful years at the University of Florida and graduated with a Bachelor’s of Landscape Architecture degree in 2006. After graduation, I accepted a landscape architecture position with Phil Graham & Company in St. Petersburg. During my time with Mr. Graham, I was blessed with the opportunity to work on many high-profile projects. Some of these projects include 400 Beach Drive, Museum of Fine Arts, and Ovation in downtown St. Pete.

In late 2007, a position opened up with the Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ Program State Office in Gainesville. I had recently learned about the FFL Program and was intrigued by this very different style of landscaping than what I was currently designing. I got the job, and worked my way up through the ranks during my nearly six years of service with the state office. I wasn’t actively looking to leave Gainesville, but the opportunity to move back to my home county to run an Extension program based on Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ was a chance I couldn’t pass up.

The FFL program provides residents with information on using low-maintenance plants and environmentally sustainable practices. I'll be teaching you how you can have a beautiful landscape that could save you time, energy and money while protecting our future.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or with ideas for programs you would like to see offered in the future.


Brian Niemann
Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ Extension Agent
Pinellas County Extension 
727-453-6524
bniemann@pinellascounty.org

Thankful for Volunteers

 

Ramona Madhosingh-Hector,  
Urban Sustainability Agent  

As I work on my annual report and reflect on the many accomplishments over the year, I am thankful for the volunteers in the Sustainable Floridian program. Sustainable Floridians is a pioneer program from the University of Florida that seeks to build sustainability awareness. Since its pilot launch in 2011, the program has been well received by our citizens, and in two years, we’ve trained 66 participants. Our volunteers have donated more than 1,800 hours to extending the reach of the Extension Service in our county. As Program Coordinator, I am indebted to the pioneer participants who remain committed to Extension and its mission.

Thanksgiving is a time to express thanks and gratitude and our volunteers have become part of our family here at Extension. One of our newest volunteers, Margot Hogan Glenos, reflected on her recent experiences with Sustainable Floridians and it illustrates what the University of Florida and its instructors hoped to achieve with the development of this program. I am thankful to Margot for sharing her reflections with us and I hope you enjoy reading her perspective.

Happy Thanksgiving.
___________

Having retired from a long teaching career, I decided to heed my own advice given to my students- follow your heart and do what makes you happy. As a teacher, I was constantly involved in community projects that involved some type of environmental awareness or conservation. There was great excitement when the students planted trees or gardens on the school campus. They became downright vigilantes when people dropped litter around on “their playground”. It was rewarding to see the students look at the environment through new eyes and know that a seed of conservation and stewardship had been planted in their minds.

When I moved to Florida last April, I wanted to be a part of my new community and pondered where to start. I came across the Sustainable Floridians Program that is offered through the Pinellas County Extension Service and the University of Florida. The course description looked perfect for my needs–sustainable practices tailored to my new home.

The seven week course began with an awareness of the ecological problems facing all of us on a local and global scale. It was hard to visualize scarcity and carbon footprints while gazing out at the beauty of the Brooker Creek Preserve. I watched butterflies float lazily past the panoramic windows as Ramona or Mary presented distressing facts. Squirrels happily foraged for food among the palmettos and oak trees while my classmates and I discussed sustainability.

It was on a trip home that opened my eyes to the development in Pinellas County. Highway 19 stretched on for miles with one town blending into another. It seemed that there were endless shopping centers between Tarpon Springs and Seminole. The traffic was steady and fairly heavy. I realized at that moment how truly important sustainability is to everyone around me. Comprehension dawned in my mind of what a million people living and working together in a space called Pinellas County really looked like. I was momentarily intimidated by the immensity of it all.

The classes began to calm my concerns about sustainability in the world (and Pinellas County). We learned about solutions found in other communities. When our classes took us on an exploration of water and electricity conservation, I really took it personally. It was at this point that I accepted the challenge of reducing my power and water consumption.

I purchased an umbrella clothesline and stopped using the dryer. There is something strangely meditative about hanging laundry on a line in the sunshine. I can hear all sorts of birds calling to each other. The wind chimes around the neighborhood create a unique orchestra of tube melodies in the gentle breezes. My dogs enjoy sitting in the sunshine, watching me fuss with each article of clothing.

Besides using a solar clothes dryer, I have been setting up a rain barrel to help save water for my plants. This is another direct benefit from the Sustainable Floridians. They bring in resource people to teach us how to do things such as building rain barrels. All I need now is some rain to fill up the barrel.

Another area of sustainability that piqued my interest in this course was saving on driving. I have been keenly aware of my ‘car-bon’ tire track for a number of years now. When I was commuting 75 miles every day, I needed a car that would get optimum mileage. After much research, I chose a Prius. It not only gets about 50 miles to a gallon of gas but has nearly zero emissions. Since retiring, I do not drive as much as before. However, the Sustainable Floridians course made me start thinking about my driving habits. Just because I have a low mpg car does not mean that I do not have to be conservative. I plan trips based on needs rather than impulse. If I need to go to the store, I combine it with something else that needs to be done. I am becoming vividly conscious of my driving habits and gas consumption.

Part of the requirement for the Sustainable Floridian course is volunteerism. I am looking forward to getting involved in community events around Pinellas County. It is exciting for me to have the opportunity to work with others who have expertise and experience in the many areas for which I am interested in volunteering.

These are a few of the benefits I gained from Sustainable Floridians. However, the greatest benefit was in getting to know others with a passion for living sustainably. Our class was comprised of people from all ages, backgrounds, interests yet we found common ground in this course. Ideas were exchanged, support and encouragement was offered, and new friendships developed. Knowing that there are other people in the community who feel the same about preserving our world and living sustainably is a huge boost to my own efforts.

I am grateful to the Pinellas County Extension for providing such a valuable course to the public. It was just what I needed to help guide me along a more sustainable path.

Make Your Yard as Green as It Can Be

By James Stevenson
Extension Educator

Here at Pinellas County Extension, our departments work together to teach sustainability; that is, ensuring that we enjoy a quality of life that will be available to future generations. Perhaps you would like to “green” your life. How about using the New Year to make changes to your landscaping practices? By the end of 2008, you may find yourself with a few more dollars, a garden of beautiful flowers and a happy family.

Sound too good to be true? Consider these 10 tips for a greener, cheaper, 2008.

1. Plant A Tree – I remember planting a tree with my father when I was a little boy. We’ve watched the tree grow over the years, and it now shades my parents’ house while providing food and shelter for birds and other wildlife. The shade from a tree planted on the west side of a building can help cut air conditioning use. Call us for a list of trees that will fit nicely into your landscape.

2. Add Drought-Tolerant Native or Non-Invasive Exotic Plants – Unless you live on a waterway, plant selection for Florida yards are best made with drought-tolerance in mind. Many plants that have evolved in dry, sandy soil make wonderful garden additions. Call us or come by for a list of drought-tolerant plants for Florida gardens.


3. Service Your Lawn Mower – Make sure your lawn mower is in tip-top working order. The price of gasoline does not show any signs of lowering, so we must make sure our gas-powered engines are running as efficiently as possible


4. Reduce Lawn Area – You may decide to give up on the whole lawn idea. Think about the cost of irrigation, lawn mowing, fertilizer and pesticide which is spent on growing grass which is cut, bagged and thrown away (at a cost!). Consider converting your yard into a series of beds featuring flowers, shrubs, trees and even vegetables and herbs.


5. Convert To, or Install Low-Flow Irrigation – If you must irrigate, choose low-flow irrigation systems. These are cheap and easy to install and put the water right where the plants need it (not in the street or driveway!).


6. Install a Rain-Barrel – One way to save money on watering potted plants is to use what is free – rain. This spring we will be offering a rain barrel workshop where you can learn to connect clean, 55 gallon food containers to your down-spout to collect rain that falls on the roof.


7. Get The Family Involved – Get them up from in front of the TV and spend some quality time doing light chores outside. There will be plenty of interesting discoveries to be made; bugs, flowers, butterflies, everyone will be so enthralled they won’t notice they are working!




8. Grow Your Own Herbs And a Few Vegetables – Growing your own herbs is easy and rewarding. Once you start, you will never shell-out $2 for a small bag of basil that has been imported from South America and tastes of plastic. Growing a few vegetables only costs pennies for a packet of seeds, and is a great way to get kids interested in gardening (AND eating vegetables!).


9. Compost – Putting vegetable scraps into the garbage disposal grinds them to slurry that will end up in the Gulf. And you pay to send it there! Try backyard composting of vegetable and fruit scraps, yard clippings, leaves and coffee grounds. Once rotted-down this rich organic material makes wonderful, moisture-conserving mulch.


10. Sick Plant? Call Us First – Our Extension educators are ready to take your call about any garden-related question you may have at the Extension Service’s Horticulture Help Line at 727-582-2110. Most people call when they have a sick plant. As we have nothing to sell, we have no need to try and foist some chemical off on you which you may not even need. Our advice may be as simple to follow as “you may wish to reduce the amount you are watering” or “sounds like you are using the wrong type of fertilizer.” Our unbiased advice comes from the many years of horticultural experience and the latest research from the University of Florida. Our Educators are available Monday through Friday from 9:00am- noon and 1:00-4:00pm .