A UF/IFAS Water School Near You

Water Schools are an expanding priority for UF/IFAS. The concept was originally conceived in Polk County in the 90s and then caught on throughout neighboring Southwest FL. Currently there are plans to develop water schools in Marion, Brevard, Citrus and Lake/Sumter Counties. On June 27^th the Lake/Sumter Water School is set to debut. Event co-organizer Lloyd Singleton (of Sumter County Extension) recently communicated with IrriGator to offer further insight into the Lake/Sumter County effort.

Lloyd Singleton (left) and Steve Turnipseed inspect a FL native (image FANN)

What do you feel is the most pressing water issue in your area of FL?

LS: Rapid planned residential development in the south part of Lake County (Clermont, Minneola, Groveland) and the north part of Sumter County (The Villages) are increasing the demands for water. Lots of new lawns and landscapes with irrigation, so water quantity is of great concern. Given its namesake, Lake County has water quality concerns for the beautiful chains of lakes in the region.

Christopher Martinez discusses water schools to educate & help influencers in making a difference in water conservation & quality #CLCE17 pic.twitter.com/457xJk6jsF

— UF IFAS Solutions (@UF_IFAS) March 17, 2017

How often are water schools conducted in your counties?

LS: We conducted a water school for local community leaders last summer (2016), and this is our first one open to the general public. One of the outcomes of that water school, where we used Dr. Borisova’s evaluation, was that they suggested the same information be provided to the general public. So that’s what we decided to do this summer. Some of the information may be over the heads of the general public, but I’m not a big believer in dumbing stuff down. Sometimes you need to challenge critical thinking with a little bit of higher level information. 

We are grateful to our sponsors, the Lake County Soil & Water Conservation District and the Southwest Florida Water Management District for providing the resources to share this event with the general public. If it is well received and the word spreads, I’m confident we can do more.

The water school program includes quite an array of expertise, who is the intended audience?

LS: The program is open to anyone; we are seeing interest from a wide variety of folks, including Master Gardeners, the environmentally-minded, early adopters of all sorts. We’ve assembled experts in numerous fields related to water, ready to share their expertise and answer your questions about this precious, limited natural resource.

There is a water school goodie bag to entice attendees. What kind of useful items are included?

LS: The gift bag itself is a reusable grocery bag in beautiful UF blue, labeled Water School. We will also provide a flash drive with all of the presenter’s presentations included as .pdfs, a personal water bottle, hose end spray nozzle, a fertilizer guide, bookmark, and lots of Florida-Friendly Landscaping information is included, too.

All of the above and information straight from the experts

Co-organized by Juanita Popenoe, PhD., and Lloyd Singleton, the Lake/Sumter County Water School takes place Tuesday, June 27^th. Register here.