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.

Turn down for what? A 2013 recap!

This past year has been quite a ride for me. It marked my 11th year employed with the University of Florida, my 6th year collaborating with Miami-Dade’s Urban Conservation Unit (U.C.U.), and my first year of working in the verdant environs of Gainesville, FL.

Getting that drip line B-roll in South Beach tho!

More importantly, however, and the motivation behind this blog entry, is that 2013 saw several efforts and projects come to fruition, and as we move forward, this work can only continue to grow in scope and ambition.

Conferences and symposiums
2013 was definitely a year for meeting and sharing with colleagues. Locally, when she wasn't developing awesome mobile smart irrigation apps, our own Dr. Kati Migliaccio helped spearhead the creation of the South Florida Landscape Irrigation Symposium.

Dr. Kati Migliaccio and Dr. Michael Dukes in conference in Fort Lauderdale

The symposium is a collaborative enterprise among UF/IFAS Extension experts in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties, and a private CEU-issuing agency. This year the event convened in the spring and fall in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach respectively. For spring 2014, Miami-Dade will serve as host on May 1st - mark those calendars!

U.C.U. technician Jesus Lomeli holds court in West Palm Beach

When I wasn’t doing visual media work at these symposiums, I was doing visual media work at national conferences! This year I had the unexpected opportunity to attend both the WaterSmart Innovations Conference and the Irrigation Show and Education Conference.

Shooting in November for January: Brent Mecham and I in Austin, TX.

Will I make it out to these inspiring events again next year? I have no idea, but have camera will travel!

U.C.U., baby!

This video cracks me up. Nobody makes "save water" videos like @miamiUCU > Saving water is easy - we can help!: http://t.co/ji5aIgZo
— Martha Golea (@MarGoH2O) January 12, 2013

If the info-tainment genre exists in educational videos, this year the U.C.U. helped push it forward for irrigation. We produced no less than 13 short videos in 2013 – some micro, some straight-laced and some deliciously absurd, all of them, however, focused on informing, engaging and communicating about our interest and excitement in what we do out here on the daily: water conservation.

Often we generate our own content, but sometimes we work with others: what up Telemundo!

If you enjoy our work, strap in tight because we’ve only just begun. See the team's unanimous favorite selection from 2013 here or below.

My work in Gainesville saw the birth of IrriGators Productions this year. Enjoyed by students, faculty and deans alike, thus far I’ve shot shorts about all our on-going projects and the massive Florida-friendly demonstration plot study inaugurated in the fall. For 2014, we'll focus on irrigation training videos for Extension Agents, and as I am involved, the primary objective with these pieces will be to educate while not contributing to the “dry-as-dust” canon. Will we succeed? Stay tuned!

Shooting for the IrriGators with Dr. Migliaccio at TREC

Get social!
I cannot recap 2013 without addressing social media. Social media was the topic of the blog entry I enjoyed writing the most this year, and it was at the root of some of my favorite work in 2013. Why? Well, it's invaluable as a platform for distributing content (like our videos and field images) and it's a proven means for networking and relationship building.

A social hero candid: Martha Golea and Richard Restuccia in Austin, TX.

When I arrived in Las Vegas and Austin this year, most of the groundwork for our video projects there had already been laid thanks to twitter. That said, I cannot mention twitter without shouting out #landscapechat.

The U.C.U.: Laura Vasquez and Jesus Lomeli moments before the national spotlight in August

In August, the U.C.U. had the unexpected pleasure of being guests on this national twitter chat to discuss water-use efficiency, water conservation and healthy landscapes, and yes, we crushed it! Follow us now because 2014 promises even more fun in the twitterverse.

This is how you win

Courtesy Gainesville Sun: circa Sept. 2013

At the time of this writing I’ve been in South Florida for 8 days and the work has been non-stop. If you follow us on twitter you already know!

Four years later this underground cistern is slated for tapping as an irrigation source in 2014!

The projects we’re developing now will release in the months ahead as we build on this year’s efforts and continue with our work in the world of water management, conservation and efficiency. 2014 let's go!

Smart irrigation in your pocket!

I recently produced a video for Miami-Dade’s Urban Conservation Unit (U.C.U.). This short piece introduces one of three recently released mobile device apps developed by our own Dr. Kati Migliaccio et al.

Out here in these streets

The U.C.U.'s Jesus Lomeli: just another day at the office 

Working with urban landscape irrigation systems in Miami-Dade at the residential, commercial and homeowner association (HOA) level allows for some insight into our area’s tendencies and practices. First, turf is everywhere.

The rolling hills of South Florida

Second, where the nearby ocean is not a factor, groundwater from a pump is the irrigation method of choice.

The exception: a well-water system with a digital on-site weather-based timer

And third, among both well and potable water systems alike, mechanical timers and indexing valves remain popular.

Hydro-indexing valve: neither smart, nor aesthetically pleasing

So when the U.C.U. gears up every morning to evaluate sprinkler systems, note ghastly design and maintenance, and spread the word about water-use efficiency, this is the context in which we operate.

Indeed: five mechanical timers water a high-rise in Key Biscayne

And generally the message boils down to recommending homeowners and/or managers upgrade to a digital system to usurp control of their irrigation run times, and where possible, install smart irrigation technology - digital control enhanced by a soil moisture sensor or on-site weather sensor.

Doing work: a wireless soil moisture sensor in action

Enter the app

The SmartIrrigation Turf app allows users to water their turf landscape as if a weather-based timer is operating their irrigation system. How? It combines irrigation system inputs like system location and zone soil and sprinkler head type with real-time local weather information to generate watering recommendations. Did I mention it’s free?

Tested and approved

I’ve been testing this app since early summer. I set up the Landscape Unit research plots (a site in Gainesville with rotors, drip line and multi-stream nozzles) as a system, and the app never fails to send me recommendations to increase/decrease run times, or warn me when rain is likely.

In fact, ryegrass was just planted there this week to add some color over winter and I’ll be relying on the app to alert me to turn off the turf establishment watering program when rain is afoot.

Practical and effective

For our ends, this smart turf app will prove invaluable as a teaching tool for clients still on the fence about going digital or smart with their irrigation systems. Almost everyone today, from children to grandparents, is well-versed with engaging media on mobile devices.


Jesus schools a tech

An app that can simplify the same technology used in smart irrigation timers and successfully communicate with users through a medium they value and understand can only help in our mission to promote outdoor water-use efficiency and water conservation.

See the video here or below, then learn more about the SmartIrrigation Turf app here. 

Now available for free at both the Android and iOs app stores!

West Palm Beach & Las Vegas!

October 2013 promises to be an eventful month in urban landscape irrigation for our group in South Florida.

Back for fall
On October 3^rd UF/IFAS Extensions from Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties are joining forces once again for a day of information sharing and product demonstrations at the fall edition of the South Florida Landscape Irrigation Symposium.

SFLIS in April: Standing room only!

If you were fortunate enough to attend last spring’s sold out event, you know it was teeming with property managers, municipal workers, and technicians, and that it showcased seven vendor booths with reps answering questions and sometimes giving away product samples.

Experts also presented about smart irrigation technology, low-maintenance landscaping and irrigation basics. You can watch the video above and relive the magic, or register for October to experience it live!

Dr. Migliaccio on the mic in April

Our very own Dr. Kati Migliaccio will be presenting at the upcoming symposium, informing on all things smart, including a smart turf app for mobile devices she has developed that is about to take the marketplace by storm.

They still make those? U.C.U. tech Jesus Lomeli evaluates a potable system

Miami-Dade’s Urban Conservation Unit (U.C.U.) will also be in attendance. And of course cameras will be rolling for a video project filming in different corners of the U.S. at the same time.

UF/IFAS Extension: Solutions for your life!

The fall edition of the South Florida Landscape Irrigation Symposium takes place in West Palm Beach. The complete agenda can be found here. Register now!

WaterSmart!

This month to celebrate Labor Day one of the largest landscape management firms in the country recommended several videos to its web audience for engaging leisure viewing. The list included shorts from several western U.S. water utilities and a U.C.U. production!

I mention this because those utilities we were grouped with are some of my water heroes – developing successful conservation initiatives and promotional campaigns in the context of severe droughts. During the first week of October, I’ll be attending the 2013 WaterSmart Innovations Conference (WSI) in Las Vegas, Nevada, and meeting them all.

WSI is the premier west coast water event uniting vendors, utilities, non-profit organizations and academics. Attendees will include many forward-thinking municipalities whose water conservation programs have not only changed the way homeowners think about landscapes and conservation, but also resulted in significant water savings. There are hundreds of presentations planned over several days, including those of UF graduate students Stacia Davis and Mackenzie Boyer.

EXT. DAY - EL PORTAL VILLAGE: Michael Gutierrez doing work!

While at WSI, I’ll be representing for the U.C.U., taking hundreds of pictures, filming for a future video, and live-tweeting my fingers off! Stay tuned to this space for report backs from both events!