BRADENTON, FL – October 18, 2018 – Aquatic Plants of Florida, Inc., a leading wholesale grower of native plants, trees and grasses, announced it will be attending The Native Plant Show in Bradenton, FL from October 18-19.

The show will be held at the Bradenton Area Convention Center, 1 Haben Blvd, Palmetto, Florida. Aquatic Plants of Florida will also exhibit at Booth #36.

About The Native Plant Show

The Native Plant Show combines classes and exhibits to highlight the beauty, functionality and diversity of native plants now available.

See live plants and talk to experts: growers, retailers, landscape and environmental professionals. Find everything you need to make native plants your new norm.

Attendees include landscape architects, designers, installers, growers, garden centers, retailers, wetland and upland restoration specialists, master gardeners, native plant enthusiasts and the property owner who no longer wants to mow or water a lawn.

More than 20 different education sessions and multiple tracks: plants, design, garden & landscape, sustainable communities and green business.

Some of the new topics this year include landscape industry trends, rain garden design, pruning and maintenance of native plants, growing edible native plants, propagating plants and weeding.

CEUs: Continuing education credits are available for registered landscape architects (DBPR), landscape designers (APLD), ISA certified arborists and FNGLA certified horticulture and landscape professionals.

See the quality and find the supply you need. Whether it’s for client projects, a nursery or garden center, or your own personal landscape, you’ll find a variety of native plants in all sizes. FANN welcomes growers from throughout Florida and the Southeastern U.S.

Learn to plant what works from the professionals who use native plants every day. Benefit from their many years of experience with commercial, residential, institutional and natural restoration sites.

We love books and websites, but nothing beats talking with a live expert who’s done what you want to do.

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About The Landscape Show
Join over 7,000 attendees in Orlando at the Orange County Convention Center’s North Concourse, and attend the Southeast’s premier landscape and horticulture conference and trade event. The Landscape Show features over 200,000 square feet of trees, shrubs, equipment – that’s nearly 5 acres – and more from nearly 450 exhibiting companies in 800+ booth spaces! Join us for all three show days for the pre-registration price of just $20!

More info is available online at www.thelandscapeshow.org.

Some topics of interest included wildflower plantings, best native landscape plants, butterfly gardens, homeowner preferences and eco-friendly landscapes, and a plant sale for attendees only.

For more info or registration, visit NativePlantShow.com.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Friday, Oct. 7, the White House will recognize 12 people from across the country as “White House Champions of Change for Sustainable Seafood.”

One of those Champions is Dr. Kevan Main, Senior Scientist at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota County, Florida, where she serves as Director of the 200-acre Mote Aquaculture Research Park. Main is Past President and a current member of the World Aquaculture Society, and she has led Mote’s aquaculture research efforts since 2001, guiding the development of Mote’s inland, re-circulating aquaculture systems that raise marine fish while recycling 100 percent of the salt water and using fish wastes to fertilize salt-loving plants.

The Champions of Change program allows the White House to feature individuals doing extraordinary things to empower and inspire members of their communities. Read more about Champions of Change below.
•Friday’s event will be live streamed on the White House website at (www.whitehouse.gov/live) at 1 p.m. ET on Friday, Oct. 7. Follow the conversation at #WHChamps, and please celebrate Dr. Kevan Main’s achievements by tagging #MoteMarineLab.

The 12 Champions of Change promote sustainable seafood through commercial enterprises, conservation, management and research. Main is one of just two Champions working in aquaculture.

More than half the world’s seafood is supplied by aquaculture, with many wild fish stocks overfished and declining, but U.S. marine aquaculture — fish farming — produces far less seafood than aquaculture in Asia, Europe, Canada, Central and South America. More than 91 percent of U.S.-consumed seafood is imported.

“U.S. aquaculture has faced tremendous hurdles due to concerns about environmental impacts,” Main said. “In the mid-1990s, it became clear that we need sustainable, water-recycling technologies at a cost our aquaculture producers can afford.”

“Since 2005, my research program at Mote Marine Laboratory has investigated how to integrate plants and fish into recirculating aquaculture systems — including saltwater systems that recycle 100 percent of their water. This is a great way to produce two crops using the same nutrient resource, increasing environmental and economic sustainability.”

Main has more than 30 years of experience in the aquaculture of tropical and subtropical fish and invertebrates from around the world. Before joining Mote, Main worked in the American Pacific Islands and numerous countries throughout Asia to expand the U.S. aquaculture industry. She was the first director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture regional aquaculture center in Hawaii – the Center for Tropical and Subtropical Aquaculture. Over her career, she has published seven books and more than 50 peer-reviewed publications and has traveled to aquaculture facilities throughout Asia, Europe and the U.S. In February 2016, she was honored with the Fellow of the World Aquaculture Society Award.

Over the past 15 years, Dr. Main and her team at Mote have been conducting research to develop innovative and sustainable technologies for raising red drum, Florida pompano, greater amberjack, common snook and red snapper to support enhancement of wild stocks and to produce juvenile fish for both land-based recirculating and offshore cage farms.

Main’s work is especially significant now: In January 2016, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced the publication of a groundbreaking rule implementing the Fishery Management Plan for Aquaculture in Federal Waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Offshore farms have the potential to generate significant quantities of marine fish to meet the growing demand for high-quality, domestically farmed seafood. To help this happen, much more work is needed to develop sustainable, land-based hatchery production technologies for Gulf marine fishes – the forte of Main and her team. Main has been instrumental in Mote’s efforts to translate and transfer innovative aquaculture technology to the commercial sector and implement real change that will fuel a new economic engine of environmentally sustainable, land-based and offshore aquaculture in the U.S.

Beyond basic science and technology, Main connects regularly with chefs and seafood marketers in southwest Florida and elsewhere. Several gourmet restaurants have used and praised the quality of seafood and salt-tolerant vegetables from Mote’s marine aquaponics prototype system. Main also shares knowledge to support national and international policy discussion. In fact, she recently helped to promote Florida’s eco-friendly seafood and shared her scientific expertise with ocean-focused leaders and the public as a member of an aquaculture panel during Capitol Hill Ocean Week during June 2016 in Washington, D.C.

“Dr. Main’s accomplishments run the gamut from innovative research to demonstrated impact and insightful contribution to sustainable seafood discussions at all levels,” said Dr. Michael Crosby, President & CEO of Mote. “We are incredibly fortunate to have her at Mote Marine Laboratory, an independent institution that proudly provides her the freedom to effect positive change.”

More about Champions of Change

Read about the 12 Champions of Change for Sustainable Seafood here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/champions

The White House event recognizing these Champions at 1 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7, will feature remarks by Managing Director of the Council on Environmental Quality Christy Goldfuss, Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Dr. Kathryn D. Sullivan and Deputy Secretary of the Department of Commerce Bruce H. Andrews.

According to a news release from the White House, Office of the Press Secretary:

The United States fishing industry is critical to the economic health and well-being of communities across the country, supporting 1.8 million jobs and contributing over $200 billion to the economy in 2014. However, our marine ecosystems are under threat from multiple stressors, including climate change and ocean acidification. The need for innovation in sustainable fisheries has never been greater. Local leaders serve as the backbone of our communities, working to build resilient coasts and striving to protect the at-risk towns whose future depend on the recovery of our fisheries. The administration applauds the hard work, collaboration and sacrifice by many across the country to become responsible stewards and safeguard our seafood security. These Champions of Change are ensuring the United States is a global leader in sustainable seafood management.

COCOA, FL – August 11, 2016 – Aquatic Plants of Florida, Inc. completed contract growing and plant installation work for the Cocoa – Merritt Island Airport. Plants were installed at a rate of approximately 9,000 units per day over a 6-day work period. Plant species utilized on the project by zonation included: smooth cordgrass, saltgrass and dune sunflower.

The overall project work included approximately 15,000 CY of excavation and embankment to extend the runway safety area (RSA) roughly 170′ into the Newfound Harbor. The extended and existing shoreline along the runway were stabilized with approximately 37,000 SF of Articulated Concrete Block (ARB). The project required permitting, dewatering operations, runway markings, and erosion control. The project also included several environmental components, which included: filling a mitigation area in the harbor, transplanting seagrass, plant installation, and environmental monitoring. Other environmental aspects include improvements to an off-site mitigation area on Merritt Island. The improvements consisted of CMP culvert installation, erosion control, nuisance vegetation removal, and tree/herbaceous plantings.

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MARINELAND, FL – August 5, 2014 – Aquatic Plants of Florida, Inc. today presented at a conference focused on plant selection for coastal restoration in the era of climate change, Tuesday, August 5, at the University of Florida’s (UF) Whitney Laboratory. Workshop participants included natural resource managers, nursery industry professionals, researchers and educators.

The event was convened by UF IFAS and Sea Grant Florida to address how climate change may require coastal and land managers to re-think their plant selection process. Researchers at UF explored the need to propagate different genetic strains or different plant species to provide plants for restoration that are adapted to climate change.

Presentations at this workshop included an overview of climate change science, approaches to sourcing plant propagules for restoration and conservation, ecotypic differentiation, impacts of climate change on sea oats, salt marshes and mangroves, ecosystem services valuation and permitting issues. Case studies were presented. Attendees participated in a hands-on sea oats plant propagation activity. Breakout sessions allowed participants to provide input for a white paper on the topic of plant selection for coastal restoration in the era of climate change.

PlantsClimateChange.eventbrite.com

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CORAL SPRINGS, FL – May 8, 2014 – Aquatic Plants of Florida presents at University of Florida IFAS Aquatic Ecosystem event held at the Coral Springs Marriott.

The UF/IFAS Aquatic Ecosystems Restoration Mini-Course is a half-day course designed to serve in-the-field practitioners and businesses that perform restoration projects or are interested in entering the market. The Mini-Course is ideal for local, state, and federal employees, scientists, aquatic plant nurseries and growers, consultants, entrepreneurs and anyone interested in aquatic and wetland habitat restoration and enhancement.

Topics Covered:
• Nursery and greenhouse production of aquatic plants for restoration projects
• On-site restoration and damage repair of submersed areas
• Criteria, design and management of large and small aquatic restoration and enhancement projects
• Plant selection for constructed wetlands
• Current restoration projects in Florida’s springs and rivers

Benefits:
• Learn about aquatic restoration from experts in the field
• Gain information that can be used to inform aquatic restoration projects
• Start a toolbox to offer restoration services to clientele
• Build your network and forge new partnerships
• Share lessons learned about the “whys” and “hows” of aquatic restoration

Registration:
Registration is $60 per person and includes course materials, and full participation in the mini-course.

Refund Policy: All refund requests must be received in writing by April 18, 2014. No refunds will be issued after this date. A processing fee of $10.00 will be deducted from all mini-course refunds.

Special Needs: Participants with special needs can be reasonably accommodated by contacting the Office of Conferences & Institutes at least 10 working days prior to the conference. We can be reached by phone at 1-352-392-5930, by FAX at 1-352-392-9734, or by calling 1-800-955-8771 (TDD). The TDD number can only be accessed from within the State of Florida.

CAPTIVA ISLAND, FLORIDA – February 21, 2014 – Aquatic Plants of Florida, Inc. completes the final components of a $19.5 million beach restoration project on Florida’s gulf coast, a result of Tropical Storm Debby in June 2012. The project sought to address serious erosion to Captiva’s popular beach attraction and coastal wildlife habitat.

A joint effort by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Captiva Erosion Prevention District, sought to rebuild preexisting dunes, which act as natural barriers against storm surges, protecting commercial and residential upland structures. Aquatic Plants installed nearly 320,000 coastal plants consisting of five species as well as post and rope accesses and signage to help protect the new plants.

SARASOTA, FL - September 6, 2013 – Sarasota Bay Estuary Program has awarded grants to nine organizations as part of the 2013 Bay Partners Grant Program. One of five fully funded projects included New College of Florida for a native plant showcase for education in a detention pond.

The honors college received funding for its bay-education and bay-friendly landscaping project to remove invasive and exotic plant species and to create a native vegetated dry detention area near the Pritzker Marine Biology Research Center. Success will be evaluated by monitoring the native plant survival and development and attraction of insect and wildlife. Over 2,400 visitors tour the marine center annually and the demonstration project will be incorporated into these tours, the outreach programs and the New College curriculum.

Aquatic Plants of Florida worked with New College to remove invasive and exotic species, address erosion issues, and install bay-friendly plants. Some of the plant species selected for the project include: pond cypress, swamp hibiscus, rushes, cordgrass, muhly grass, pickerel weed, blue flag iris, and yellow canna.

The Sarasota Bay Estuary Program is dedicated to restoring the area’s greatest natural asset-Sarasota Bay. Its unique program strives to improve water quality, increase habitat and enhance the natural resources of the area for use and enjoyment by the public. Sarasota Bay is one of 28 protected estuaries in the U.S. The SBEP was founded in 1989 and its partners include Sarasota County, Manatee County, City of Sarasota, City of Bradenton, Town of Longboat Key, Southwest Florida Water Management District, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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STENNIS SPACE CENTER, MS – May 22, 2013 – The United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Gulf of Mexico Program Office announced the winners of the 2013 Gulf Guardian Awards. Aquatic Plants of Florida received a Certificate of Appreciation for the excellent work it does to protect the Gulf of Mexico as a “Gulf Guardian.”

A panel of ten judges using seven criteria numerically ranked gulf region, restoration projects, offering a possible score of twenty total points. The Award program seeks to recognize valuable efforts to restore, protect and sustain the Gulf of Mexico’s coastal and marine environment.

The Gulf of Mexico Program Objectives include:
1. Enhance Community Resilience
2. Environmental Education & Outreach
3. Enhance & Protect Coastal Habitat & Ecosystems
4. Improve Water Quality

A list of the 2013 Gulf Guardian Award winners can be found at: http://www.epa.gov/gmpo.

About the Gulf of Mexico Program
The Gulf of Mexico Program was initiated in 1988 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a non-regulatory program. Founded on the threefold principles of partnership, science-based information, and citizen involvement, the Gulf Program joined the Great Lakes and Chesapeake Bay Programs as flagships of the nation’s efforts to apply an adaptive management approach to large coastal freshwater and marine ecosystems. The mission of the Program is to facilitate collaborative actions to protect, maintain, and restore the health and productivity of the Gulf of Mexico in ways consistent with the economic well-being of the Region.