Keep Brevard Beautiful is on the cusp of initiating a new program designed to showcase ways to benefit the struggling Indian River Lagoon.
- Lagoon Friendly Lawns program
- Certifies businesses that use Indian River Lagoon friendly practices for fertilization, mowing and pesticides
- Program run by Keep Brevard Beautiful
Gordon Agostini runs Beach Lawn Services, cutting lawns and landscaping yards across Brevard's beach-side areas.
His business is on board with a pilot program by Keep Brevard Beautiful called Lagoon Friendly Lawns to certify businesses like his on waterway-friendly fertilization practices, mowing and applying pesticide.
"It's not just the people in the industry, homeowners play a big part of this," Agostini said.
"Really, part of the solution to it is right in our backyards. There's a lot all of us can do to address nutrient pollution," said Keep Brevard Beautiful's Allison Arteaga.
Namely, keeping the nutrient-rich fertilizer and grass clippings from washing down streets and into the river.
It's partly to blame for oxygen-soaking algae blooms that have killed fish and other wildlife.
When the blooms die after killing seagrass, they leave behind muck, which has plagued the lagoon for decades.
Homeowners can get certified through the Lagoon Friendly Lawn program too, and place these reclaimed wood signs in their yards.
"People are going to see the signs in yards and say 'how can I get involved with that?'" said Arteaga.
"Education, how we can take care of our environment better," said Agostini, who has applied for the certification.
On Tuesday, Brevard County commissioners voted to put a lagoon funding referendum on the November ballot.