FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  July 28, 2004
CONTACT: Linda Long, (850) 245-2112

Hydroponic Sea Oats Provide Environmental Benefits

--Florida Energy Office funds water-based cultivation to restore habitat, shield beaches --

MILTON – Beneath 27 greenhouse rooftops, Florida scientists are growing hydroponic sea oats to help stabilize and protect miles of Florida shoreline from erosion. Funded by the Florida Energy Office, researchers are employing the environmentally-friendly growing technique to cultivate more than 4.5 million plants each year for habitat restoration.

“Hydroponics is revolutionizing the way environmental managers repopulate Florida’s critical natural resources,” said Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Deputy Secretary for Regulatory Programs and Energy Allan Bedwell. “This ecologically-friendly cultivation method employs few resources and reaps tremendous results.”

Cultivated without soil, hydroponic plants require a fraction of the growing space, use less water, need fewer chemicals, generate no pesticide run-off and require less energy use. Ideal growing conditions provide the perfect blend of water, nutrients and temperature to produce larger plants with more developed roots and thicker stems. After transferal to the beach, the transplanted sea oats can live for more than 80 years, protecting and securing the beachfront.

A critical part of Florida’s coastal ecosystem, sea oats act as natural sand traps and anchors for building sand dunes, protecting beach areas during storms and providing a natural habitat for wildlife. After a hurricane, it can take years for new sea oats to reach maturity and re-establish protective dunes.

In the natural environment, just one of every 10,000 sea oat seeds will germinate. When grown using hydroponics, one of every 10 seeds will develop for transplantation to the beach as a mature plant. Recognizing its contribution to habitat restoration, the Florida Energy Office this year provided $60,000 to fund the hydroponic growth of sea oats, sea grasses and other vegetation. Over the past two years, DEP partnered with Franklin County to plant 2,500 hydroponic seedlings on St. George Island and used more than a million plants to restore habitat along 8 miles of Pensacola Beach.