education
Catching up: Tampa Bay is in back of 'green' pack
Story by Jen Hiatt | University of South Florida
It is difficult to define the overall “greenness” of a city or region, but the general consensus is that Tampa Bay is far from the top in environmental practices and sustainable efforts.
“It's growing,” said Brian Gregson of Rainwater Services. “The country in general has a long way to go, but Tampa Bay is lagging behind ... But I think we are growing with knowledge and awareness. I'm optimistic.”
According to the Green Cities Index, the Tampa Bay area ranks No. 41 out of 43 U.S. metropolitan areas. The report, which looks at America’s “green cities,” was compiled by the Business Courier of Cincinnati. It ranked metro areas on environmental factors such as traffic congestion, transit use, water quality, carbon emissions, LEED-certified projects and number of “green” jobs.
“They (Tampa Bay residents) are trying,” explained Taylor Ralph, vice president of REAL building. “We are very excited about the Tampa Bay area and Florida’s west coast area – I think there’s a lot of promise. There is a lot of work to do, a long way before we get there.”
The index also looked at variables such as commuting habits, travel time and fuel use, and air and water quality. The list was topped by West Coast cities such as Portland, Ore., Vancouver, San Francisco, Oakland, Calif., and Honolulu.
“There is a willingness, there is an interest … as sustainable practices are becoming socially normal,” explained James Stevenson, an urban sustainability agent for the Pinellas County Extension. “Things like reusable shopping bags are becoming socially normal so that you don’t stick out.
“So the willingness is there, but there’s always that fear that the momentum is going to be lost. One false move can set you way far back.”
extending a hand: teaching efficient practices
Experts agree that education is a vital part of the growing green community, and programs like the Pinellas County Extension are helping to spread the word.
The Extension is a part-university, part-county government initiative. Its main objective is to provide timely, research-based information that addresses individual community needs. Each county in Florida has an Extension office affiliated with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.
“Pinellas County is an urban county, so we don’t focus on the agricultural community,” said Stevenson. “We have to have answers to the solutions for people’s issues with regards to living in an urban community.”
The educational programs offered are directed at national, state and local concerns, with an emphasis on issues specific to Pinellas County. A sample of issues includes Florida landscaping and lawn care, green home and office practices and commercial horticulture.
In addition to offering a voluntary Green Business Designation, the Pinellas County Extension offers classes and Web seminars called "Solutions in 30." The half-hour lectures deal with money management, energy conservation, climate change and other timely, sustainable topics.
The Extension also offers a comprehensive Website with information, tips, videos and blogs with topics ranging from Florida-friendly lawns to sustainable living.
Extensions programs often stress behavior changes as a way to becoming more sustainable in the community. One of the biggest challenges to Pinellas County becoming “greener” is the median age of the population, explained Stevenson.
“We are talking about people who have relocated from somewhere else and have done something some way all their life,” he said. “The behavior change is much more difficult.”
To entice older populations to adapt green ways, Stevenson said often their programs highlight the economic leg of sustainability.
“We say, ‘We’ve got a way to save you money, would you like to hear about it?’”
“And, yes, they would.”
Another way Extension seeks to reach adults is through their children and the 4-H youth development programs. The curriculum is based on leadership and becoming responsible citizens, which is ultimately about sustainability.
“Kids get it; they are little green sprouts,” Stevenson said. “So we have this little army and (parents) are going to listen to their kids more than they’ll listen to you.”
But, Stevenson cautioned, the social aspect of sustainability must not get lost within the environmental message.
“It’s not just about the environment,” he said. “Help your neighbor. Support local businesses, no matter what they are. It’s getting back to the common sense of what it means to be a community.”
A sustainable mind: creating green experts
While educating the community is important, so too is the simultaneous development of higher education sustainability programs. Both the University of South Florida and St. Petersburg College are dedicated to this mission.
St. Petersburg College offers two “green” degrees, a Bachelor of Applied Science in Sustainability Management and an Associate of Science degree in Environmental Science Technology. Perhaps more importantly, SPC offers 25 certification or continuing education programs that deal with sustainability, with another 25 slated for fall 2010.
“I view the role of the community college as for the community instead of the advancement of research,” said Jason Green, sustainability coordinator for SPC. “The college has tried to cover all areas of sustainability and its relationship to the community.”
SPC works closely with other organizations to offer the corporate training unit. Two of the many programs are a LEED prep course through the United States Green Building Council and photovoltaic and solar power installation training through a partnership with SolarSource.
Green, who became SPC’s first sustainability coordinator in 2008, said the university is trying to incorporate sustainability elements into all its classes as the demand for “green-collar” workers increases.
“I know enrollment is up,” said Green. “I think that things are certainly moving in the right direction.”
Across the bay, the University of South Florida created a new school for Global Sustainability and will begin enrolling students in an inaugural Masters program in Fall 2010. The school follows a new set of curricula that are focused on sustainability. The inaugural Masters degree deals specifically with water management, quality and conservation. The School of Global Sustainability is the first of its kind among universities, and the hope, says Director of Sustainability Christian Wells, is to expand the school to encompass other concentrations.
In addition to launching the School of Global Sustainability, Wells also initiated a grant funding program for faculty that allows professors paid time off to figure out ways to build sustainability into their courses.
“There’s a lot more demand, as you might imagine, with the (President) Obama recovery money and stimulus act that has provided billions for green sector job growth,” Wells said. “So now there is an incredible demand at the university level for training."
In 2008, USF President Judy Genshaft signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment at the first USF Going Green Expo. In summer 2009, the Office of Sustainability was created “to manage USF’s climate impact assessment and reporting, as well as to serve as the single point of contact for sustainability programs and activities for the USF system.”
Wells, with a background in environmental archeology, became the first director of sustainability in August 2009.
“Our Office of Sustainability is kind of a service office,” Wells said. “We connect people, build partnerships, promote sustainability in research and on campus, that sort of thing.”
Additionally, Wells is currently working on USF’s first Climate Action Plan with Timothy Freudo of 3BL Consulting. The plan, to be revealed in May, will list the goals of both the Office of Sustainability and the university and rank campus and local priorities.
“From the outset, this office was designed to be very integrated in the local area,” Wells said. “Anything we do necessarily impacts the city and anything the city does impacts us. It’s really a synergistic relationship.”
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