Eco Kids Project Spotlight- Recycled Pallet Bat House

Today’s EcoKids project spotlight comes to us compliments of the Boudreau family. EcoSRQ is always looking for innovative ways to use shipping pallets and Alex Boudreau and his girls found a great re-use project that also benefits wildlife. Their Recycled Pallet Bat House is constructed from a shipping pallet that otherwise would be discarded and end up in a landfill.

Bat houses provide important roosts for many of Florida’s 13 fantastic bat species. Bats are the most important controller of night flying insects, including mosquitoes. A single bat can eat up to 3,000 insects a night! Sadly, many bat species are disappearing from Florida. Lack of roost sites comprises the biggest threat to bats survival worldwide. For more information on backyard bat houses, including how to build your own bat house, check out the Florida Bat Conservacy.

Thanks to Alex, his wife Donna, Bailey (13), Erin (11) and Cameron (9) for sharing their great project with us….oh and for the muscle.

If you have an EcoKids project you would like to share, contact us.

Eco Eye Candy: Vertical Green Walls at the Chelsea Flower Show

This year’s Chelsea Flower Show in London featured some very cool eye candy. An absolute favorite, is the B&Q spectacular 30 foot high vertical green wall garden tower. Those of you who have been following EcoSRQ already know about our obsession with vertical gardens. This year’s Chelsea Show featured a number of beautiful vertical garden features, as well as edible green wall gardens and roof top garden displays.

Vertical Gardening Update: Mini Greenwall Installed

Previously, we highlighted a new product for greenwall installations from Woollypocket. This month we put the product to the test and installed a mini green wall in the kitchen. I have wanted a vertical garden element in the house for a long time, and I was thrilled how it turned out. I have low light in this area of the house, so I chose to use a variety of ferns and orchids which I hoped would thrive with a northern exposure. We used a base of sphagnum moss due to its light weight and ability to hold moisture. This seems to be working quite well for the plants we selected. The birdnest ferns are thriving as are the orchids. We hope to try out some orchids native to Florida in the future. We have some butterfly orchids that are just dying to be showcased.


A couple of quick tips for those readers wishing for a green wall of their very own: First, it is best to use plants that don’t drop leaves. Since my initial install, I have swapped out some of the hanging succulents for a different fern that has water requirements more similar to the other plants we utilized. Second, make sure to use the enclosed hardware that comes with your Wally pocket. The finished product can get pretty heavy.

Native Species Spotlight: Ohio Spiderwort

Ohio Spiderwort
(Tradescantia ohiensis)

Native FAC


A beautiful addition to your native landscape is Ohio Spiderwort. Don’t let the name mislead you, Ohio Spiderwort is native to Florida and is a lovely flowering plant despite is odd name. (The name “spiderwort” refers to its historical medicinal use for spider bites.)

Spiderwort has wonderful silvery grass-like foliage with brilliantly blue tri-lobed flowers. Though the flowers themselves are short-lived, blooming in the early morning and fading by afternoon, the plant will flower for a few months in early spring. Once common on wetland margins and ditchbanks, Ohio spiderwort is making a comeback in native landscapes. A native perennial plant about 2 feet in height with sprawling grassy foliage. This spiderwort prefers moist areas but will survive periods of drought. It will bloom nicely in full sun to part shade.

World Fair Trade Day- Black Gold Screening at Burns Court

Thanks to all those who turned out to see Black Gold: A Film About Coffee & Trade at Burns Court on Saturday in honor of World Fair Trade Day.  The event was sponsored by Lucuma Designs and was a great event highlighting the benefits of fair trade practices on small coffee farmers around the globe.  If you don’t already purchase fair trade coffee, you will after seeing this movie.  For more information on the film, see Black Gold the Movie

Vertical Gardening Made Easy: Cool New Product Find

Vertical gardens are all the rage, but professional installation is out of the price range of the average homeowner. Not anymore. While out and about this weekend, we came upon a cool product for modular living wall installations called the Woollypocket Wally. They can be used for indoor or outdoor installations and have a moisture barrier to protect your wall. The best part is that the price tag starts at just $40 for the single. I haven’t tried these yet, but with the reasonable price and easy installation, I may actually get to have my dream green wall after all.


The Wally can be found locally at the Sarasota Big Earth Landscape Supply (bigearthsupply.com) or online at:
http://www.woollypocket.com/wally/wally-one/

Rain Barrels

A question we get regularly from our readers is: Where can a get a rain barrel locally that isn’t going to break the bank?

Easy. Sarasota County Water Resources is offering rain barrels to residents for $37. (including the spigot assembly)

Rain barrel classes are offered throughout the year. Details can be found: Here

 

The benefits of rain barrels are many, but here are just a few:

 

-Protects our rivers, streams and bays! Water stored in your rain barrel is water that won’t rush into our rivers and out to the bay. Instead, as you use the stored rain water around the home and garden, it will absorb slowly into the ground replenishing groundwater supplies. By decreasing the volume of stormwater runoff, rain barrels also help moderate stream erosion and the resulting pollution from fertilizers and other contaminants that are impairing our waterways.

-Reduces flooding in your yard, by collecting the water and using it for watering plants or slowly releasing it and allowing it to sink into the ground.

-Provides your plants with water they will love. Unlike treated water, which is often “softened” with dissolved minerals or has added chlorine, rain water is what plants are adapted to use. Chlorine-free water also helps maintain a healthy biotic community in the soil.

-Saves money and water! Instead of water from the tap or hose, you can use the water you’ve saved to keep your home landscape happy and growing. You’ll also reduce your water bill and sewage bill!