Mullock Creek Basin Restoration - Homeowner Florida Friendly Yards

Transcription

1 Mullock Creek Basin Restoration - Homeowner Florida Friendly Yards Initiative Category: Applicant: Contact person: Project Manager: Community Stewardship Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program Elizabeth Donley, Grant and Contracts Manager , ext. 234; ldonley@swfrpc.org Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program 1926 Victoria Avenue Fort Myers, FL Sue Scott By signing this title page, the undersigned certifies that: a. This application is in all respects fair and submitted in good faith without collusion or fraud; b. If selected through this application process, the recipient will work in good faith and in partnership with the Florida Coastal Management Program to more specifically develop the project, including appropriate types and amounts of assistance that are mutually acceptable; c. Any funds awarded as a result of this application process will not be used to supplant or replace any state or local funds. d. Any funds awarded as a result of this application process will not be used as matching funds to apply for or receive other federal funds; e. No federal funds will be used as match for funds awarded as a result of this application process; f. The applicant local government s adopted comprehensive plan has been found to be in compliance with Chapter 163, Part II, F.S.; g. The undersigned has full authority to bind the applicant. This project does not require any permits; a preliminary meeting has been conducted with all proposed partners to this project to confirm commitments. Lisa B. Beever, PhD AICP Director Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program Date 1

2 1. Project Need Southwest Florida is one of the fastest growing regions in the country. New residents move to Southwest Florida from regions with greatly different climates, weather patterns and water resource supplies. Deteriorating water quality in the Estero Bay and its tributaries, all of which are classified as Outstanding Florida Waters by the State of Florida, has occurred concurrently with the rapid urbanization of the watershed. San Carlos Park is a large (approximately 2,366 acres) single-family, residential community constructed prior to current stormwater treatment requirements. Many of the homes are still on individual septic systems and stormwater runoff from the San Carlos Park community is funneled to a single outflow system into the Mullock Creek headwaters. Mullock Creek is on the Florida Department of Environmental Protection s impaired waters list for dissolved oxygen and Chlorophyll a. Mullock Creek flows directly into Estero Bay, an Outstanding Florida Water, west of U.S. 41. Because San Carlos Park is intensely urbanized, it is believed that implementing Florida Friendly Landscaping techniques on the residential land will reduce nutrient discharges to Mullock Creek and ultimately Estero Bay. In recent years, efforts to encourage the use Florida Friendly Landscaping to benefit the environment, water supply and native flora and fauna have had limited success. Despite the development of materials and targeted training, Florida Friendly Landscaping principles have not been implemented within the Estero Bay watershed on a community-wide scale. The goal of this project is to actively engage homeowners within the San Carlos Park community to implement Florida Friendly Landscaping techniques in order to improve stormwater quality through reduction of nutrient runoff, reduce water consumption by irrigation and increase wildlife habitat in the residential yards. This project will target homeowners with older yards planted in the traditional manner of turf coverage. Through hands-on experiential workshops, homeowners will be exposed to the principles of Florida Friendly Landscaping. Homeowners will participate in the design and planting of demonstration yards and will subsequently design and plant a Florida Friendly Landscape for their own yard. The increase in Florida Friendly Landscaping within the Mullock Creek Basin will yield myriad results: 1. increase exposure of homeowners in the basin to the appearance of Florida Friendly Landscaping; 2. decrease use of fertilizer, pesticides and irrigation; 3. increase hurricane resilient landscaping; 4. increase in on-site percolation of rainwater; 5. decrease in soil erosion, dissolved solids; 6. decrease cost to homeowners for maintenance and water usage for lawns; and 7. increase the water quality from Mullock Creek to Estero Bay. WorkPlan- 1 -

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4 2. Project Location a. Project s geographic location San Carlos Park is located in south central Lee County, east of US 41. The San Carlos community drains into the headwaters of Mullock Creek - a major surface water feature in the Estero Bay basin (see Figure 1). The Mullock Creek Watershed is located in the southwest quarter of Lee County. The watershed trunk originates at Estero Bay in the vicinity of Hendry Creek. The total area of this watershed is about 77 square miles with 68 square miles contributed by Ten Mile Canal. The watershed is approximately three square miles wide and two and one-half miles long. It is generally located south of the Six Mile Cypress Watershed and west and north of the Estero River Watershed. The Mullock Creek main trunk remains a natural channel up to its confluence with the man-made channel running through San Carlos Park. b. Value of geographic area to community and distinctive features The San Carlos Park community is located at the headwaters to Mullock Creek. The San Carlos Park stormwater system drains directly to Mullock Creek, a tributary to Estero Bay which was designated an Aquatic Preserve in Recent data indicate that Mullock Creek is impaired for Dissolved Oxygen and Chlorophyll a. The installation of Florida Friendly Landscaping techniques within San Carlos Park will reduce the amount of fertilizer applied to residential lawns which in turn will reduce nutrient runoff to Mullock Creek and Estero Bay. The San Carlos Park was mostly built in the 1960s prior to the recognition of surface water runoff as a potential source of water quality impairment in the Estero Bay. A reconnaissance of the community revealed that most yards are planted with turf with very little Florida Friendly landscaping techniques. The stormwater outfall in the community drains directly to Mullock Creek. By instituting Florida Friendly Landscaping in this community a number of objectives will be achieved: 1.reduction in harmful run-off to the estuary; 2. reduction in irrigation which will ensure water for natural environment; 3. education of the workshop participants and the general community about the environmental and economic benefits of Florida Friendly Landscaping techniques. 3. Project Description a. Description of proposed project, and how it can be completed in one year The project begins with the installation of a Florida Friendly landscape at the workshop location (Karl Drews Community Center) prior to the first workshop. This will introduce the participants and the community to the appearance of Florida Friendly Landscaping in a prominent location and will serve as a learning tool as participants observe how the appearance of the landscape changes with the Florida seasons. Work Plan- 3 -

5 With assistance from the San Carlos Park Civic Association, Rotary Club, Public Service Announcements on Lee County cable television, and word of mouth, project participants will be recruited from the San Carlos Park community. The project is comprised of a series of experiential learning workshops for homeowners in the San Carlos Park community about Florida Friendly Landscaping. It is anticipated that 3 cycles of the 4-part workshop (two classes, two workdays) will be completed within the one year grant period (see Table 1, Project Schedule). In each 4-part workshop series the participants will be introduced to the concept of Florida Friendly Landscaping, produce a landscape design for their own yard, assist as a group in installing an additional demonstration Florida Friendly Landscape on a yard in the community and finally receive materials, plants and volunteer assistance to implement the Florida Friendly Landscape they designed for their yard. The workshops will take homeowners through the steps needed to transform a yard dominated by lawn into one featuring beautiful beds with Florida-friendly plants and Florida native plants that require little or no fertilizer or irrigation. In addition, participants will be introduced to features like micro-irrigation, compost bins, and rain barrels that make a yard environmentally friendly. The workshops will utilize materials already developed by partners: the Friends of Matanzas Pass video about native plants in coastal areas, Florida Yards and Neighborhoods handbook, A Guide to Florida-Friendly Landscaping, the Southwest Florida Water Management District s Rain Barrels, a homeowner s guide webtools from the Florida Friendly Landscaping website ( and materials developed by the City of Cape Coral for its FYN introduction class and Design Class. Prior to the conduct of the initial workshop, a demonstration yard will be installed at the workshop location with signage explaining Florida Friendly Landscape principles. By the end of the project, it is anticipated that there will be at minimum 4 demonstration yards with interpretative signage explaining the installation and benefits of Florida Friendly landscaping in the yard. b. The project is an appropriate solution to Project Need The rapid growth in Southwest Florida with increased population and accompanying urban and agricultural developments continues to negatively affect the regional surface and groundwater supplies and environmental resources. Mullock Creek nutrient concentrations are usually among the highest of the tributaries to the Estero Bay. Mullock Creek is on the FDEP planning list for Chlorophyll-a and Dissolved Oxygen (DO) for the next verification of TMDLs. This status will likely be upgraded to verified impaired and require a TMDL within the next five years. Chlorophyll-a and low DO are often caused by elevated nitrogen or phosphorus (nutrient) concentrations in water or increased flow to tributaries resulting in increased nutrient loading. Non-point source loading analysis conducted by Cahill and Associates (1991) indicated that 10 percent of the nitrogen and 4 percent of the phosphorus applied annually in a 193-square-mile Work Plan- 4 -

6 area (an area approximately 10 miles by 20 miles) of maintained landscaped residential development end up in surface waters as the result of over-application. A total of tons of nitrogen and 49.4 tons of phosphorus enter surface waters from this area. These estimated pollutant delivery rates are conservative. Delivery rates in coastal areas with sandy soils may be much higher. Schultz (1989) found that over 50 percent of the nitrogen in fertilizer leaches from lawns when improperly applied. In addition, the proximity of sources to waterbodies may result in increased loadings. Where waterbodies are nitrogen- or phosphorus-limited, applications of fertilizers should be reduced or prohibited. Turf management programs and landscaping ordinances that require minimum maintenance and minimum disturbance or xeriscaping can effectively reduce these loadings. ( The Florida Yards & Neighborhoods Program and Florida Friendly Landscaping program were developed to help residents reduce pollution and enhance their environment by improving home and landscape management. These programs have developed educational and outreach activities directly relevant to addressing the challenges faced by the San Carlos Park community. As appropriate, already developed materials will be utilized or adapted to develop a program that results in reproducible non-structural water quality improvement for this area. This project proposes to take those next steps and while educating workshop attendees about the nine principles of Florida Friendly landscaping and assist them in implementing these principles. This action should result in a reduction in polluted runoff to Mullock Creek. c. Role of each partner CHNEP - Lee County: Florida Gulf Coast University Civic Association/Rotary Club San Carlos Park Homeowners/ Workshop participants SFWMD SWFWMD Fiscal Agent, assist with workshop module about estuary Meeting space, /staff expertise; assistance with designing and installing demonstration and participant yards Students to assist with installing initial demonstration yard and subsequent demonstration yards and participants landscaping Assist with recruiting homeowners, advertise workshops, post-project progress information on website through year Assist in installing demonstration yards 2 through 4, assist in installing Florida Friendly landscapes of co-participants Printed materials for workshops and rain gauges Printed materials for workshops d. Specific tasks, outcomes, products, deliverables and timeline Products: Workshops 3 cycles of a series of 4 workshops educating homeowners about the principles of Florida Friendly Landscaping, designing in a Florida Friendly Landscape for their yard, and installing at least one component of the design in their yard. Outcomes: A minimum of 4 demonstration yards (public and private) and 20 Florida Friendly Landscapes will be installed during this project. The project is striving for 56 FFL installations. Work Plan- 5 -

7 A pre and post- workshop questionnaire will be developed and distributed to participants for completion to measure quantitatively how well participants have integrated the principles. In addition, Lee County currently collects water quality data in Mullock Creek. Lee County will continue to collect and monitor data prior to, during, and after the conduct of the workshops to track changes in the composition of stormwater runoff from the San Carlos Park community. It is understood that changes in the stormwater runoff may not be realized immediately. Deliverables: Questionnaires from all participants (Pre and Post class); Class evaluations; Photographs of demonstration yards and workshop participant s yards; Interpretive signs for demonstration yards; and Acknowledgement signs for participants yards Instructor evaluation of project and recommendations for future workshops Table 1: Timeline Task July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May June Recruit workshop participants Install 1 st demonstration yard 1 st Workshop - Intro 2 nd workshop Design yards 3 rd workshop - Install demo yard 4 th Workshop Install Participant yards Begin 2 nd cycle of workshops Intro 2 nd workshop, design yard 3 rd workshop- install demo yard 4 th workshop- Install Participant yards Begin 3 rd cycle of workshops Intro 2 nd workshop - Design yards 3 rd workshop - Install demo yard 4 th workshop - install Participant yards Work Plan- 6 -

8 4. Initiative Category a. initiative category - Community Stewardship b. The project fits the initiative category and meets the goal of the initiative category The proposed project meets the requirements of the Community Stewardship Initiative. The project will actively engage homeowners in the how their actions can have a positive effect on the Estero Bay estuary and coastal environment; it will actively engage the community in becoming familiar with how a Florida Friendly Landscape appears. The project will utilize community resources local university students, county staff and materials, and the civic association to accomplish the project goals. 5. Project Benefits a. Project enhances coastal resources This project will reduce nutrient loadings to Estero Bay, increase biodiversity of habitat and natural food sources for native and migratory birds and butterflies, increase residents awareness of their role as stewards of the Estero Bay watershed. This project is intended to become the road map for the process of educating homeowners throughout the Estero Bay and Charlotte Harbor Watersheds. Ideally this will lead to a community paradigm shift on landscape practices and create a new norm for the appearance of residential yards in Florida. Creating the shift in the community s landscape practices should result in a proportional decrease in nutrient input to the system and therefore an improvement in local water quality. Reduction of nutrient run-off by way of such best management practices (BMPs) is a guiding principle in the Florida Department of Environmental Protection s and Lee County s plan to rectify the water quality issues cited on the Florida s Impaired Waters List. b. Local support for project and benefits to the local community This project has the support of the San Carlos Park Civic Association and benefits the community by engaging the homeowners in stormwater quality improvement, increase wildlife habitat and beautification through demonstration yards and connecting the homeowners to their watershed. The Florida Gulf Coast University is within the Estero Bay watershed and requires students to perform 80 hours of public service prior to graduation. The Center for Civic Engagement has expressed support for this project. It is estimated that a minimum of 12 students will provide 12 hours each of service time to this project to assist in installing the Florida Friendly landscapes. The Rotary International has chosen Clean Water as its theme for this year. This project will be highlighted in Rotary Club presentations to Rotarians from Sarasota to Marco Island, and participation will be encouraged. Work Plan- 7 -

9 Lee County Department of Natural Resources supports this project as a soft BMP to assist in reducing nutrient loading to the already impaired Mullock Creek. Lee County will be working on TMDLs and other BMPs in the Estero Bay watershed in order to minimize impairments to the waters and to reduce nutrient runoff to stormwater. c. The project is consistent with and furthers the Lee Plan The proposed project is consistent with and implements the following Policies of the Lee County Comprehensive Growth Plan (Lee Plan). POLICY : Maintain regulations, incentives, and programs for preserving and planting native plant species and for controlling invasive exotic plants, particularly within environmentally sensitive areas. (Amended by Ordinance No ) OBJECTIVE 112.2: The county will continue to participate with other governments to prepare and implement water management plans, including the Estero Bay Agency on Bay Management, Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program, the Charlotte Harbor Management Plan, the Water Management District Surface Water Improvement and Management (SWIM) plans, DEP aquatic preserve management plans, water supply plans, and other water resource management plans. (Amended by Ordinance No , 98-09, 00-22) POLICY : The county will provide education on water conservation through creative landscaping, and promote the conservation and use of native plant species through xeriscape landscaping techniques. (Amended by Ordinance No , 00-22) d. This project builds on participation in the following programs: I. Lee Master Mitigation Plan: Lee County developed a Master Mitigation Plan in Mullock Creek is identified as an area suitable for restoration. This project is contiguous with Project 16 and will have a positive effect on Mullock Creek. IV. Designated Waters: Mullock Creek is a tributary of Estero Bay Florida s very first designated Aquatic Preserve. This project supports the CAMA program mission to protect and maintain the natural conditions of Aquatic Preserves for future generations. This project will foster active stewardship by engaging the local community in the protection of the waters flowing to the Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve. Mullock Creek is within the Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program study area. This project implements the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan. Specifically, the project implements the following Quantifiable Objectives and Priority Actions : o WQ-1 Maintain or improve water quality from year 2000 levels, o SG -1: A minimum of ten percent of all residents will be able to claim personal actions which protect the estuaries and watersheds; and Priority Action : o HA-N: Encourage the use of low impact techniques in new and old developments. Work Plan- 8 -

10 o HA-Q: Support the continuation of public information programs addressing watershed management issues of hydrology, water resource issues, water conservation, and water use. o WQ-F: Reduce non-point source pollutants associated with stormwater runoff. Install or retrofit Best Management Practices (BMPs) to maintain or improve water quality and flows. o WQ-H: Implement projects to restore or protect water quality to offset anthropogenic impacts. o WQ-J: Implement the Florida Yards and Neighborhoods program and similar programs in all counties. o WQ-K: Increase the use of personal and home best practices by consumers throughout the watershed to reduce non-point source pollution. o WQ-L: Promote general public awareness and education on water quality issues and construct water quality demonstration projects. V. SWIM: Mullock Creek is within the boundary of the South Florida Water Management District s Lower Charlotte Harbor SWIM plan. Mullock Creek has been identified as impaired for Dissolved Oxygen and Chlorophyll a. VIII. Florida State Park System This project will directly benefit the Estero Bay Preserve State Park through which Mullock Creek flows. I. GEMS: Mullock Creek flows into Estero Bay which is a Gulf Ecological Management Site managed by Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Office of Coastal and Aquatic Managed Areas Work Plan- 9 -

11 Budget e. Budget Item Value Partner in-kind CPI Grant Total contribution Request FGCU Civic 15 students 16 hours $4, $4, Engagement Students time each (5/cycle) $18.04/hour CHNEP Contract Staff 120 hours at $42/hour 0 $5, $5, fully loaded CHNEP Staff 10 hours administration $ $ Homeowner Volunteers time 20 participants/cycle at 20 hrs/workshop cycle $21, $21, San Carlos Park Civic Assoc. Lee County meeting space Lee County supplies, tools Lee County, staff time $18.04/hour Posting project progress information to website 18.04/hour Use of meeting room and AV equipment 6 times $30/use Use of trucks (gasoline est. $2.50/gal), gardening tools, facilities (electricity) 10 hours grant work and 3 staff members for 3 cycles, 2 workdays (16 man-hours) each at $24.50/hour $ $ $ $ $ $ $3, $ SWFWMD materials WaterMatters literature $ $ SFWMD materials Rain Gauges, literature $ $ Plants, shrubs, ferns, 60 yards + misc. 0 $7, $7, mulch supplies Tools, gloves, rain 0 $2, $2, barrels, bottled water Signs 8 signs 2 for each demo yards, 60 signs - 1 for each participant yard 0 $1, $1, FYN Literature 60 sets at $3 per set 0 $ $ Total $31, $16, $47, Total requested: $16, Budget- 1 -

12 Budget Estimated plant and shrub costs: Yard One (land locked, not directly on water) Total 12 shrubs, (4) three gallon, (8) one gallon (2) Fiddlewood, three each $23.90 (2) Wax Myrtle, three each (3) Florida Privet, one 4.95 each (3) wild Coffee, one 4.95 each (2) Beauty Berry, one 4.95 each misc supplies and mulch TOTAL $ Yard Two (directly on a water body of any type) Total one tree (3) gallon, 6 shrubs, 5 (1) gallon and 1 (3) gallon, 18 water plants (1) gallon (1) Southern Red Cedar, three $11.95 (1) Wax Myrtle, three (3) Bahama Cassia, one 4.95 each (2) Horizontal Cocoplum, one 4.95 each (3) Leather 2.00 each 6.00 (3) Royal 2.95 each 8.85 (3) Blue Flag 4.95 each (3) 2.95 each 8.85 (3) Pickerel 4.95 each (3) Giant 2.95 each 8.85 misc. supplies and mulch TOTAL $ Budget- 2 -