by bungalow101 | Aug 28, 2024 | ALL AROUND, Random Musings
This is an eloquent article written by Jeannie Mounger, PhD, plant biologist & field applications scientist. A glossary of terms (that I had to look up!) is below the article.
I wrote the statement below for the Jonathan Dickinson group, but it’s worth sharing here. As we all know, Honeymoon Island is a fragile and shifting barrier island. Those of us who’ve spent considerable time out there throughout our lives have watched the boundaries of the island shift before us. Several of the pavilions and parking lots are currently under threat of being damaged or lost due to this erosion. And as a plant biologist who conducted a portion of my PhD work on red mangroves at Honeymoon, I’ve also witnessed the dieback of mangrove trees due to this very erosion. Some of this erosion and mangrove dieback is natural — barrier islands are dynamic places that are constantly in flux. And some of this is the result of climate change, from increasingly violent storms to sea level rise.
This is the last place that anyone should consider putting yet another impervious surface, especially the very agency tasked with its protection.
THE CLAW
I want to share a story about another golf course that was built on state-owned public lands, the University of South Florida course known as The Claw, as I think what has happened to it will serve as a warning.
The Claw was built in 1967 on approximately 130 acres which were carved from conservation lands endowed to the university, land that prior to its destruction contained a mix of now-endangered *sandhill uplands and **bottomland forests which served as a ***floodplain for Cypress Creek and the Hillsborough River. As such, the course frequently flooded, and it was difficult for a public entity like USF to financially maintain. The club’s outbuildings fell into such disrepair that they were condemned, and equipment was rented out of a storage container. Students and community members alike didn’t want to trudge through soggy holes to play on a dilapidated old course. The course was finally shuttered in 2023 following a decade of low attendance and rising management costs.
Now, the university wants to build a “micro-city” full of shopping centers and hotels on this land, which sits directly next door to the USF Forest Preserve, one of the last remaining endangered sandhill habitats in Hillsborough County. The Forest Preserve itself was almost lost to this idiotic vision in 2021, when out-of-touch administrators quietly solicited development proposals for both it and the golf course property. As a then-grad student at USF and plant biologist, I fought hard with my peers and my community to ensure the Forest Preserve’s protection, but it is threatened anew by the massive footprint proposed next door.
“PEOPLE WHO NEVER LEARNED TO VALUE NATURE”
Golf courses are shuttering around the country. Interest in the sport is at a record low. Once these fragile ecosystems like ****coastal scrub and sandhill are razed to make way for a fad or a failing sport, once they are just mounds of turfgrass and dirt, the argument for increasingly more destructive development proposals becomes increasingly legitimized in the eyes of people who never learned how to value nature.
These plans in our beautiful state parks have to end here, and we have to fight hard to repair our badly eroded environmental regulatory agencies and state laws to prevent this from ever being proposed again. Keep these amazing support networks growing. I know we can do it.
*A sandhill is also a type of ecological community, or xeric [of an environment or habitat containing little moisture; very dry.] ecosystem. Sandhills are found on the crests and slopes of rolling hills and ridges, with deep, well-drained, and nutrient poor soils.
**A bottomland is defined as a location in the landscape that periodically floods (often within a 100-year floodplain), but standing water is usually absent during the growing season.
***An area of low-lying ground adjacent to a river, formed mainly of river sediments and subject to flooding.
**** A plant community that grows on gentle hills above the ocean and is characterized by low-growing shrubs with still leaves and flexible branches.
WAIT, THERE’S MORE!
A well-maintained course has its own toxic footprint. Read about how dangerous they are for our ecosystem, for our bodies & for our future here.
It’s time to speak out against these assaults on our wild spaces. I have put together a cheat sheet of whom to contact for the current threat to our Florida parks.
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by bungalow101 | Aug 25, 2024 | ALL AROUND, Random Musings
Several years ago, one of my friends was relocating near me & I was guiding her in choosing a house to purchase. Many properties were viewed & rejected & we finally found one online that looked promising.
When we went to view it, we saw that it was across the street from a golf course. I was concerned about this, especially because she had a young daughter with a genetic, neurological condition. My friend had always been very attentive in ensuring that the home environment was kept free of toxins. She cleaned with vinegar, used fragrance free products & bought organic foods.
I suggested that she should call the golf course & ask the management for information on the chemicals they used. Their response was alarming. They told her that they employed 2 men to drive around in golf carts, 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, spraying pesticides & herbicides & fungicides. 80 hours a week of toxic spray near a residential area. Suddenly the backyard pool looking out onto the golf course didn’t look so appealing.
Below are links to articles containing information on the ecological dangers that golf courses pose to our environment. I have also included a couple articles that discuss responsible stewardship. It is my opinion that the activism stirred by the current Florida protest be continued to advocate for more thoughtful maintenance of our existing courses.
I am not an authority on toxins, hence the links so that you can read the complete articles. I am not going to give you a pre-digested summary but will include quotes from each one which I think express its vital points. There are also links to videos, most heartbreaking being the one that tells a son’s story of his father’s death. The dad had been the groundskeeper of a golf course. He died from cancer after years of exposure to pesticides, herbicides & fungicides.
I am focusing on golf courses because there is a great deal of data on the toxins that they use & of course, golf courses have the greatest area on which to use them. However, I doubt that the usage for a resort hotel would be much more comforting.
READ THESE ARTICLES & WATCH THE VIDEOS
Carolina Turf- Organic Lawn Care
Are Golf Courses Exposing You to Toxins?
“Pesticides and herbicides can have dire consequences on non-target species. Birds, amphibians, and beneficial insects can suffer from direct exposure or by consuming contaminated food sources.”
Beyond Pesticides
Pesticide Dangers at Golf Courses Much Higher in the U.S. Than in Europe, Study Finds
Defined:
Hazard Quotient (HQ): a ratio of pesticide exposure to a chemical’s toxicity. High hazard quotients indicate high risks to human health, while lower numbers indicate less risk. Such a model only captures the acute effects of pesticides, and not chronic impacts, but can nonetheless provide important data about pesticide dangers.
“The highest single HQ for a golf course was found in Florida at 40,806.” Compare Norway at 64.
VIDEOS
I have curated a handful of short videos that provide more information on environmental toxins. This playlist is varied & covers such topics as environmental destruction & potential harm to humans, both long & short terms.
Because golf is a sport that is dying, there are many abandoned courses. These dead courses are often an invitation for more development. Read about this threat here.
Please read the accompanying article about the current proposal to annihilate Florida’s parks. The article contains links to sites that provide more information & invite your easy-to-do action. Several are survey sites. I encourage you to raise your voices in defense of our parks.
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by bungalow101 | Aug 24, 2024 | ALL AROUND, Random Musings
“Because Florida state parks are just what they ought to be: numerous, unsullied, and wild. They should not be marred by big business investors looking to make a profit.”
~Jim Harper
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection wants to change 9 State Parks throughout Florida, including adding lodges, pickleboard courts & golf courses & disc golf fields. Florida already has more golf courses than any other state in the country & some of them are falling into disrepair. You can read about this plan here.
These parks provide critical habitat for many native species. This could have devastating consequences for our state environmentally, financially & culturally. How dangerous is this plan? Click here.
DO SOMETHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have put together a list of sites where you can go to get information as well as links to online surveys, petitions & people to call & email. It is important that we all DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Like, comment, share your little hearts out to keep the discussion prominent in the FB algorithm.
This page is pretty chunky. Do as much as you can. When you get tired or discouraged, think of these guys.
Please ensure that if you should speak with Park personnel, that you are extra kind & polite to them. They are not the targets here & many of their hearts are broken by this proposal. They just aren’t allowed speak about it.
1. FDEP has opened an online survey for public comments. Comment. Share the link.
2. Email your protest (politely, please) to the actual decision makers. Just tell them what you think, send to yourself & paste the list below into a BCC. (Thanks to Stephen Humphrey)
Here are their addresses.
AnastasiaSPpublicmeeting@floridadep.gov,
JonathanDickinsonSPpublicmeeting@floridadep.gov, WaltonCountySPpublicmeeting@floridadep.gov, CampHelenSPpublicmeeting@floridadep.gov,
HillsboroughRiverSPpublicmeeting@floridadep.gov, HoneymoonIslandSPpublicmeeting@floridadep.gov, Dr.VonD.MizellEulaJohnsonSPpublicmeeting@floridadep.gov,
OletaRiverSPpublicmeeting@floridadep.gov
DEP Secretary-shawn.hamilton@floridadep.gov
SIGN PETITIONS
1. Audubon Florida
They are concerned about the threat to our bird population. So am I!
2. Florida Wildlife Federation
Follow this link to voice your concerns about these proposals & the lack of public participation, to the Governor, the Secretary of FDEP, and your state representatives. They provide a customizable email to which you can add your personal connection to Florida’s State Parks. Speak out & help them understand how important this issue is to you. They want your support in the next election!
3. Change.org ~Stop the Great Outdoors Initiative: Save Florida’s State Parks from Harmful Developments
A very popular petition. Please sign it!
4. Change.org~ Protect Jonathan Dickinson State Park: stop the golf courses!
5. Change.or~ Save and Protect All 9 Florida State Parks
6. From the University of Miami’s Environmental Law Society.
Directly to the Governor.
7. Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber Petition
8. Center for Biological Diversity
Protect Endangered Species in Florida State Parks
PICK UP THE PHONE!
1.Call the Florida State Park Hotline & tell them what you think about DeSantis’ Great Outdoors Initiative, during regular business hours. 850.245.2157, option #3.
2. Division of State Lands, Office of Environmental Services
And give these folks a ringy-dingy. I’m sure that they would lo-o-o-ove to hear from you. 850.245.2555
3. Find your local representative, based on your address.
4. Don’t forget these folks:
Governor Ron DeSantis
850.717.9337
Heck, drop the good ol’ boy a line too.
Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary
Shawn Hamilton (current Secretary, as of the latest update)
850.245.2118
Mara Gambineri, Deputy Secretary for Land and Recreation
850.245.2043
FIND OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They postponed the initial meetings & as of August 27, they have not rescheduled. Here’s how you can get info on the meetings as it is released. You can also email these folks 48 hours after the meetings to publicly comment.
JonathanDickinsonSPpublicmeeting@floridadep.org
OletaRiverSPpublicmeeting@floridadep.gov
Dr.DonV.MizellEulaJohnsonSPpublicmeeting@floridadep.org
HillsboroughRiverSPpublicmeeting@floridadep.gov
CampHelenSPpublicmeeting@floridadep.gov
waltoncountySPpublicmeeting@floridadep.gov
HoneymoonIslandSPpublicmeeting@floridadep.gov
AnastasiaSPpublicmeeting@floridadep.gov
AND…
Here’s where you can access all the gory deet’s on the proposed changes for each park.
- Honeymoon Island State Park:
Proposed changes: Pickleball courts
- Hillsborough River State Park
Proposed changes: Pickleball courts and a disc golf course
- Topsail Hill Preserve State Park & Grayton Beach State Park
Proposed changes at Topsail Hill: Pickleball courts, a disc golf course, a park lodge with up to 350 rooms
Proposed changes at Grayson Beach: Pickleball courts, a disc golf course, 10 new cabins, a new restroom
4. Camp Helen State Park
Proposed changes: New cabins and/or ‘glamping’ sites
- Anastasia State Park
Proposed Changes: Pickleball courts, a disc golf course and a lodge with up to 350 rooms
- Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park
Proposed changes: Pickleball courts
8. Jonathan Dickinson State Park
Proposed changes to over 1000 acres: Two 18-hole golf courses, one 9-hole golf course, removal of Hobe Mountain Observation Tower
9. Oleta River State Park
Proposed changes: Pickleball courts and a disc golf course
FACEBOOK PAGES
Florida State Parks Foundation
Follow, comment & like. Vigorously.
Florida Wildlife Federation
Like, comment & share their posts.
FACEBOOK GROUPS
Please refrain from partisan bashing when you post or comment in these groups. There are people of each party who are opposing this initiative. We are on the same team & need to stay united.
Exploring Florida State Parks, the Real Florida
Join, post, like comment & share.
Florida Native Plant Society
Join, comment, like & share.
Florida State Park Guardians
Same deal.
Florida State Parks
And, do it again!
Protect Florida State Parks from Golf, Hotels, etc.
Yep, here too.
WHAT’S YOUR LOCAL PARK?
Protect Hillsborough River State Park
Protect Jonathan Dickinson State Park
HELP ME EXPAND THESE LISTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I know that there are more local parks’ pages, etc. This is just a quick & dirty attempt to inspire you to do something!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please let me know what I have missed.
You can start your very own nature preserve at home. Click here to find out more!
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by bungalow101 | May 8, 2024 | Preservation groups
The 2 greatest gifts my mother gave me, a love of art & an huge affinity for things old, gave me my third gift, historic preservation activism in my bungalow neighborhood. This is an article I wrote for my neighborhood association newsletter many long years ago.
HISTORIC PRESERVATION ACTIVISM IN YOUR BUNGALOW NEIGHBORHOOD
My husband & I often walk in the evening, sometimes on our block, sometimes on other blocks of bungalows. We meet many of our neighbors, walking the dog, or imploring the pink-helmeted young one to get off her scooter & come in for her bath and bedtime tale.
As we stroll, we see blue flickering lights in the windows of too many houses. We speak of decades past when life was lived, & not merely observed. It seems that every grandmother participated in improving the world around her. Some had some exceptional talents, be it baking or knitting, or growing roses & these talents were freely offered in aiding the community- women’s clubs, bake sales, school plays, garden clubs. Some worked to change the community, advocating for children’s & women’s rights. We choose to live in old neighborhoods because we wish to recapture some of the warm community spirit of those past decades.
The best thing about neighborhood activism is that you meet wonderful & talented people like yourself & you have a great time. These people are well-known & broadly loved for their contributions. They decided to do something to improve our environment & then did it. An inclusive group, their doors & hearts are open to receive you, your talents & help-whatever they may be.
Another great thing is that it creates a small town environment for you. The world becomes a less anonymous place because you see people you know at the grocery store, the post office & just driving the street. You become part of a community.
HOW TO GET STARTED IN BUNGALOW NEIGHBORHOOD HISTORIC PRESERVATION
Join your neighborhood organization. Their websites & Facebook pages should give you enough information to see what they have that could interest you. Send in your membership application & your check (Your money pays for the mailings that keep you informed of local activities & interests.) & count yourself amongst those who make a difference. Attend general meetings, & events.
Love old houses? Many bungalow neighborhood have historic preservation committees & help ensure the survival of our wonderful vintage buildings. Ours was very active & we produced many events with local & national guest speakers & even a historic documentary film about the neighborhood! Many old bungalow neighborhoods have been revitalized in the past couple of decades, turning from blighted, crime-ridden areas to beautiful streets of proud homeowners. In almost every one, this was accomplished through the intelligent & hard work of those in the association. A number of them worked with low-income families who were in danger of being uprooted, to take them out of often unsafe, derelict housing, & established improved housing for them.
Additionally, participation allows you to take ownership of a greater sphere. These grassroots activities can create effects at city, county & state levels & can actually even impact decisions made by the fed’s, such as highways built with federal funds.
OH, THE PRESERVATION POSSIBILITIES!
These images are from our first Eclectic Eagle Rock Home Tour, one of the best days of my entire life! The first one is one of the homes on the tour, the Hanson Puthoff House, a meticulously restored bungalow build by one of the foremost painters of the Plein Air Movement.
This house is truly a time machine. The kitchen is an authentic as one would find in a house museum & beautifully designed because the owners of the house are artists themselves. I had invited (cajoled, begged, pleaded, harrassed the editor of American Bungalow Magazine to the tour & they chose this house to feature in Issue 28. The tour goers were fascinated to learn the history of the house, from the life of Puthuff, through the years that it housed a sweatshop, with the workers stashed at night in the crawspace’ through the beautiful work done by the current owners. The lovely stone column with the lamp atop looks like it has always been there, but in fact was newly crafted & is featured on the cover of Jane Powell’s BUNGALOW DETAILS: EXTERIOR.
This last image shows a pair in rapt conversation. He grew up in Eagle Rock in its early years & was telling her tales of his life there as a boy. We had invited several town elders to attend the tour & people stood in line to converse with them. I curse myself that in this neighborhood of film industry professionals, I did not have the foresight to produce a historic documentary film while we still had these folks around, or at least film the tour. So glad that I was smarter several years later, in my new, bungalow neighborhood.
For neighborhoods that do not have these activities & would like them, I am working on 2 manuals- one on how to create a successful home tour, & another on how to produce a workshop to teach people how to restore their historic homes. I have helped establish these activities in 2 areas & they are very popular, (easy to do when you know how- & believe me when we first began, we were clueless & it was HARD!) Both events are good fundraisers & great for activating & uniting a community. Please contact me if you are interested in more information on either of these activities for your neighborhood.
READ THESE ARTICLES TO LEARN HOW TO START & RUN A SUCCESSFUL PRESERVATION COMMITTEE
NEIGHBORHOOD PRESERVATION COMMITTEES- BUILDING COMMUNITIES
NEIGHBORHOOD PRESERVATION COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP ACTIVITIES
PUBLIC EVENTS THAT CAN BE PRODUCED BY YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD PRESERVATION COMMITTEE
MAKING YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMITTEE WELL KNOWN
AGENDA FOR YOUR FIRST NEIGHBORHOOD PRESERVATION COMMITTEE MEETING
BASIC HISTORIC PRESERVATION GLOSSARY OF TERMS
WHAT IS A HISTORIC DESIGNATION, ANYWAY?
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by bungalow101 | May 7, 2024 | ALL AROUND, Preservation groups
“There may have been a time when preservation was about saving an old building here & there, but those days are gone. Preservation is in the business of saving communities & the values they embody.”
~Richard Moe, President, National Trust for Historic Preservation
1993-2009
I have had the honor of leading two neighborhood historic preservation committees in two different states. Moving away from these neighborhoods, I was dismayed that nobody had taken over running the committees’ activities. Foolishly, I had made the mistake of thinking that everyone knew how to chair a preservation committee, ignoring the fact that I had had incredible mentors who had guided me. From my mother teaching me about history & architecture, to the PhD archeologist who took me under his wing when I arrived in Tampa, still traumatized from the loss of the Shopping Bag Building, to the late, great Jane Powell, they taught me how to effectively DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!
In these posts on neighborhood preservation activism, I am going to download my head of all my study, all my experience, my wins, my losses, all the wisdom gifted to me by my much beloved mentors. (Sadly, many of them now gone.) Hopefully I can do this in a way that you young ‘uns will find amusing, enlightening & inspiring. Maybe useful too! I am going to speak to you at my own level of education when I decided I had shed enough tears over the destruction of old buildings, & was lucky enough to meet Jane. That story is here. (It’s just a moment of nostalgia.)
THE IMPORTANCE OF NEIGHBORHOOD HISTORIC PRESERVATION
Every neighborhood has a unique story, the social, financial & technological evolution of the people who lived there. These stories are expressed in the built environment- the houses, the businesses, the churches. You can walk down the street & be in touch with the history of the place you live. It gives my heart joy!
I came to neighborhood activism through my passion for saving our built heritage, so recently, when we discovered that the City was planning to demolish the stucco entry gates leading to our Post WWII neighborhood, due to structural safety concerns, I knew what to do.
First, it was necessary to discover the level of interest shared by the residents, so a our small, hastily assembled team performed a door-to-door survey. We were amazed at the passion that we encountered, the fists raised!
Many people have long histories with the neighborhood. Three of them, in their late 70’s, had grown up here, had been childhood friends. Their moms were great chums, chatting every day on the phone, over coffee & cigarettes (I’m sure!) The arches had been a landmark for them for decades- as tired little ones sagging in their aluminum frame car seats coming home after a too long day of errands with Mom; as kids on their bikes, venturing out into the big, wide world without their parents for the first time & later, as teens, directing their dates on where to turn to pick them up to escort them to the prom.
Surprisingly, many of most vocal are more newly arrived, myself included, & had been drawn to buying in the neighborhood by the entry arches. These lovely structures identify. They invite. They welcome. They symbolize home.
It was easy to rally this passion in a campaign to SAVE THE ARCHES & though it took much hard work, we quickly raised the funds to qualify to apply for a matching grant from the City to restore them, thereby ensuring their soundness. (Still awaiting final word, but we are hopeful!) Impressed by the neighborhood response, the threat of the wrecking ball evaporated, & this symbol of our small subdivision would be made safe & sound, preserved for the next generation.
The most wonderful part about having this common purpose, is the neighborhood spirit that has been generated. We had a yard sale to which at least 25% of the families donated. The sale itself was quite the party! Neighbors introduced themselves to neighbors & to this Boomer girl who grew up in a tightly knit, 1950’s Phoenix suburb much like this one, it felt warmly familiar.
Earlier, I had produced for my neighborhood association, a historic preservation documentary film about the establishment of a our 1920’s, bungalow neighborhood. The premier at a 1920’s, downtown extravaganza theatre was attended by 1,500 people. (Actually, it was more like 1,800. The fire department made us turn away about 300.) All the residents, both past & present, were so excited & for at least one elderly, wheelchair bound woman, it was the first time venturing out for years. I reserved special seating for all the people who had lived in the neighborhood before WWII. Theirs was a touching & festive reunion. It was the most wonderful & rewarding experience of my entire life.
SO WHAT DOES A NEIGHBORHOOD PRESERVATION COMMITTEE DO?
Its basic purposes are to:
• Educate stakeholders on the importance of preserving the cultural heritage of the neighborhood. This includes the many, strong, economic benefits.
• Teach them about the architectural history of their houses & how to restore & maintain them, as well as their commercial & religious buildings.
• Collect, organize & maintain data on the social & cultural history of the neighborhood & its individual structures.
• Provide great fellowship for those passionate about preservation, & give them a platform from which to communicate their passion & knowledge to others.
In the long run, a preservation historic committee allows a group of people who might hail from any & all parts of the globe, to share a common history which helps build community pride. This results in a more beautiful, safer, friendlier, happier, better maintained neighborhood, & incidentally, it can raise a neighborhood’s profile, resulting in higher home values. Bottom line- people love their shared neighborhood history. It binds them.
GET MORE INFORMATION ABOUT NEIGHBORHOOD HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMITTEES
PRESERVATION ACTIVISM IN YOUR BUNGALOW NEIGHBORHOOD
NEIGHBORHOOD PRESERVATION COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP ACTIVITIES
PUBLIC EVENTS THAT CAN BE PRODUCED BY YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD PRESERVATION COMMITTEE
MAKING YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMITTEE WELL KNOWN
AGENDA FOR YOUR FIRST NEIGHBORHOOD PRESERVATION COMMITTEE MEETING
BASIC HISTORIC PRESERVATION GLOSSARY OF TERMS
WHAT IS A HISTORIC DESIGNATION, ANYWAY?
The Florida Trust for Historic Preservation offers a comprehensive guide to historic preservation, appropriate for the novice as well as the more educated. I recommend that you check it out.
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