Yesterday my wetlands class had a speaker from the St John’s River Water Management District. She gave a very nice presentation. I learned that 50% of the water use in Florida goes to lawn irrigation. That is horrible! Most of this can be blamed on developers, who are not using native plants and grasses in lawns. This should be mandatory for new developments. Property managers need to be educated about these issues and enforce water regulations. 

She also suggested that if we take shorter showers we can save thousands of gallons per person every year. I am a short shower person already. Soap down, rinse off and done. She suggested four minute showers. 

It seems to me that there is a need for educating our local, state legislators, and developers, about our needs to preserve water. Desalination is very, very expensive, so that is not a good solution for our future needs. The more I learn in my Master Naturalist program, the more I worry about Florida’s future. Let us try hard to save what is left. Please support water and land trust organizations.

Natural Florida is swell for this country painter.......

My enhanced hand painted paper

5x7 inches

painted on both sides.