4.5 Deliver targeted education and resources to landscape professionals and golf course managers

Key Message: Sarasota County has almost 6,000 acres of golf courses and athletic fields and a large number of professionally managed residential and commercial lawns and landscapes. Although training in Best Management Practices is required for golf course managers, athletic field managers, and lawn care professionals, compliance is not monitored. Improved outreach is needed to encourage fertilizer BMP adoption and assess nutrient reduction.

Importance

Improved adoption of fertilizer best management practices (BMPs) within the landscape and golf course management industries can reduce nutrient pollution and support water conservation and habitat enhancement. Targeting the commercial landscape industry is an efficient approach to educational outreach, because one landscape manager can implement BMPs on behalf of all their customers at once. This approach can be impactful, considering that there are almost 6,000 acres of golf courses and athletic fields in Sarasota County (according to SWFWMD 2017 data) and a large number of professionally managed residential and commercial lawns and landscapes. About 52% of the nitrogen-based fertilizer distributed in Sarasota County is used on golf courses and athletic fields, which cover only about 1.7% of the county’s land area (FDACS 2019, unpublished data).

Overview

The Sarasota County Urban Fertilizer Ordinance requires all commercial fertilizer applicators to complete Green Industries Best Management Practices (GI-BMP) training through the UF/IFAS Extension Program to receive a commercial fertilizer applicator certificate. As of 2019, 2,562 landscaping companies are GI-BMP certified in Sarasota County. Every four years, these workers are required to attend a two-hour additional training, or continuing education unit (CEU), to maintain their certificate. Funding from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and Florida Department of Agricultural and Consumer Services (FDACS) supports 400 trainers and three regional coordinators in the state, and success is tracked by pre- and post-test scores. Companies who have completed the course are required to display a decal on their commercial vehicles, but there is very little consumer brand recognition of the decal or enforcement of the training requirements. In addition to the mandatory classes, UF/IFAS Extension Sarasota County, the Sarasota County Government Neighborhood Environmental Stewardship Team (NEST), and the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program provide outreach and publications about Florida Friendly Landscaping™ practices.

Although golf course and specialized turf managers are required to undergo GI-BMP training, they are exempt from fertilizer use restrictions imposed by local urban fertilizer ordinances (see Chapter 4.3). Instead, golf courses and athletic fields are required to follow FDEP’s detailed BMP manual for golf courses and limit fertilizer application to rates recommended by UF/IFAS. The rate of voluntary compliance is unknown. Unlike the voluntary FDACS BMP program for farms, there is no follow-up to evaluate implementation of BMPs for golf courses. Golf course managers can get BMP-certified through the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA); the Sarasota-Manatee Chapter has 58 certified managers. As incentive, the GCSAA gives annual awards to golf courses and superintendents for exceptional environmental stewardship. The Clean Waterways Act (2020) requires FDEP to consider developing and adopting BMP rules for nutrient management on golf courses.

Conversion of athletic fields to artificial turf eliminates the need for fertilizer, irrigation, and mowing (and associated emissions), while improving athlete safety and field reliability. Cardinal Mooney High School converted its multi-sport athletic field to artificial turf in 2019, and in 2020 Riverview High School will be the first public school in Sarasota County to retrofit its fields. The remaining public schools are expected to follow by 2025. Appropriate under-field drainage and stormwater treatment should be incorporated into designs.

Approach

The mandatory BMP certification program for commercial landscapers with required CEUs every four years is an effective way to educate the landscaping industry. Building capacity for periodic audits or monitoring between recertification classes could help determine if this education translates into long- term nutrient reduction behaviors. Better coordinated outreach to golf course managers is needed to encourage and assess BMP implementation. Consultations are needed to provide information on existing nitrogen concentrations in various reclaimed water sources in relation to fertilizer application (see Chapter 1.2). For example, Pinellas County provides a map of areas serviced by irrigation using reclaimed water with recommendations for fertilizer application rates. Education and resources for implementing superior environmental standards at existing golf courses, such as Audubon’s Signature Sanctuary, could also be offered. Since golf course BMPs are effectively voluntary, incentives such as recognition, cost-share, or no-cost consultations could be offered by a program that also requires periodic independent audits.

Resources

• FDEP GI-BMP Manual – Florida Friendly Best Management Practices for Protection of Water Resources by the Green Industries
  https://ffl.ifas.ufl.edu/pdf/GIBMP_Manual_Web_English_2015.pdf
• UF/IFAS GI-BMP training program
  https://ffl.ifas.ufl.edu/professionals/BMP_overview.htm
• FDEP Golf Course BMP Manual – Best Management Practices for the Enhancement of Environmental Quality on Golf Courses and UF/IFAS Recommendations for Fertilization
  https://ffl.ifas.ufl.edu/pdf/DEPGolfCourseBMP_Rev10_12_WEB.pdf
  https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ss404
• Pinellas County Reclaimed Water Service Area Map with fertilizer application recommendations
  http://pinellas-egis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/OnePane/basicviewer/index.html?appid=063e6681420e4910aa056bd5f087b292

Status

Implementation – UF/IFAS, FDEP, FDACS

Performance Measure

• Mandatory nutrient BMP certification and CEUs for golf courses and ornamental and turfgrass license holders
• Funding and results for increased monitoring, audits, and other post-education evaluation
• Expanded education curriculum to include topics like levels of N in different sources of reclaimed water and BMPs for lawn equipment emissions

Experts or Leads

Don Rainey, UF/IFAS Florida-Friendly Landscaping^TM Program; Brian Niemann, Regional GI-BMP Program Coordinator; Marguerite Beckford, UF/IFAS Commercial Horticulture Agent; golf course manager TBD

Cost Estimate

$50,000-$100,000

Related Activities:

Chapter 1.2, Chapter 4.3