Orange County Environmental Protection Division (EPD) is happy to welcome back a former Green PLACE intern, M’kenzy Link, as a staff member! EPD recently hired M’kenzy as the On-Call Senior Technician for the Green PLACE team. During her time as an intern, M’kenzy earned a B.S. in Environmental Studies at the University of Central Florida. Now that she has graduated, she is excited to continue her passion for the environment at EPD! 

On how the EPD Internship influenced her career path: My time as an intern taught me a lot about natural resource management as a whole, which gave me a better idea of what kind of future career I would want. It inspired me to want to become more involved in "big picture" sustainability.

On memorable moments at EPD: Once a year the Green PLACE team does Wetland Restoration Monitoring at the TM Econ Mitigation Bank, which involved wading through chest-deep water and swamp. It was tough but one of the most fascinating field days.

On notable projects: I have been working on developing outreach programs to spread more awareness of our Green PLACE properties, which will inspire more people to visit the beautiful conservation areas.

On advice for future interns: Job shadow as many departments as you can! It's good to figure out what you like, but more importantly what you don't like. Taking that initiative can be beneficial for present decisions, but it also allows you to make connections that can benefit you in the future. Allow yourself to meet as many different people as possible, there's always something new to learn!

Join the Orange County Environmental Protection Division for a morning of dragonfly and damselfly watching as we take a short hike around Hidden Pond Preserve. Register today! Participants will learn about dragonfly and damselfly life cycles, acrobatic aerial behaviors and the importance of conservation. Bring your binoculars, as we will be searching for these "mosquito hawks" and more, on the observation deck. Send an email for more information and to receive future class announcements.

September 18-22 is Pollution Prevention (P2) Week! Many of us grew up learning about the three R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. This year, Orange County Environmental Protection Division (EPD) would like to challenge residents and businesses to think about the first R—reduce. By making more conscious choices about products and habits, we can stop pollution at its source and make an even bigger impact protecting our environment. Investing in a reusable water bottle instead of recycling disposable bottles seems like a no-brainer. Swapping out disposable k-cups for a reusable pod for your coffee may be a less obvious alternative. EPD wants to empower residents to look at ways we can reduce pollution sources in our community. Follow Orange County at @ocfl on Instagram during P2 week for source reduction trivia, tips and tricks!

You can help make our community a more prosperous, livable and healthy place for all our citizens and guests both now and in the future. Citizen Planner Academy is a series of classes designed to promote and increase citizen engagement in sustainable decision making by developing knowledge of the planning process, and to introduce various planning disciplines. Sign up for this month’s workshop to learn the basic concepts of sustainable planning!

Orange County is proposing changes to its Wetland Conservation Areas Ordinance. The goals of these changes include identifying and protecting priority wetlands and surface waters, balancing wetland protections with property rights, making processes more streamlined, predictable and consistent, and making the ordinance easier to understand. Learn more and share a good idea or comment online.

Would you like to learn more about the Orange County Environmental Protection Division (EPD)? EPD is excited to share a variety of information about events, sustainability, the Back to Nature Wildlife Refuge, regulatory updates, lake management, water quality and more! If you would like to be included on the email list, please fill out this brief sign-up form.