Shawn will be speaking about NESD's Urban Forestry Program and about grants that have been procured to hire an urban forester to evaluate Tree Removal Permits and verify mitigation plantings.  NESD has an outreach program to talk with schools, citizen groups, and homeowners associations on the value of urban forests within a communty.   Shawn will discuss NESD's partnerships with schools, provate groups, Community Redevelopment Agency, Parks and Recreation Departments, Division of Forestry, and Escambia County Extension on public plantings in parks and public lands.  He will also discuss our County Tree Restoration Funds as pertaining to reforestation projects and will discuss our Arbor Day and Earth Day events in the County.  Finally, he will demostrate a new assessment tool NESD will use to determine hazard trees within the county called a Resistograph.

Shawn Brown is an Environmental Specialist II with Escambia County Neighborhood and Environmental Services Department. He has over 9 years experience working in natural resource management, remediation and environmental education in the northwest Florida area.

Mr. Brown is a Certified Arborist by the International Society of Arboriculture and a Florida Master Gardener. He is a Florida Registered Environmental Professional and serves as the Secretary on the Board of Directors of the Florida Pollution Prevention Roundtable. He has a Bachelors Degree from the University of West Florida in Environmental Studies and has completed some graduate studies in Agriculture at the University of Florida.

Mr. Brown spends his time promoting Pollution Prevention practices as well as environmental sustainability to residents and industry throughout Florida.

"Waste Reduction Programs
in Escambia County"

Mr. Howes will present information related to the Department of Solid Waste Management’s (DSWM) Integrated Solid Waste Management Program. He will review various waste reduction and waste diversion programs available to citizens and businesses of Escambia County. The programs covered will include: residential drop-off recycling; end-of-life electronics recycling; commercial waste paper recycling; waste tire collection; yard trash processing; household hazardous waste; and, the landfill gas collection program.

Jim Howes is the Chief, Recycling Operations, working with the DSWM for the last nine years. He operates the Recovered Materials Processing Facility at the Perdido Landfill. He also manages a variety of programs, contracts, and other administrative duties. Previous to County employment, Jim retired from the U.S. Navy after 16 years of duty in the medical field specializing in environmental health services.

Jim is a Certified Recycling Manager with the Solid Waste Association of North America. He is also a certified Recycling Coordinator through the University of Florida and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. He has an Associates Degree in Environmental Health from Merritt College, a Bachelors Degree in Business from Wayland Baptist University, and has attended graduate studies at Troy State University.

"I am the Chief Operating Officer of EMI International. With blending, packaging, warehousing and distribution in Pensacola FL, Tulsa OK, Chicago IL, Pittsburgh PA, Toronto Ont, Regina SA and Edmonton AB, EMI markets and distributes TC1210 DUSTNET, internationally. DUSTNET is a liquid dust suppressant primarily for industrial markets. DUSTNET is 97% effective and proven in the industrial minerals industry, rail ways, oil industry, equestrian arenas, golf courses and in agricultural applications. EMI’s mission is to make the work place in these as well as other markets a safer, cleaner place to work. I will be talking about taking care of the air you breathe.

"COPD is a major concern for anyone who takes a breath in our city, our country, our world. In 2000, 119,000 deaths, 726,000 hospitalizations, and 1.5 million hospital emergency departments visits were caused by COPD. I will discuss what COPD is, symptoms, what causes COPD, how it can be treated, and how it can be prevented.

"In addition I will discuss the form of COPD that our company, EMI International, combats and can be as much as 97% successful in eliminating. Silicosis takes the life of over 250 workers a year. Silicosis is irreversible, however it is 100% preventable. I look forward to discussing these life threatening diseases and the way we can prevent them."

As a village planner he has earned state, national and international recognition for a variety of projects. Greg’s planning and design of the Lake Claire Community in Atlanta was recognized by AIA Georgia in 1998 for Sustainable Design. East Lake Commons, a Conservation Community in Atlanta, Georgia, won the World Habitat Award in 2000 from the British Building and Social Housing Foundation. This project initiated the first urban farm in the South reversing the trend of lose of close by farmland. Village Habitat Design also initiated the first Pedestrian Villages in the South. The Chattahoochee Hill Country Project, a 40,000 acre regional conservation master plan included three pedestrian oriented villages and preservation of 30,000 acres of agricultural land. Another project involved development of a sustainable growth strategy for the Turks and Caicos archipelago in the Caribbean.

Greg has a Bachelor of Science and Masters of Architecture from Georgia Tech, is married and has a teenage daughter. He lives with his family in Atlanta, Georgia.

"Project Greenshores; Where are we Now?"

Eric Schneider graduated from University of West Florida with a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Sciences in 2000. He began as a volunteer in 1998 with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) in the Ecosystem Restoration Section (ERS). After a short volunteer period he was hired as part time greenhouse personnel in 1999, then eventually promoted to full time greenhouse manager and field supervisor. Work in the ERS involved propagation of native vegetation to be utilized in various restoration projects throughout the Florida Panhandle. In 2001 he took a position in the FDEP Deadhead Logging Program in the Submerged Lands Environmental Resources Program (SLERP), focusing on the biology and regulation of pre-cut timber removal from state rivers. In December 2002 he took a position with SLERP as an Environmental Specialist processing wetland permits with a focus on Walton County wetland issues. In March 2004 he was selected as the Environmental Manager of ERS with an emphasis on managing Project Greenshores.

Project Greenshores is a highly visible, community based estuarine restoration project incorporating oyster reef breakwaters and elevated marsh areas to provide habitat enrichment. Project Greenshores is located in Pensacola Bay at the Northwestern end of U.S. Highway 98 (3-mile Bridge). Project Greenshores was conceptualized in 1999 and the first rock was placed in November 2001. The project is a culmination of efforts from many state agencies, corporations, civic groups, and individuals. Over $1 million in grant funding has been awarded to the project. The project has incorporated 35,000 cubic yards of sand, 14,000 tons of limestone rock, 6,000 tons of recycled concrete and 40 artificial reefs to result in Site 1. Over 300 volunteers have donated 950 hours of time and over 60 different partners have contributed to develop the project with the FDEP as the lead agency.

Site 1 has created approximately 8-acres of saltmarsh and 7-acres of oyster reef habitat. Site 2, still in the design phase, will extend from Muscogee Wharf to Seville Harbor Marina and create approximately 14-acres of saltmarsh and 13–acres of oyster reef habitat.

Project Greenshores:

        Michael Spatter

"Valuable information will be provided to enable community members to 'prepare for, prevent and cope with emergencies' which is part of the Red Cross Mission Statement. "

"Life In A Fishbowl"

Fish and other water organisms need oxygen to live. Pollutants take away the oxygen in water that these organisms need. Thus, the more pollutants there are, the less likely aquatic life will survive. A few pollutants that can be found in Florida’s surface waters are pesticides, motor oils, and fertilizer. This presentation will let children and adults see the effects pollutants and a lack of oxygen can have on fish and macroinvertebrates.

Sabra Sutton manages water resources projects for CH2M HILL. CH2M HILL is a global environmental engineering and consulting firm with operations in Northwest Florida. Ms. Sutton has over 11 years experience working with stakeholders to develop plans to address economic, social, and environmental issues. Most of her current responsibilities relate to comprehensive watershed planning and management as well helping clients implement and/or comply with public policies related to surface water quality, such as Stormwater Phase I and II Regulations and Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs). She has helped develop and implement innovative projects to pilot emerging policies and practices that focus on balancing environmental protection with economic growth, such as water quality trading and low-impact development (LID).

Ms. Sutton has a Bachelor's degree in Communications from Auburn University and a Master's degree in Public Administration from Auburn University Montgomery. She currently is pursuing her Ph.D. in Public Policy and Public Administration at Auburn University. Her doctoral research focuses on water resource policy as it relates to community and economic development issues with a specialization in policies designed to ease TMDL implementation burdens, such as water quality trading and watershed-based permitting.

She is a member of the Water Environment Federation, and she serves are Chair of the Watershed Committee for the Alabama Water Environment Association. She also is a member of the Alabama Water Resource Association.