Looking for a new way to go green and save more money?  Check out Orange County's new solar incentive program for residential and commercial properties.

Summer Swimming

While that freshwater river, lake or pond looks inviting, there may be more in there than meets the eye during the hot summer months.  Look at these links and documents before you and your family dive in!

• Florida Department of Health • Dangerous Parasite in Lake and Pond Water (PDF - 101KB)
• Center for Disease Control • Parasitic Disease Information - Naegleria Infection (External Site) • Print Version (PDF - 137KB)
• Healthy Swimming Starts with You (PDF - 83KB)

DEP's new Green Travel Web site

Looking to get away without depleting your wallet, gas tanks or the environment?  With the summer travel season approaching, travel close, clean and green with 2 new FDEP (external) sites:

• Green Travel  
• Florida Green Lodging Program locator map

Enjoy ECO Saturdays at Tibet-Butler Preserve

Orange County Parks & Recreation pages

• ECO Saturdays (PDF - 155KB) • 10 AM • Free! • 407-876-6696
• Tibet-Butler Preserve
• Environmental Programs

Orange County Parks are clean, green and fun! 

Orange County has been certified a Green Local Government at the Gold level by the Florida Green Building Coalition (FGBC) - the first municipality in Florida to receive the certification at the gold level!  See how this designation was achieved (PDF - 223KB).

Learn how the County is going from Orange to Green and how you can help.

Find out about the Orange to Green Development Program for sustainable development.

Learn about Orange County's Florida Friendly Landscaping Demonstration Garden and environmental landscaping tips.

View EPD's Environmental Policy (PDF - 914KB)

Mayor Richard T. Crotty announced his Climate Change Plan for Orange County Government at the Climate Change Summit held on September 25, 2007 at the Orange County Convention Center. Both the Summit and the Climate Change Plan mark the beginning of a strategy to place Orange County in the forefront of the worldwide movement to reduce greenhouse gasses.

On Thursday, July 31st, EPD held a Public Hearing for the proposed Innovation Way: ROCC as a Brownfield (MS Word - 153KB).

• Public Hearing Presentation (PDF - 1.6MB)
• Draft Resolution (Word - 139KB)

Find out more about Brownfields by visiting the following external sites:

• Orange County's Brownfield Redevelopment Program
• FDEP - Brownfields Redevelopment Program
• US EPA - Brownfields and Land Revitalization
• Florida Brownfields Association
• Smart Growth Network - Florida Brownfields Redevelopment

August is Back to School month!  The beginning of school is a great time to start new programs to turn your school into a clean, green, learning machine!  Find out more at these external sites • Eco-Schools • EcoCycle - Green Star Schools • Green Schools Initiative • visit EPD's Education Information page for educational resources and the Growing Greener Minds teacher newsletter!

September 20 • Saturday • Volunteers Needed • Air Potato vine is an invasive plant taking over Trimble Park.  If we are able to remove these vines before they spread we can help solve the problem! • 5802 Trimble Park Road, Mt Dora, 32757 • 8:30 AM - 12 noon • Watershed Action Volunteers • WAVorange@sjrwmd.com • 407-836-1430

September 27 • Saturday • National Public Lands Day (External Site) • a hands-on volunteer effort to help improve and enhance our public lands • Registration Form (PDF - 109KB) • for more info contact WAVorange@sjrwmd.com or 407-836-1430

October 19-21 • Sunday - Tuesday • 3rd Annual Campus & Community Sustainability Conference • hosted by UCF (External Site) and the Council for Sustainable Florida (External Site) • www.sustainablefloridaconference.org (External Site)

October 22-23 • Wednesday - Thursday • 2-day LEED Workshop in conjunction with the Campus & Community Sustainability Conference (External Site) • offered through UF TREEO (University of Florida Training, Research & Education for Environmental Occupations) • space is limited, registration is required

Saturdays • Adopt-A-Tree tree giveaway (PDF - 104KB) • 8 AM - 12 noon • Orange County residents can get 2 free trees • call Orange County Extension Education for more info • 407-254-9200 • first come, first served, so arrive early

• August 16 • Clarcona Horseman's Park (District 2)
• October 18 • Tibet Butler Preserve (District 1)
• December 6 • Bithlo Community Park (District 5)

Conserving energy and decreasing pollution will help slow climate change and protect wildlife habitat worldwide.    

The Dangers of Plastic Bags (PDF - 2.07MB)

Refrigerator and freezer habits:

• Keep the freezer full (add bottles of water, if necessary)
• Cover wet food and liquids
• Lower the freezer and raise the fridge settings
• Develop quick in and out habits instead of browsing
• Clean the coils
• Replace older freezers and refrigerators with new energy efficient (External Site) models. New refrigerators consume 75% less energy than those produced in the late 1970s.
• Obtain a Free Energy Audit

Polar Bear on Thin Ice photo from Oceana: Protecting the World's Oceans (External Site)

EPA Guide to Reducing Stormwater Costs through Low Impact Strategies and Practices (PDF - 771KB)

On February 15, 2008, Orange County hosted a Low Impact Development (LID) Workshop provided by St. John's River Water Management District (SJRWMD) (External Site), FDEP and University of Florida (UF)/IFAS Extension.  Presentations from the workshop can be downloaded below in PDF format.

800 Mercy Drive, Suite 4
Orlando, FL 32808
Phone: (407) 836-1400
Fax: (407) 836-1499

The mission of the Environmental Protection Division is "serving the community by protecting the environment through education, participation, and conservation."