GreenTrends 2005 -
Building a Green Florida Together
Conference Web Site and Registration Available
It's time now to sign up for this years annual GreenTrends Conference & Trade Show, which is being held on May 25-27, 2005 in Sarasota, Florida. GreenTrends 2005 will focus on the specific needs of the state of Florida and serves as a forum for bringing together businesses, organizations and individuals who are interested in green building and sustainable development. It provides an opportunity to keep up-to-date on new green building related programs, projects, standards, incentives, resources, technologies, and materials. This years Conference features Keynote addresses by Allan Bedwell, Deputy Secretary of Regulatory Programs and Energy for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and Bill Gregory, Director of Sustainable Strategies for Milliken Carpets, as well as a special Awards & Recognition Banquet, and multiple breakout sessions on a variety of high interest green building & development topics.

There are a number of Events associated with GreenTrends 2005. You can find out more information on each of these by clicking on the TOUR/EVENTS button on the GreenTrends 2005 Web Site.
Dates
Wednesday, May 25, 2005 – Free Rebuild America Workshop on “Greening Affordable Housing”
Thursday & Friday, May 26 & 27, 2005 – GreenTrends 2005 Conference and Tradeshow
Friday, May 27, 2005 – Afternoon - Tours of local green facilities in the Sarasota Area
Friday Evening, May 27, 2005 – Sarasota Efest Opening Night with Keynote Speaker Ray C. Anderson, CEO Interface, Inc. – Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
Saturday, May 28, 2005 – Sarasota EFest– 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM – Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
Sunday, May 29, 2005 – Florida Green Building Open Golf Tournament at Venetian Golf & River Club – North Venice , FL
GreenTrends2005 web site

Florida Community Loan Fund & The Enterprise Foundation Team Up to Bring Green Communities™ to Florida
The Enterprise Foundation and Florida Community Loan Fund (FCLF) have entered into an alliance to help non-profit developers build “green” affordable housing in Florida that promotes health, conserves energy and natural resources, and provides easy access to jobs, schools and services. The non-profit Florida Community Loan Fund, will join the Enterprise Foundation in supplying low-cost loan capital to help stimulate the development of affordable green housing. FCLF's financing will leverage funding available through a five year, $550 million Enterprise Green Communities™ initiative to build more than 8,500 environmentally friendly affordable homes. For more information, go to www.enterprisefoundation.org for The Enterprise Foundation or www.fclf.org for the Florida Community Loan Fund.

New Grasses Introduced
Four new environmentally friendly turfgrasses were unveiled in February by officials from the University of Florida and Environmental Turf at the Golf Industry Show in Orlando. “These four new grasses were designed to replace St. Augustine on home lawns and Bermudagrass on golf courses,” said Dr. Brian Scully, professor of plant breeding & genetics at the University of Florida. Dr. Jimmy Cheek, senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources at the University of Florida said the grasses are considered environmentally friendly because they require less water for irrigation than many of the warm-season grasses currently available for lawns, golf courses and sports fields. Some of the grasses also require less fertilizer and less frequent mowing, Cheek said.
More Information