Happy Earth Day - 2022. Green, then silver, then Gold. Keep pushing for sustainability.

Where are we in regards to protecting our fragile ecosystem?

Do you know the approximate age of the Earth? 4.543 billion years. Yet today, 4/22/2022 is just the 52nd Earth Day celebration. ACTING on Earth Day is more than just a movie night, it is taking action and participating, doing things differently, ending (sub)Urban Sprawl. Sometimes it takes real change; more than photo ops.

A brief history of Earth Day: The April 22 Earth Day was founded by Senator Gaylord Nelson, and was first organized in 1970 to promote ecology and respect for life on the planet as well as to encourage awareness of the growing problems of air, water and soil pollution.

I am proud to have led Palmetto Bay and created more than a simple Earth Day Celebration, but set Palmetto Bay to be committed to Earth Day 24/7/365. We don’t just recognize a day, we were in big, in such a big way, that we take a full week to celebrate. We continue to involve our youth in partnership with the local schools as they are going to inherit what we leave behind.

2018 was a milestone year for Palmetto Bay as I was pleased to announce on July 20, 2018, that Palmetto Bay was certified by the FGBC as a Green City. Next stop is Silver and then Gold Certification so long as the subsequent councils continue to subscribe to the green footprints cast before them.

 

 

Participating in a python hunt to 
remove an invasive species

I remain proud of my accomplishments to date as well as my ongoing commitment to continue the vision and work to further and exceed these past accomplishments, including:

Palmetto Bay seeks to become a model community for energy savings and environmental conservation. The Municipal Center is a testament to this goal. For more information, please feel free to review the following Official Palmetto Bay webpages:

• Have You Heard? Green is the New Black!
• Palmetto Bay Green Page
  And a few of my past blog posts, including:
• May 4, 2018, Great response to our solar initiatives. Thank you to all who have participated.
• October 9, 2012, Great news. It is official. Palmetto Bay's Village Hall receives Platinum LEED certification.
• August 23, 2017, The Smart Growth Partnership - The Village of Palmetto Bay wins a smart growth award for its DUV Code.
• Also see the article posted online through the Southeast Florida Regional Compact (an organization I have sponsored participating with):  Village Hall LEED Platinum Certified Facility
• Obtaining certification of the first Green Certified municipal building in Miami-Dade County (our Parks building at Coral Reef Park).
• Solar power initiatives.  Co-sponsoring Solar Co-Ops
• Prime sponsor of permit fee waiver initiatives for Solar Panel initiative.
• Championing the efforts to purchase and preserve Thalatta Estate - working with the willing seller to buy the property through the Trust for Public Lands and Florida Communities Trust to bring this property into public ownership for all to enjoy.
• Went electronic, eliminating paper - for e-newsletters - first created e-currents and now "Your Village At Work."
• Tree City USA Designation
• Working for recognition of our green spaces as Florida-Friendly Landscapes. Note that in our Village of Parks, Coral Reef, Palmetto Bay and Perrine Wayside Dog Park were recognized on June 18, 2018. 
• I have also actively worked to support the efforts of community groups such as LivableCutler at the county and state level to halt over development. These efforts led to public acquisition of 130 acres earmarked for CERP/BBCW. My entire family have been part of the volunteer effort to restore the acquired coastal wetlands.
• Finally – I established a Palmetto Bay “Environmentalist of the Year” Award – to recognize and encourage environmental action.

Prior relevant blog posts: Some relevant posts on my personal blog include Invasive Species, creating a backyard oasis, Celestial Events: there have been many posts throughout this blog covering these topics and how they are relevant to our South Miami-Dade Communities. Please take the time to check a few out. It is all about my transparency. I am about preservation of Palmetto Bay. That means thinking differently, saving the 22 acres of the rapidly deteriorating Pine Rocklands at the Palmetto Bay Village Center.

Happy Earth Day – 2022!

Eugene Flinn