For those of us in the urban landscape irrigation game, this
month got off to an excellent start with the South Florida Landscape IrrigationSymposium in Miami-Dade.
A working partnership
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| The host venue: UF/IFAS Miami-Dade Extension Office in The Redland |
A collaborative effort between Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm
Beach County Extensions, the event packed in municipal groundskeepers and
irrigation techs, roadside landscaping crews, arborists, some property managers
and even a random biologist or two...
...everyone there for an update on the latest in water conservation thinking/practice from local and regional UF/IFAS experts, and CEUs from Allstate Resource Management.
What role does irrigation play in your work?
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| Speaking of UF/IFAS experts: Dr. Michael Dukes and Dr. Kati Migliaccio in conference |
I can confidently attest to whom was there and why because I
spent the better part of the event talking to attendees on camera. Many in the
audience were interested in the latest irrigation equipment - on hand thanks to
the sponsoring vendors.
One individual had sour experiences with soil moisture
sensors and was especially keen on the smart irrigation presentations. And most others
desired to learn as much as possible so as to better educate their clients
about proper irrigation design and maintenance, and why it’s a sound investment.
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| Dr. Michael Dukes presents on smart irrigation technology ROI in Orange County |
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| All nozzle errthing: at the Hunter Industries display |
My favorite portion of the event was the “Success Story”
panel.
This talk grouped together a property manager, an irrigation crew
supervisor and a utility representative for a lively question and answer
session that engaged the audience about not only the prevalence of water waste
in most urban landscape systems, but also the possibility of turning the tide in
favor of efficiency, especially in Miami-Dade, where the irrigation rebate program advances the smart irrigation and Florida-Friendly landscaping ethic
with significant funding.
Conservation never stops
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| The success panel (from left): Carlos Victoria, Terry Liddel and Donna Fries |
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| Dr. Kati Migliaccio talks weather-based irrigation controllers (WBICs) |
If you were not able to attend the symposium, enjoy the
video recap below courtesy of Miami-Dade’s Urban Conservation Unit.
About the author:
Michael Gutierrez is a water resources
technician with UF/IFAS in the Ag & Bio
Engineering Dept. He tweets, blogs and
also shoots still and video media in South
Florida, Gainesville and anywhere else a
camera is handy. (image: Jesus Lomeli)
technician with UF/IFAS in the Ag & Bio
Engineering Dept. He tweets, blogs and
also shoots still and video media in South
Florida, Gainesville and anywhere else a
camera is handy. (image: Jesus Lomeli)
This was a fantastic event. If there are any specialist or agents out there who would like to host a similar event or participate in our events - please let me know. We are always looking for new and exciting content.
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