Rain barrel Workshops Announced!
As part of the continuing promotion of GreenThumb Certified Nurseries, Green Living Energy Education (PersonNameGLEE), UF/IFAS/Monroe County Extension Services, The Nature Conservancy, and South Florida Water Management District unveil the second round of rain barrel workshops, at the beginning of the rainy season.
Green Thumb Certified Nurseries educate their clientele about landscaping principles that will help you create a “Keys-friendly” landscape.~ The Key Largo Beach House Garden Center, The Banyan Tree in Islamorada and Seacloud Nursery on Big Coppitt Key are nurseries that offer Keys-appropriate horticulture education and products such as Keys-friendly plants and appropriate fertilizers.~ As part of their Green Thumb certification celebration, each location will host a free rain barrel workshop for the public. In the Marathon area, there is currently no “certified Green Thumb nursery;” therefore the rain barrel workshops are co-sponsored by the Marathon Garden Club.
“Rain barrels collect rain from your roof for use on your landscape,” says Alison Higgins, Land Conservation Program Manager for The Nature Conservancy.~ “They are a perfect fit for the Keys-friendly Green Thumb Certified program because they limit stormwater runoff, conserve, and utilize rain water which is better for your plants.”~
To qualify for the free rain barrel workshop, make sure that you:
1. Have a gutter system with a downspout on your home
2. Can attend the two-hour rain barrel assembly workshops
3. Can physically transport your rain barrel home after the workshop~~~
~~~ (The rain barrel is a 55-gallon plastic drum)
4. You have not attended last year’s rain barrel workshop
5. One rain barrel per household
Each workshop will be limited to 15 people and registration is on a first come, first served basis.
Rain barrel workshop locations Date and Time
Beach House Garden Center June 2
104475 Overseas Highway, Key Largo 9 am to 11 am
Monroe County Gato Building June 5
1100 Simonton Street, Key West 2 pm to 4 pm
The Banyan Tree June 9
81197 Overseas Highway, Islamorada 9 am to 11 am
Sea Cloud Orchids and Tropicals June 12
MM 10, Big Coppitt Key 9 am to 11 am
The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Employment Opportunity Affirmative Action Employer authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, color, religion, gender, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations.
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