Growing The Greater Good

AND MAKING A DIFFERENCE.

Let’s row something good!

Stop by any Grow Financial store TODAY between 9 am – 5 pm and pick up a FREE SALSA GROWING PACKET* and grow your own salsa!

To find a participating store near you, visit

tampabay.com/growsomethinggood

#growsomethinggood

In collaboration with SP80756

AY! D O T

*FREE salsa growing packet contains cilantro, tomato and jalapeno seeds for growing your own salsa. No purchase necessary. While supplies last. Five packets per person.

Growing eco-awareness

By Janet Shelton

At one time, being an active environmentalist was a lonely existence.

There were too few people volunteering at coastal cleanups, too few leaders listening to calls for recycling and too many businesses looking the other way when profits conflicted with environmental stewardship.

Today, eco-awareness is growing.

People are paying attention to alarms about climate change, ocean health, deforestation, water and ground contamination and more. They are standing together, discovering new ways to preserve our natural resources, and creating new products that lessen our negative impact on Mother Earth. More than ever, people are deciding to protect and preserve the Earth, and reaping unexpected benefits.

Grow Financial Federal Credit Union and the Tampa Bay Times have teamed up to produce this section. We want it to be a source of inspiration and practical information for the whole Tampa Bay

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| Wednesday, October 22, 2014 | Tampa Bay Times

community. It is important to us and our other sponsors to show that much can be done, even in our little point of the world, to make the Earth a healthier place.

Through these pages, you can learn about Earth-friendly initiatives in our community and meet some of the people who spearhead those efforts. Our topics include: • A feature on businesses who found success in implementing ecologically responsible practices in the workplace • Guest columns by leaders in our community • A list of community resources and organizations dedicated to protecting our local environment

• A Q&A in which an environmental expert discusses recycling, sustainability and the health of Tampa Bay We believe that action follows awareness.

This publication is designed to support those who already reduce, reuse and recycle, as well as educate newcomers who aren’t really sure where to begin. We hope it becomes a tool to effect change in your family, in our Tampa Bay community and in the world. We can make a difference as long as we work together.

And to those environmentalists who led the way for so long: Thank you. You’re not alone anymore.

Growing the Greater Good is a very special publication produced by the Tampa Bay Times in a proud team effort with Grow Financial Federal Credit Union.

AND MAKING A DIFFERENCE.

GREEN IS GOOD Tampa Bay through the implementation

TOD

AY!

Let’s row something good!

Stop by any Grow Financial store TODAY between 9 am – 5 pm and pick up a FREE SALSA GROWING PACKET* and grow your own salsa!

To find a participating store near you, visit

tampabay.com/growsomethinggood

#growsomethinggood

In proud partnership with SP80756

Grow Financial is committed to bettering

490 First Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701 800-333-7505 • tampabay.com

*FREE salsa growing packet contains cilantro, tomato and jalapeno seeds for growing your own salsa. No purchase necessary. While supplies last. Five packets per person.

P.O. Box 89909, Tampa, FL 33689-0415 800-839-6328 • growfinancial.org

of green initiatives, support for charitable organizations, commitment to leadership programs and more. This year

Growing the Greater Good

in Tampa Bay.

Marketing Manager: Chris Galbraith Advertising Manager: Tony Del Castillo Art Director: Susan Halttunen Designer: Patricia Langgle Contributors: Lakshmi Arumugam, Dr. Michael P. Crosby, Amelia Goldstein, David Hastings, Dan Lanneau, Don Lee, Janet Shelton, Melissa Wolfe

The past two Earth Days, Grow Financial

To view additional content online, visit tampabay.com/growsomethinggood

and the Tampa Bay Times have come

Comments or questions? Contact Chris Galbraith at 727-893-8535 or cgalbraith@tampabay.com

alone, Grow Financial employees have volunteered over 340 hours of their time at over 25 local charitable organizations

together to give away free slash pine and red maple saplings to the community.

Now, you can stop by any local Grow Financial location and receive free seed packets to grow the ingredients you need for homemade salsa.

Visit tampabay.com/growsomethinggood for a salsa recipe, growing tips and to learn ways you can get involved.

Tampa Bay Times | Wednesday, October 22, 2014 |

3

Florida’s coral reefs serve as the foundation for attracting 16 million visitors annually, more than 70,000 Florida jobs and $6.3 billion of Florida’s economy each year. These reefs serve as home for an amazing level of biodiversity with over 6,000 species, and as the basis for eco-tourism, recreational and commercial fisheries, not to mention protecting coastal homes and businesses from hurricanes and storm damage.

Florida’s coral reefs and the threats they face

By Dr. Michael P. Crosby President & CEO of Mote Marine Laboratory

Yet, coral reefs are facing severe threats in Florida and around the world with losses of up to 90 percent for some coral species. Perhaps the greatest risk to corals in the 21st century is ocean acidification – the lowering of ocean pH when carbon dioxide dissolves into the sea. This water chemistry change is often called the “osteoporosis of the sea” because it weakens and even dissolves calcium carbonate structures such as coral skeletons and mollusk shells, and it may affect a wide swath of other marine animals and ecosystems, especially when combined with elevated water temperature and spread of disease.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently announced new protections for coral with the listing of 20 new species as threatened – including five species found in the Florida Keys, where Mote Marine Laboratory maintains a worldclass research facility for scientists from Florida and around the world to collaborate with Mote scientists in studying coral reef ecosystems and developing innovative coral restoration methodologies. As the southernmost marine laboratory in the continental United States, Mote’s Tropical Research Laboratory in Summerland Key is uniquely positioned to support the transition of research to broad-scale restoration of Florida’s coral reef system.

Coral Reef Restoration

More than seven years ago, Mote developed an extensive underwater coral nursery offshore of our facilities in the Keys. There, scientists are growing threatened staghorn coral for replanting on decimated reef sections throughout 4

| Wednesday, October 22, 2014 | Tampa Bay Times

the lower Florida Keys; we have 15,000 coral colonies ready for replanting.

Mote maintains corals “rescued” from dredging projects or boat groundings – notably the newly listed lobed star coral (Orbicella annularis), mountainous star coral (Orbicella faveolata), boulder star coral (Orbicella franksi) – and is currently in the final stages of field testing a novel restoration method called “reskinning” to restore these species in our lifetime.

We also marked a major milestone this year when Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission announced that staghorn corals grown in Mote’s nursery and later replanted offshore of Marathon had spawned in the wild.

This demonstrates that corals grown using Mote’s innovative technology can reproduce naturally, meaning restoration methods developed by Mote and our partners show great potential to give corals the boost they need to rebuild.

Expanding Ocean Acidification Research

Mote has recently been awarded a prized National Science Foundation (NSF) grant that will expand our ocean acidification research infrastructure and capabilities. We have developed special experimental laboratory systems at our Tropical Research Lab in the Keys and our main campus in Sarasota. The NSF grant will support Mote’s efforts to establish a new 21st century state-ofthe-art international center for the study of ocean acidification. This will not only expand Mote’s cutting-edge research, but that of coral reef scientists from more than 60 institutions worldwide who conduct research at Mote’s Keys facilities each year.

Monitoring Reef Conditions

Mote also monitors the environmental factors that are impacting reefs through community-based programs that help resource managers quickly respond to things like coral bleaching.

We train citizen volunteers to report on coral conditions and synthesize NOAA remote sensing data and other monitoring programs in timely reports

that give resource managers the sciencebased information about changes in reef conditions they need to adapt quickly to respond to changes.

Reef Ecology and Microbiology

Mote researchers looking at the microbiology of corals have made exciting new discoveries about the interplay among the coral, the zooxanthellae (or algae) that give corals their vibrant colors and the bacterial community that lives on the surface of the coral. We’ve shown that bacteria living on corals inoculate them from diseases; other groundbreaking studies are developing a better understanding of how diseases develop and are transferred in coral ecosystems and what might be done to mitigate these factors. We are also looking at how toxins (like pesticides) combined with ocean acidification could affect coral reproduction and recruitment.

Funding These Initiatives

In 2003, Mote made the visionary move to develop a sustainable funding stream for research aimed at understanding, protecting and restoring Florida’s reefs by developing a specialty license tag. Today, the funds raised through sales of the “Protect Our Reefs” tag support Mote’s coral research as well as grants for other organizations to conduct studies with a major focus on ocean acidification, coral resiliency and restoration and projects that will help enhance resource managers’ use of science-based information to protect and restore coral reef communities.

Since this program’s inception, Mote has awarded

130 grants totaling more than $3 million.

While this has been an important source of funding, it is far less than the support needed to protect Florida’s – and the world’s – reefs.

Tampa Bay Times | Wednesday, October 22, 2014 |

5

Want to save water?

Here’re the Top 10 ways to conserve

By Melissa Wolfe and Lakshmi Arumugam

Lakshmi Arumugam

can waste 5,280 gallons of water every year? You can check for leaks by placing food coloring in the upper tank of your toilet. If it seeps down into the toilet bowl, you have a leak. Another way to check for household leaks is record your water meter level before and after a two-hour period of no water use. If the meter increases over the time period, you have a leak.

Turn off the tap

Water scarcity is a major issue in countries across the globe, and our home state of Florida is no exception. As our population expands, using water wisely will become a necessary practice in every society.

At the University of South Florida’s Patel College for Global Sustainability, we study the many ways individuals, communities and even entire countries can preserve water resources. Often, the systems we study are very complicated – but it turns out the most important steps individuals can take are the simplest.

Here are some tips to get you started.

Together, we can make a difference!

Drink tap water

Tap water is cheap, safe and eco-friendly.

Keep a pitcher of chilled water in your fridge instead of running the tap to the cool water for each glass. Cut down on dishes by designating a water cup or refillable water bottle to drink tap water out of every day.

Check for leaks

Did you know a slow-leaking tap or toilet 6

| Wednesday, October 22, 2014 | Tampa Bay Times

Melissa Wolfe

Florida-friendly landscaping shrubs and plants or try xeriscaping.

Take shorter showers

Take four-to five-minute showers and turn off the water when lathering. Save up to 20 gallons of water when bathing by plugging the drain immediately and adjusting the initial cold temperature by mixing hot water until the bath is one-third full.

Turn off the faucet when brushing your teeth, shaving or washing your car. Avoid defrosting food under running water by placing it in the refrigerator the night before or using the microwave Defrost button.

Reuse water

Go low-flow

Harvest rain

In America, the average household can save about $170 per year and conserve 30 percent more water by installing waterefficient fixtures and appliances. Retrofit your sinks and showers with low--flow faucets. Consider replacing your appliances and toilets with low flow WaterSense labeled or Energy Star models. Find more information at epa.gov/watersense.

Water smart

Water your lawn only when required.

Decrease evaporation rates by watering your lawn only during low wind conditions in the early morning or late evening. Align your sprinklers to only water the grass – not the pavement.

Landscape with shrubs and native plants

Plant in the fall and spring, when water requirements are lower. Replace grass with

Capture excess water in a pitcher to water plants and fill pet bowls. For instance, wash your fruits and vegetables in a pan of water, then empty the pan into a houseplant.

Collect rainwater by directing your gutters to drain into a rain barrel or recharge local groundwater by digging a rain pit in your yard. Another option is to direct the stream from your gutters to flow toward plants and trees in the yard.

Cover pools

A pool cover will reduce water loss through evaporation and help maintain cleanliness.

Filling your pool to a slightly lower level will further reduce water splashing out. Be sure to check your pool periodically for leaks, especially if using an automatic refilling device.

Melissa Wolfe is the communications and marketing coordinator of the Patel College of Global Sustainability. Lakshmi Arumugam is a program manager of the Patel College of Global Sustainability.

Tampa Bay Times | Wednesday, October 22, 2014 |

7

Catch these invisible energy thieves and save money

(BPT) - Today’ consumers are more environmentally conscious than ever before.

They understand that making eco-friendly choices not only creates a positive impact on your surroundings, it can also translate into actual savings on monthly energy bills.

If you’re looking to reduce your carbon footprint and make your home part of the “green” initiative, consider the following tips to help you protect both the environment and your bottom line.

Get the most out of your refrigerator. Most consumers focus on keeping the inside of their refrigerators clean, but keeping the outside clean is just as important. Dusty coils actually can impact the refrigerator’s overall efficiency, because when dirty, they trap heat and prevent the refrigerator from cooling efficiently. The grills and coils should be cleaned once or twice a year and more often if you have pets. Use a vacuum cleaner with an attachment to clean the condenser cover and vents of your refrigerator. You can also use a soft bristled brush to access some of the hard-to-reach areas.

Also, older refrigerator models can use a lot of energy. Consider upgrading to an ENERGY STAR(R) qualified refrigerator, which is 20 percent more energy efficient than the federal minimum energy standard. You can also look for refrigerators with energy-saving technologies such as linear compressors or door-in-door features that

can actually reduce cold air loss by up to 47 percent. The convenient door-within-a-door compartment on the fridge door allows quick, easy access to commonly used snacks and beverages without requiring you to open the entire refrigerator door.

Insulate your home. Heating and cooling your home is one of your biggest energy costs, and if your home isn’t properly insulated, you’re losing money. Start by closing your windows and sealing any drafty areas you find. Hire a professional to insulate drafty areas of your home if you don’t feel you can handle them on your own.

Turn it off. Plug home electronics, such as TVs and DVD players, into power strips. Turn the power strips off when the equipment is not in use as equipment still uses several watts of power when they are in standby mode. And be sure to unplug your cellphone charger when your device is fully charged.

Cold is the new hot. A quick tip when it comes to laundry is washing clothes with cold water whenever possible. Look for washers equipped with “cold wash” technology, which achieves cold water savings with warm water washing performance. Another way to save water is to try to wash full loads, or if you must wash a partial load, reduce the level of water appropriately to avoid usage of extra water.

Do your research. Finding home appliances and electronics that are energy efficient is not difficult. Look for the ENERGY STAR “Most Efficient” designation when shopping for your next appliance. This distinction recognizes the most energy efficient products among those that already are ENERGY STAR qualified. Or look for an ENERGY STAR refrigerator that’s earned the Green Good Housekeeping Seal, an emblem given by the Good Housekeeping Research Institute in recognition of brand’s demonstration of environmental responsibility.

Tampa Bay Times | Wednesday, October 22, 2014 |

9

Businesses benefit by going green

By Janet Shelton

With its spring green company color and the little leaf growing off its logo, Grow Financial Federal Credit Union looks like a business that would embrace ecofriendly practices.

It does.

In fact, the credit union is among a growing number of companies that are learning firsthand that going green is a smart way to do business.

Grow Financial Executive Vice President Thomas Feindt said the financial institution began focusing on reducing its environmental footprint about two years ago at the request of employees.

“That really came from our discussions with team members about what makes Grow Financial a great place to work,” he said. “They appreciated and expected the organization to operate in a socially responsible manner.”

In addition to giving away slash pines and red maples to members on Earth Day, the credit union uses recycled products and recycles office waste – from paper to printer ink cartridges. Energy is saved through LED lighting and light sensors that dim lights when a room isn’t occupied. Landscaping fits environmental needs and rain sensors keep sprinklers, which use reclaimed water, dormant during times of rain. Grow Financial also installed an automated bottle filler and gave employees reusable water cups. In three months, they eliminated the need for 6,500 plastic bottles.

Thomas Feindt, Grow Financial Executive Vice President

Joe Reth, Sun Toyota General Manager

“We have a number of different initiatives, and to be honest, we are still learning,” Feindt said. “It’s a lot of little things that we hope add up in time.”

Sun Toyota built its new Holiday headquarters with environmental standards so high it earned the car dealership a Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification. The company used recycled materials in the building and lot, disposed of construction waste in environmentally friendly ways, and incorporated numerous high-tech, eco-friendly practices into its day-to-day operation.

The University of Florida/IFAS Pinellas County Extension Green Business Partnership helps businesses implement green practices. Companies receiving a GBP distinction can use its logo to draw customers. Does a company being “green” really matter to people?

“Absolutely,” said Sun Toyota General Manager Joe Reth.

Building green allowed the dealership to run so cost – effectively, it was able to drop dealer prep fees. Electricity costs about half of what was paid for the

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| Wednesday, October 22, 2014 | Tampa Bay Times

previous building, which was one-third the size. Schoolchildren regularly visit Sun Toyota to see environmental practices in action, and Toyota dealers from across the United States have toured. Not surprisingly, sales of the hybrid Prius have skyrocketed.

“We’ve had people drive from as far as 300 miles away to buy cars from us because we’re environmentally friendly,” Reth said.

Feindt agrees that being a green company matters. Employees take pride in working for a place that cares for its community.

Credit union members appreciate it, too.

“Our members love the fact that their credit union is helping the environment,” Feindt said. “As a credit union, that’s one of our motives. We’re here to give back to our members.”

“Sometimes you do things that you just need to do,” he added. “We all have a part in preserving or sustaining the Earth as best we can.”

Tips to be green Being environmentally responsible is not any one person’s job. As a community, it’s not up to our elected officials. The leaders of this country don’t shoulder sole responsibility. Nor is it for the minds of scientists to develop a miraculous solution to the Earth’s valuable, but limited, resources. We all share on this task, young and old, no matter where you live or how you live. Everyone has the ability to make a difference in preserving what this planet naturally provides us all.

Here’s how to do it.

CHARGE IT UP

Save money and cut waste by purchasing rechargeable batteries instead of single-use (alkaline) batteries. Over its lifetime, a single rechargeable battery may substitute for hundreds of single-use batteries. When giving gifts that use batteries, consider also giving rechargeable batteries and/or battery chargers.

PUT SOME MILES ON YOUR TRAVEL MUG

The next time you buy coffee or tea, bring your own mug. You may save 10 cents, and you’ll definitely save a paper cup and cardboard sleeve from the trash.

GET RID OF BILLS (at least the paper)

Save paper by paying bills and doing banking on the computer instead of receiving bills and account statements in the mail. Use online banking to view and pay bills.

COVER YOUR BACK SIDE

Cut waste 50% by using both sides of the paper. Set your printer default at work and home to duplex (two-sided) printing.

Make double-sided copies on the photocopier whenever possible.

BYOB

Bring your own bag when you shop. Sturdy reusable bags with handles are ecofriendly, recyclable and readily available for $1 or less. Keep the bags in your back seat so you won’t forget them.

See TIPS, page 13 Tampa Bay Times | Wednesday, October 22, 2014 |

11

Making a difference

By Amelia Goldstein Canterbury School of Florida A growing problem around the world is the waste of resources, yet there are still people everywhere who are unaware that the waste they produce could be recycled and have a positive impact on the Earth.

Individuals and companies can step up to help the Earth and go green.

Two years ago, a group of leaders at the Tampa Bay Times formed the ECO team (Environmental Conservation Operation) to evaluate procedures and monitor recycling programs to reduce and recycle waste at the newspaper’s printing plant and other facilities.

Times staffers began looking for ways to engage the community. This resulted in an Earth Day collaboration with Grow Financial in which 13,500 trees were given away each year for two years. Eric Scott, a Times pressroom manager and a member of the ECO team, extends his eco-friendly efforts to his family life as well, to help the Earth and stay healthy themselves.

What made him go green? ”We have a child who has severe allergies to certain foods,” Scott said, and the entire family became very aware of the chemicals that are put into what they ate. The Scotts are beekeepers, too, and know how the over use of certain chemicals can affect the habits of every living thing.

How does he stay eco-friendly?

Every year, Scott and his family make New Year’s resolutions together. In 2010, they decided for one month to keep their money within St. Petersburg, shopping only at locally owned shops,

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| Wednesday, October 22, 2014 | Tampa Bay Times

Tampa Bay Times pressroom manager Eric Scott stands near recycling bins at the newspaper’s printing plant.

including for their gasoline. In 2011, the Scotts came up with “12 months of Change,” where every month they did something different to be eco-friendly, for instance, in January, they ate no processed foods, February they used no electricity (except the fridge for food) and so on.

They all learned survival skills during this time and even took a trip to North Carolina to volunteer on an organic farm for an entire month.

What green effort is he most proud of?

The Scotts led an action team for a garden group that installs vegetable gardens for their members. They worked together with others at Faith House (a halfway house) and helped to install a quarter of an acre of food forest. “This land is now a source of income, food, and helps those who are being rehabilitated,” Scott said.

What is the one non eco-friendly thing people do that makes him cringe?

“Carelessly throwing things away,” Scott said. He is adamant about recycling everything that can be recycled.

What are five ways high school students can help the Earth?

1) Respect water. Good, clean water is taken for granted, he said. There are people in other parts of the world who have no clean water. Scott encourages

kids to not waste so much water, and to be very conscientious of how much water they use during showers and brushing their teeth. It is disturbing that we use clean, potable water for flushing toilets, he said.

2) Recycle. Everything that can be recycled should be, Scott said. It is better for the Earth and it conserves resources.

3) Be aware of what you eat. Watch out for foods processed with chemicals, and shop at local stores for locally grown food.

4) Go outside. “The closer people are to something, the more they want to take care of it,” he said. Be aware that you are connected to our shared natural resources and the quality of these resources affects us all.

5) “Ask questions, learn, find out how things are made,” Scott said. Make sure you know everything about what you are eating, and the things you use in your daily life, so you can make an educated decision on what is best for you and the environment.

Amelia Goldstein is a student editor with tbtwo*, the Times’ weekly publication and website for high schools.

From TIPS, page 11

RECYCLE AT THE BEACH

Look for bright blue recycling containers on the beach or in the parking lot.

There are over 350 recycling containers available at 16 parks and beaches in Pinellas County. You can toss your empty aluminum cans and plastic bottles in the handy bins on your way to or from the beach.

PLANT A MINI GARDEN

PARTY WITHOUT PAPER

Next time you throw a party, save time, money and trees with paperless invitations. For small parties, use phone or email to invite guests.

For large parties or special occasions, try free online “evites” (electronic invitations) which are a convenient way to invite a list of guests, give directions, provide a gift registry link and view the guest list.

You don’t need to live on a farm to grow your own food. Even apartment dwellers can grow fruits or vegetables in a small container such as a pot, barrel, window box or hanging basket. A great place to start is by growing herbs such as parsley or chives. The optimal time for local gardening is spring or fall.

START A BAG AND BOW COLLECTION

Next time you receive a gift, save the wrappings. Find a large box to store used gift bags, bows, ribbons and boxes. For big events such as birthdays, keep the storage box handy to collect undamaged items that can be reused.

Save money and stress by giving yourself a quickly accessible supply of wrapping materials.

Source: Pinellas County Utilities Tampa Bay Times | Wednesday, October 22, 2014 |

13

Getting involved Residents wanting to know more about their environment or how to volunteer to help can contact the following Tampa Bay-area environmental groups:

Tampa Bay Estuary Program:

263 13th Ave. S, St. Petersburg; Activities: Invasive plant eradication, habitat restoration, shoreline litter cleanups, plant and wildlife surveys; Contact: 727-893-2765 or visit tbep.org; Email: saveit@tbep.org

Sierra Club, Tampa Bay Group:

Sierra Club – Tampa Bay Group, P.O. Box 1948, Tampa, FL 33601-1948; Activities: Trail maintenance, shoreline litter cleanups, habitat restoration, assistance with inner-city outings program which provides outdoor experiences to young people in urban areas.

Contact: florida.sierraclub.org/tampabay

Sierra Club, Suncoast Group:

1990 Central Ave., St. Petersburg, FL, 33712; Activities: Trail maintenance, shoreline litter cleanups, habitat restoration; Contact: 727-824-8813 or florida.sierraclub.org/suncoast.

working as a phone dispatcher, docent or educational facilitator and outreach; Contact: 941-388-3010 or visit saveourseabirds.org Email: saveourseabirds.org/contact-us

Florida Native Plant Society, Pinellas Chapter:

Headquarters is at 311 S Glenwood Ave., Orlando, FL 32803, with a Pinellas County chapter; Activities: Habitat restoration, planting native plants in parks/preserves, educational exhibits, organizing plant sales, speaker’s bureau, organizing annual native landscape tour.

Contact: 727-544-7341 leave a message or visit pinellas.fnpschapters.org; Email: pinellas@fnpschapters.org

Florida Native Plant Society, Serenoa Chapter (includes Manatee):

Headquarters is at 311 S Glenwood Ave., Orlando, FL 32803: Activities: Habitat restoration, planting native plants in parks and preserves, staffing educational exhibits at festivals and fairs, and organizing plant sales. Contact: 941-7948773 or visit serenoa.fnpschapters.org; Email: srepens@gmail.com

Florida Native Plant Society, Suncoast Chapter (includes Hillsborough):

Save Our Seabirds:

1708 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota, FL 34236: Activities: Rescuing and caring for injured and sick seabirds, grant writing, maintaining the facility, 14

| Wednesday, October 22, 2014 | Tampa Bay Times

Headquarters is at 311 S Glenwood Ave., Orlando, FL 32803; Activities: Habitat restoration, planting native plants in parks and preserves, staffing educational exhibits at festivals and fairs, and organizing plant sales.

Contact: suncoastnps.org; Email: president@suncoastnps.org

Tampa Bay Conservancy:

P.O. Box 173317, Tampa, FL 33672.

Activities: This regional land trust uses volunteers to construct or maintain nature trails and conduct habitat restoration or enhancement on Conservancy properties and other public parks and preserves.

Contact: tampabayconservancy.org; Email: info@tampabayconservancy.org

Clearwater Marine Aquarium:

249 Windward Passage, Clearwater, FL 33767. Activities: Caring for injured wildlife, certified divers, docents, gift shop, turtle nesting monitoring. Contact: 727-441-1790 or visit seewinter.com; Email: visitorsinfo@cmaquarium.org

Surfrider Foundation, Suncoast Chapter:

P.O. Box 22974, St. Petersburg, FL 33742. Activities: Beach cleanups, coastal restoration, litter education, tabling events.

Contact: suncoast.surfrider.org; Email: chair@suncoast.surfrider.org

Friends of Tampa Bay National Wildlife Refuges:

P.O. Box 40782, St. Petersburg, FL 33743-0782. Activities: Exotic plant removal, refuge cleanups, bird stewarding, monthly bird counts and general repairs on the refuges.

Contact: 727-343-1272 or visit tampabayrefuges.org; Email: friends@tampabayrefuges.org

Agency on Bay Management, Tampa Bay Regional Planning Authority:

4000 Gateway Centre Blvd., Suite 100, Pinellas Park, Florida 33782.

Activities: Focuses on the protection and management of the Tampa Bay estuary; Contact: 727-570-5151, ext. 40 or visit tbrpc.org/abm; Email: maya@tbrpc.org

Pinellas County Extension:

12520 Ulmerton Road, Largo, FL 33774; Activities; Provides classes and workshop from home gardening, energy conservation, recycling and more; Contact: 727-582-210 or visit pinellascountyextension.org

RECYCLING

Don’t know where to take your recycling?

The following is a list of recycling centers in Tampa Bay:

Pinellas County

For information on recycling in your community and a directory of recycling centers. pinellascounty.org/utilities/recycle.htm

Hillsborough County

efficiency and other topics in printable PDF format, at progress-energy.com/florida/home/ communications/index.page?

TECO

For information on renewable energy and customer savings go to tampaelectric.com/residential/programs/

State of Florida

Keep Florida Beautiful engages and educates citizens, visitors and communities to improve Florida through litter prevention, increased recycling and beautification efforts. Go to gogreenfl.org/ greeninfo.html for information.

PARKS AND RECREATION

Whether you are new to the area or a longtime resident, Tampa Bay communities offer a long list of parks and recreation facilities where you can enjoy nature and the outdoors.

Pinellas County

For listings of local recreation centers and parks go to pinellascounty.org/visitors.htm

City of St. Petersburg

For listings of local parks and beaches, go to stpeteparksrec.org/parks-main.html

City of Clearwater

For listings of local parks and recreation centers, go to clearwater-fl.com/gov/depts/parksrec/

Hillsborough County

For listings of local recreation centers and parks, go to hillsboroughcounty.org/facilities

City of Tampa

For listings of local parks in Tampa, go to tampagov.net/parks-and-recreation

Pasco County

For listings of local recreation centers and parks for Pasco County go to pascocountyfl.net/index.aspx?NID=252

Hernando County

For listings of local recreation centers and parks for Hernando County, go to hernandocounty.us/parks_rec/Recreation/ facilityuse.asp

For information on recycling in your community and for a directory of recycling centers. hillsboroughcounty.org/index. aspx?NID=1251

Pasco County

For information on recycling in your community go to pascocountyfl.net/index. aspx?NID=181

Hernando County

For information on cycling in your community go to hernandocounty.us/utils/solidwaste_ recycling/Recycling.htm

OTHER RESOURCES Duke Energy

Find fliers, rate sheets and brochures with detailed information about products and services, energy Tampa Bay Times | Wednesday, October 22, 2014 |

15

Let’s row

something good!

Stop by any Grow Financial store on Wednesday, October 22 between 9 am – 5 pm & pick up a FREE SALSA GROWING PACKET* and grow your own salsa!

To find a participating store near you, visit

tampabay.com/growsomethinggood

SP80759

In collaboration with

#growsomethinggood SP80293

*FREE salsa growing packet contains cilantro, tomato and jalapeno seeds for growing your own salsa. No purchase necessary. While supplies last. Five packets per person.