Issue 26 | June 2021
Good and Green News & Updates
June is Pollinator Month - Make a Difference in Your Yard
Butterfly gardening does not only benefit butterflies. If you follow the 4 MUST HAVE’s as described in our video you'll be providing habitat for many local pollinators, and if you certify your space you help the City of Sunrise maintain our designation as a Community Wildlife Habitat through the National Wildlife Federation.

Watch the Good and Green Video Series EPISODE 1: Butterfly Gardening
A Raindrop's Journey to the Ocean Might Surprise You
River Runner is an interactive map, created by web developer Sam Lerner, that allows users to travel through US watersheds. Created with data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the map allows the user to "drop" a raindrop anywhere in the contiguous US and trace its path. A smaller inset map shows the whole route, while an information panel shows the total distance, as well as the start and finish points with the specific water bodies in between. "I really hope that what people take away from the tool, besides a fun visual experience, is how interconnected our waterways are, and the implications of that in terms of pollutants, agriculture, or water use," Sam Lerner says in Treehugger. "You probably live upstream from a lot of other people."
Southeast Florida Climate Change Indicators Updated
The Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact enlisted the support of technical experts from across the academic community, relevant agencies, and non-governmental entities to update six key indicators showing changes in the physical systems in the Southeast Florida region as a result of climate change. Indicators are scientifically-based measurements that track trends in various aspects of climate change. These data provide clear evidence of the climate change occurring in Southeast Florida, which is having significant, measurable impacts on our people, environment, and economy. 

Calling All High School Students - Register Today for CLEO's Summer Climate Action Lab
The Climate Action Lab is a FREE 10-day online summer training program held by The CLEO Institute, in partnership with the National Parks Conservation Association. It looks to educate Florida high school students on climate science and empower them to take action by exposing them to experts and professionals in the field. Through the Climate Action Lab, students will effectively transform into catalysts of change. You will learn about the role that both individual and collective climate action plays in tackling this global climate crisis.

Do you know a High School Student who lives in Sunrise?
The City Commission is looking for a student representative on the Sunrise Sustainability Advisory Board. Email sustainability@sunrisefl.gov to learn more, or apply here.

Participating in an advisory board looks great on a college application!
Pollinator Month Feature: Hummingbirds
Learn about these beautiful birds, how you can bring them to your garden, and how you can help:
  • Humming Along by Mark Wexler, for National Wildlife Federation magazine
Keystone plants are natives that are essential to our ecosystems because they support 90% of the caterpillar species that enable our terrestrial birds to reproduce. Join National Wildlife Federation's webinar on Native Keystone Plants for Wildlife on June 21st from 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM. Register here, space is limited
We're not pollen your leg!
More than 180 North American plant species depend on hummingbirds for pollination. 
One of the most fascinating things about hummingbirds is their helicopter-like flying stunts. Not only can they suspend their bodies in midair but they can also fly backward, upward, and even upside down. Hummingbirds do not hum. The sound is made by their rapid wing movements (50–200 beats per second).

To acquire enough strength to support all of this high-speed activity, hummingbirds need to consume large amounts of high-energy food. Adult hummingbirds feed primarily on nectar. Young are fed insects by their parents, but are switched to a mostly nectar diet by the time they leave the nest. One hummingbird may need nectar from hundreds of blossoms every day to maintain its body weight.
If you want to see hummingbirds in your yard, you should plant the plants that they need.
Some hummingbirds stay in south Florida year-round. There are many nectar plants native to Florida that the birds will seek out (like Firebush, and Coral honeysuckle vine). Even if you don't have a large yard, you can attract hummingbirds in a container garden. Create your own hummingbird sanctuary:

  1. Choose a variety of wildflowers and flowering plants (plant mostly native)
  2. Cluster plants in groups of 3 or more species
  3. Leave space in your plantings for growth and movement
  4. Add a bird bath with bubbling water

A hummingbird feeder can increase your opportunities to view hummingbirds from inside your house, but artificial feeders should not be the sole source of food in your yard. Artificial feeders will require cleaning to keep the sugar solutions fresh. Florida's hot weather can cause rapid bacterial growth in these feeders and birds that drink contaminated water could die. To avoid this, change the solution every 3-5 days. Clean the feeders with hot water and white vinegar. Do not use soap or chlorine bleach.

Packages of instant nectar may be found at many lawn and garden stores. You also can prepare your own solution with 1 part white, granulated, cane sugar to 4 parts water. Boil the sugar solution to help dissolve the sugar. Then allow it to cool before filling a feeder. This concentration is about the same as that in wildflower nectar. Using a sweeter solution, sugar substitutes or honey could be lethal. It also is not necessary to add red food coloring. The birds will be attracted to the red feeders.
City of Sunrise Florida logo