The Florida Earth “Platform”

Through the programs and projects that Florida Earth Foundation does and the manner in which these are carried out, the organization has created a “Platform of Education, Outreach and Discussion” that creates opportunities for people and organizations to be engaged in creating a sustainable future for Florida.  Florida Earth’s mission is “to bring people together through education, outreach and facilitation to ensure Florida’s environmental integrity and way of life.”  Being a non-advocacy organization, Florida Earth provides an “honest broker” service to Florida and brings people together by education and discussion on a foundational central theme of "stewardship" by addressing four Focal Points:

1.  Growth and Land Use – In order to have as much land as possible available for conservation and preservation for open space, Florida must develop different ways to distribute an ever increasing population base.  Key to this focal point is making population centers, whether existing or yet to be developed, denser than the current pattern that tends to promote sprawl.
2. Water – Both in quality and quantity, water will be a limiting factor for the Florida of the future.
3. Energy – Efforts to provide safe, affordable energy from many sectors is an important part of Florida’s future.  Land use becomes an issue if acreage is used to produce energy sources.  Our forests and agricultural lands have been shown to be carbon sinks that mitigate energy by-products.
4. Mobility – Florida’s future will depend, in large part, on how we go from place to place.  The next fifty years will see monumental changes in mobility and Florida has the choice in being a leader in the development of sustainable mobility systems or continuing the same path that leads to more congestion on highways and the other woes about which Floridians are becoming increasingly vocal. 

These Focal points all have huge impacts on Florida's environment and are considered in areas such as the context of global climate change.  To address these Focal Points, Florida Earth has developed and currently administers five projects and programs, all with a over-riding of theme of education first.  With over 70 partners and over 50 corporate members, the resources to available to the organization are considerable and offer a wealth of opportunity for interested parties to become engaged in learning about Florida’s natural resource science and issues. Using this approach, participants are better prepared to discuss the aspects of Florida’s future.  The five programs and projects currently are:

1.  Florida Land Use Initiative (FLUI) – From November 2006 until February 2008, Florida Earth held a series of forums, both regional and state-wide, that explored the theme of “Rural Lands, Development and the Future of Florida.”  The goal of FLUI was to help define new tools to preserve and conserve rural and/or agricultural lands, while at the same time addressing the 1000 people per day moving into the state.  All four of the Florida Earth focus points are addressed by FLUI and are a part of the educational piece and discussion that occured during the forums and the subsequent reports delivered to the Century Commission for a Sustainable Florida, which was the receiving body for FLUI products and data. 
2. The Blue-Green Project – The Florida Council of 100, the governor’s business advisory organization, asked Florida Earth to put together a process by which they could have meaningful discussions with the environmental community and find commonalities on which they could work together for the future of Florida.  That process was begun on August 24^th and 25^th, with the first Blue-Green convening focusing on Focal Point One, Growth Stewardship.  The Blue Team (Council of 100) included John Zumwalt of PBS&J, Jeff Lyash of Progress Energy, Peter Rummel of the St. Joe Company and others.  The Green Team was headed by Andy McLeod of the Trust for Public Lands, and included Jeff Danter of the Nature Conservancy, Manly Fuller of the Florida Wildlife Federation, Clay Henderson of Florida Audubon, Charles Pattison of 1000 Friends of Florida and others.  The report from this first session in the project will be delivered directly to Governor Crist and DCA Secretary Pelham.  As a result of this first session Florida Earth has been asked to continue and expand participation in the discussion of land preservation, especially with respect to private lands, as an assistance to the Senate Committee for Environmental Preservation and Conservation in their writing of the Florida Forever Extension Act.
3. The UNESCO-IHE/Florida Earth Partnership is the only permanent program between Florida and the United Nations.  Its three components are:
1. The UNESCO-IHE/FEF Student Program – The Institute for Water Education (IHE), located in Delft, Holland, is one of the premier international universities that awards graduate degrees to developing country students studying water-related disciplines.  Florida Earth brings IHE students to the United States to study technology developed here so that they can take knowledge back to their home countries to solve their water problems.  This program cover all four Florida Earth Focal Points.
2. The Florida Water Managers’ Short Course – As a reciprocal guesture by the United Nations, Florida Earth leads a delegation of interested individuals to Holland to participate in a week long course investigating the world’s most sophisticated water management system. 
3. The Florida/Holland Connection – In the process of being developed, this program is a type of “sister cities” program, except being between a state and a nation.  The Four Focal Points are the themes of this program which involves the Dutch government, Florida government, universities on both sides of the Atlantic and the private sector in both areas.
4. The Florida Earth Project (FEP) – This is the original education program that was the genesis of Florida Earth, originally an initiative of the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) at the University of Florida.  In conjunction with IFAS, Florida Earth continues the same five two-day modules that bring experts together to teach to the public science and policy in the natural resources arena.  Over 100 instructors who come from universities, agencies, industries and NGO’s contribute to curriculum and participate in teaching.  Each module is done once a year in various location throughout Florida and are done about six to eight weeks apart:
1. An Introductory Survey of South Florida – An overview of what South Florida is from a variety of disciplines including geography, geology, demographics, government structure, economics and development.
2. Natural Systems – Done at Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge and Everglades National Park, this module looks at ecosystems firsthand.  Participants get to experience these systems through listening to experts describe their research work and through excursions both on foot and in airboats see those systems.
3. Water Quality and Quantity – As with every module, this one brings experts from academia, agencies and the private sector together to talk about the science and policy of water.
4. The Role of Agriculture in Florida – Considered a favorite of many participants this module explores Florida’s agriculture by looking at seven commodity groups grown in the region.  This module is held in Belle Glade and the Everglades Agricultural Area.
5. Restoration Update Forum – This last module is a summary of progress made by South Florida Water Management District and the US Army Corps of Engineers on the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Project (CERP).  It also addresses what is in store for the next twelve months as the program progresses.
5. The Florida Earth Journal – A 400-page compendium of information closely tied to the five modules taught in the Florida Earth Project.  With a preface by the Governor seated at the time of publication, the Journal is used as a textbook in four secondary school programs and four universities as well as FEP.  All four Focal Points are covered in the Journal as well as a wealth of information on a variety of natural resource subjects.