Natural Resources and Environment Programs
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Best Management Practices (BMPs)
Best management practices, or BMPs, are cost-efficient processes and activities that improve many aspects of daily life, from healthcare to food service. Agricultural BMPs aim to reduce water use and water quality impacts on farms and ranches while improving or maintaining soil. Additional BMPs focus on forestry practices and lawn care. In Florida, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) adopts by rule specific BMP manuals as a part of the state’s water quality policy.
Bird Monitoring
The Florida Bird Monitoring Program is no longer accepting new participants. We encourage people to join iNaturalist (https://www.inaturalist.org/) to enter bird sightings.
The Florida Bird Monitoring Program web site allowed people to enter and view collected bird survey data. It has been left up so that people that have entered data can still view it.
Climate and Carbon Extension Educators (C2E2)
Climate change may be one of the biggest issues facing Florida agriculture. Most countries are trying to slow global warming by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, including through climate-smart agriculture (CSA). Climatesmart agriculture is an integrated approach to managing landscapes, including cropland, livestock, and forests, which addresses the interlinked challenges of food security and climate change.
For example, certain management practices can increase the amount of carbon stored, or sequestered, in the soil. Carbon credits, which can be traded, are a way to reward these management activities. But how can Florida agriculture contribute to carbon sequestration? How can a producer generate carbon credits? And how can they participate in carbon markets?To help answer these UF/IFAS Extension has formed a team of specialists: the Climate and Carbon Extension Educators (C2E2).
Understanding the science, mechanisms, and policy behind the carbon cycle and trading will help Florida’s agriculture better prepare for the carbon economy.
Master Naturalist Program
The Florida Master Naturalist Program (FMNP) is an adult education UF/IFAS Extension program developed by the University of Florida and provided by many Extension offices and participating organizations throughout the state of Florida. FMNP training will benefit persons interested in learning more about Florida's environment or wishing to increase their knowledge for use in education programs as volunteers, employees, ecotourism guides, and others. For more information about FMNP course offerings and locations, check out the Florida Master Naturalist Program website
Publications
Lessons Learned from Evaluations of Citizen Science Programs
Luke Gommerman and Martha C. Monroe
Container Mosquito Habitat Community Cleanup: A How-To Guide for Event Organization
Amy Hallock, Eva A. Buckner, Ricky W. Telg, and Alena R. Poulin
Being bitten by the container mosquitoes Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus means a higher risk of becoming infected with Zika, dengue, or chikungunya virus. Container mosquitoes develop in the water that collects in discarded tires, jars, cans, buckets, and boats. The best way to prevent irritating bites and dangerous mosquito-transmitted illnesses is to get rid of all trash that holds water. This fact sheet is packed with recommendations that will help you to successfully develop and host a cleanup event to reduce potential mosquito larval habitats in your community and keep yourself and your neighbors safe.
Payments for Ecosystem Services in Florida’s Landscape: Concepts and Principles
Youmin Li, Weizhe Weng, Jared Gars, Michael T. Olexa, and Suzanne Thornsbury
Ecosystem services are the direct and indirect benefits that ecosystems provide humans. Florida is known for its diverse landscape, which includes valuable ecosystem services such as water storage, soil conservation, and biodiversity. A Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) policy approach aligns economic incentives with environmental goals, encouraging landowners to participate in conservation while potentially reducing cost of land use. This publication is the first article of a series titled Payments for Ecosystem Services in Florida’s Landscape. It introduces the concept of PES and is intended for Extension agents, government decision-makers, landowners, and researchers to help them understand the concepts and principles underlying PES programs and how they contribute to both previous and ongoing conservation efforts in Florida.