I am so excited to be blogging on Patch about the Sustainable Floridians program. Sustainable Floridian is a new master volunteer program from the University of Florida Extension, and I was lucky enough to participate in the pilot program last year.

To let you know about resources in mid-to-south county, I’m going to make this first post about classes offered at the Extension in Largo and Weedon Island this fall.

This year is the 150^th anniversary of President Lincoln’s signing into law the land grant university system, which led to the Extension’s outreach programs for local communities.

The University of Florida has 67 Extension offices throughout Florida, offering programs on sustainable living, lawn and garden, families and consumers, and 4-H youth development.

Our Pinellas County Extension is located at 12520 Ulmerton Road next to Heritage Village in Largo and also holds programs at the Weedon Island Preserve Cultural and Natural History Center, 1800 Weedon Drive NE, St. Petersburg, and Booker Creek in Tarpon Springs.

Did you know that October is Energy Awareness Month? To promote public awareness, the Extension will be offering educational programs.

On Tuesday, October 16, 2012, from 1 to 2 pm, the Extension Office in Largo will offer Introducing Pinellas Energy Efficiency Project 2.0 (PEEP), a program about how we can avoid wasting energy in our homes. A bonus to this program is that attendees will go home with free equipment and materials to help cut costs and save energy.

On Saturday, October 27, 2012, from 10:00 to 11:00 am, PEEP will be also be offered at Weedon Island Preserve in St. Petersburg. You can sign up for tickets to this workshop by following the links on the Calendar.

A number of other programs will be offered at the Extension, Weedon, and other locations in the county this fall. Some of those include a September 22 presentation on the Gopher Tortoise at Weedon Island (“Gopher Tortoise: Icon of the Uplands”) and Wee-Time for pre-school children, also at Weedon (Thursday, October 11, “Good-Night Owl!” and Thursday, October 25, “Boo - The Little Brown Bat”). You may also sign up for these and other programs by navigating through the links on the Calendar.

I hope that this blog will provide information that most interests you and the Gulfport community. Please get in touch anytime to let me know the tips and topics that would interest you the most.