"Fertilize like a Floridian"... Flock of Pink Flamingoes landing in St Pete

I hope these guys are bio degradable!

A flock of 50 plastic pink flamingos will land in front of St. Petersburg City Hall on Thursday morning to urge city residents to “Fertilize Like a Floridian” to protect our lakes, bays and the Gulf of Mexico – our major source of fun!

The flamingos are ambassadors for the “Be Floridian” fertilizer education campaign sponsored by the Tampa Bay Estuary Program, Pinellas County and the cities of St Petersburg and Clearwater. Be Floridian launches this week with billboards throughout the county; print and digital ads; materials in stores that sell fertilizer; a website (www.BeFloridian.org) and a Facebook page.

The flock will fly to City Hall on Thursday to support Pinellas County’s residential fertilizer ordinance. At its 8:30 a.m. meeting Thursday, the St. Petersburg City Council will consider a resolution opposing an effort in the Florida Legislature to prevent local governments from enacting fertilizer restrictions like those adopted by St. Petersburg, Pinellas County and 37 other communities in Florida. 

The plastic flock will remain at City Hall until noon Thursday. They will be at the Pinellas County Courthouse in Clearwater on April 12, and will fly to various locations throughout the county in the next few months to reinforce their message that True Floridians never fertilize in the summer.

Pinellas County’s fertilizer ordinance – which applies throughout the county -- bans use or sale of lawn and landscape fertilizers containing nitrogen and phosphorous from June-September. That’s because heavy summer rains can wash the fertilizer granules into lakes, Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, spoiling the very reasons people move to Florida in the first place.

Outside the summer months, the ordinance requires the use and sale of fertilizers containing at least 50% of the nitrogen in a slow-release form so it feeds lawn and plants gradually with less runoff.

The “Be Floridian” campaign urges residents to design a Florida Yard that needs less water, care and chemicals, and connects people with resources to help them achieve that goal.