Rainwater Harvesting and Composting Workshops Offered on April 23rd

Pasco County has several Earth Day events going in during the month of April including the Great American Cleanup on Saturday, April 16, (see separate press release link below) and a special Earth Day event at Crews Lake Wilderness park on Saturday April 23, 2016.

The popular, annual event held at Crews Lake Wilderness Park, located at 16739 Crews Lake Drive, Spring Hill, Florida will feature a wide variety of activities to educate residents about recycling and conservation.

The UF/IFAS Pasco County Cooperative Extension Service will be offering two valuable educational workshops during the Cruise Lake event on April 23. The ‘Every Drop Counts’ Rainwater Harvesting Workshop will take place at 10:00 a.m. and the ‘Compost Happens’ Composting Workshop will take place at 1:00 p.m. Both presentations will be led by Jim Moll, Florida-Friendly Landscaping TM Program Coordinator, and these limited-attendance workshops are expected to fill up fast, so pre-registration is required.

There is a $25.00 fee for the Rainwater Harvesting Workshop, which includes workshop instruction and one rain barrel per household (limit one). For the Composting Workshop, there is a $25.00 fee, which includes workshop instruction and one composting bin per household (limit one). These popular workshops fill up fast, so residents are encouraged to make plans now. Pre-registration is required, and is done on a first-come, first-paid basis. Residents interested in participating can pre-register for the workshop at http://pasco.ifas.ufl.edu. Once on the website, click on the Events Calendar, then select the month of April, and scroll to the link for the desired workshop(s). The deadline to register is Wednesday, April 20, 2016.

Rain barrels help reduce water pollution. “A rain barrel collects and stores water that runs off people’s roofs, preventing it from running across land, picking up pollutants and washing them into Pasco’s creeks and streams. Composting is another way to help the environment, and it’s a wonderful soil additive, especially to Florida's poor, sandy soils and a great way to recycle yard trimmings and kitchen scraps” says Jim Moll, Florida-Friendly LandscapingTM Program Coordinator.

Please contact the UF/IFAS Pasco County Cooperative Extension Service Office at http://www.pascocountyfl.net/Index.aspx?NID=381, or by phone at 352.518.0156 for more information. The Pasco County Cooperative Extension Service assists Pasco County residents by delivering practical, educational programs in environmental horticulture, sustainable agriculture, 4-H and youth development, and family and consumer sciences.