Life Explorers Speaker Series: Howell Creek - Water, Wetlands and Wildlife

1300 South Denning Drive,Winter Park FL 32789

17 November, 2022

Description

Mead Botanical Garden Life Explorers Speaker SeriesThe Life Explorers Speaker Series will feature programs for adults interested in expanding and sharing their knowledge on a variety of environmental and cultural topics. What’s Happening With Winter Park’s Water Water, H2O, aqua…..whatever you want to call it we are spending a great deal of time these days worrying about it! On the heels of Hurricane Ian, that brought and extremely damaging and dangerous flooding to Central Florida, local water issues are foremost on our minds these days. New tropical rainstorms are popping up frequently and terms like storm surge, rain run-off, water retention, underground aquifers and wetlands management have become part of our vocabulary. If you want to know more about what is happening with water control issues in Winter Park and surrounding areas, Tim Egan, an expert on all areas of water management and conservation, is the guest speaker at Mead Botanical Garden’s Explorer Series on Thursday, November 17, 10-11:30 a.m. He will explore current water control developments and shed light on the water issues our community is facing and what options are being considered going forward. Come early for coffee and light refreshments and bring your questions for Tim during the discussion session that will follow. The program is in the Azaela Lodge and admission is free.Topic: Howel Branch Creek - Water, Wetlands and Wildlife in Winter ParkGuest speaker: Tim EganDate: Thursday, November 17th Time: 10-11:30 A.M.Location: Azaela Lodge, Mead Botanical Garden 1300 S. Denning Drive Winter Park, FLCost: FREEAbout the Guest Speaker:Tim Egan’s career in environmental management began while he was a student at the University of Central Florida (UCF) working for Dr. John Osborne on aquatic plant biomass data collection from 1982 until his graduation in 1984 with a B.S. in limnology. Over his 35+ years in the field Mr. Egan has held increasingly responsible positions working for the City of Daytona Beach, Volusia County, the consulting firm of Dyer, Riddle, Mills and Precourt, Inc. (DRMP) and the City of Winter Park. The range of work and the professional disciplines he was exposed to gave Tim a unique perspective on the function, use and management of Florida’s natural resources. Highlights of Mr. Egan’s career are listed below. A comprehensive list of experience is available.Surface water management: Implementation of water quality monitoring programs for the Halifax River, Indian River Lagoon, St. Johns River and the Winter Park Chain of Lakes.Aquatic plant management: Modernized the City of Winter Park’s exotic pest plant management program by integrating chemical, biological, mechanical and manual control methods. Herbicide use was reduced significantly by using new application methods.Wetlands restoration: Restoration of the Mead Botanical Garden wetlands by restoring natural hydroperiod function, controlling exotic vines and reforestation.Stormwater Management: Responsible for planning implementation, monitoring, and reporting required by the City of Winter Park’s NPDES permit.Listed Species Management: Endangered species surveys, permitting and/or mitigation/protection plans on numerous transportation projects for FDOT, Volusia County, Seminole County, Orange County and Sarasota County. Species included gopher tortoise, Florida scrub jay and red cockaded woodpecker.Public information/education: Created the “Winter Park Waterways” newsletter into provide city residents with information on water quality, aquatic plant management, pollution prevention and wildlife. The newsletter was sent to all Winter Park Residents from 1998 until 2018.Awards· City of Winter Park - 2009 Employee of the Year· The Florida Lake Management Society’s 2019 recipient of the Richard Coleman Aquatic Resources AwardTim is currently living in Volusia County and working on wildlife and nature photography.