4th Water Institute Symposium

This is a big week for our South Florida water resource and irrigation team, as we’ll be convening in Gainesville with state and regional water reps, experts and researchers for the 4th Water Institute Symposium at the University of Florida.

A look back
Two years ago, and almost to the day, I made the same trek to Gainesville for this event. At the time, my objective was to meet Dr. Michael Dukes and decide if his program was a good fit for me.

From 2012: You had me at cavernous lab space!

I walked the campus, attended the Symposium, met the man himself, took a slew of photos and closed by helping the strawberry harvest team in Citra. The rest, as they say, is putting in work and long days.

#RedlandRaised: taken in the Redland this winter while working with Dr. Migliaccio

Flash forward to today and I’ll be attending this year's event as a registered participant; my collaborative work with Miami-Dade’s Urban Conservation Unit (U.C.U.) and with Dr. Kati Migliaccio is stronger than ever; and three videos I produced will be playing on loop in the exhibitors area during the event.

Swords out: It's a mobile smart irrigation app for turf!

#UFWIS14
What will we all be getting up to during the Symposium?

The U.C.U.: Laura Vasquez and Jesus Lomeli

Well, coming off our most viral video to date, the U.C.U. is rolling through for the water planning and water in Extension portion of the event. They will also tour the water-use research being conducted on campus, including the Florida-friendly demonstration plot study.

Dr. Migliaccio is wearing several hats for the Symposium. First she’ll present on the smart irrigation mobile apps she helped develop – a venture that has garnered national and global interest. Then she’ll follow that with moderator duty on the Water Initiative in Extension Panel - highlighting some on-going UF/IFAS Extension water initiatives.

Cisterns and alternative water sources for irrigation? We're on the case!

Meanwhile, I’ll be working the media angle: live-tweeting for the U.C.U., taking hundreds of pictures and shooting content for a cistern video series we’re working on, as well as an IrriGators Production that hopes to answer the question: why do we irrigate?

Meet the team: a high-res version of this short will loop at the Symposium 

Stay tuned
Watch this space for a report back about the Symposium and news on all the other projects mentioned above, including the unmentioned South Florida-based Landscape Irrigation Symposium that we’ll all be participating in and is just around the corner.