Filmed in June and July, the documentaries highlight Damon Moore from Oyster River Ecology (ORE), Dr. Jake Lasala from Mote Marine Laboratory鈥檚 Sea Turtle Conservation team, and Dr. Charles Reith from Suncoast Urban Reforesters.

Students and faculty were inspired to create this summer program after the success of a similar INDEX project in Spring 2024. In April and May, students initially made three films in partnership with the Longboat Key Rotary Club featuring Save Our Seabirds, the Longboat Key Turtle Watch, and the Sister Keys conservation project. The filmmakers鈥� work generated buzz in the community.

鈥淎ll these other organizations saw what we were doing and wanted to work with the students, too,鈥� said Patrick Alexander, Interim Department Head for the Film program at 红杏视频. Alexander pitched the summer internship to his wife, Alison, who runs Alexander Film Agency. 

鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to change with the times,鈥� said Alexander. 鈥淚 want to start doing more documentary work. It鈥檚 a high time to be a documentary filmmaker. There鈥檚 a market for your films. I look on the landing pages for Netflix and I just scroll down鈥攖here鈥檚 all these documentaries.鈥� 

Unlike narrative filmmaking shoots, which often rely on teams of 20 or 30 people and loads of heavy equipment, these documentary projects are smaller and more agile, while tackling challenging locations.

鈥淲e had to do tech scout on boats,鈥� said Alexander, describing the ORE filming. 鈥淲e had to figure out how to film on the water, and under the water, and we were trying to figure out how to keep our equipment dry. Our students have been learning how to snorkel and film at the same time.鈥� 

Together the Alexanders have been overseeing the projects and consulting with both the filmmakers and the organizations being featured, but the work is being done entirely by the students. 

鈥淲e are not directing these,鈥� said Patrick. 鈥淭he students are directing them. They鈥檙e the creative forces behind them. They lean on us when they need us, but it really is their game. And they鈥檙e doing a fantastic job.鈥�

Marketing, promotion, and exhibition for all six eco-hero documentaries will be a class project during the upcoming semester for students in the Branded Entertainment tract. An on-campus screening is also being planned for November.

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The recent graduate, who will attend 红杏视频 in the fall, illustrated a colorful scene of Florida-friendly landscaping with the message, 鈥淯se drought-resistant plants.鈥� Moss rose, catmint, and lantana flowers are all clearly labeled and bring vibrant colors to the leafy green background. The artwork pops against the vans鈥� water-blue coloring.

Each year, Manatee County Utilities invites K-12 students to submit entries for the FSAWWA DropSavers Water Conservation Contest. Roeterdink鈥檚 entry was entered in the 2023 contest and is one of four student works (two from Parrish Community High and two from Rowlett Middle Academy) chosen to adorn the county鈥檚 two Water Lab vans. 

鈥淐hloe鈥檚 poster submission art was not only beautiful and showed amazing talent, but it conveyed the message we are seeking,鈥� said Tina Moutoux of the Manatee County Administration office. 鈥淓stablished Florida-friendly landscaping drastically reduces the need for any irrigation鈥攁nd can create very beautiful landscapes that require little to no maintenance, which Chloe captured in her submission in 2023.鈥�

Those newly wrapped vans, which will be in the community daily to promote water conservation, made their debut in April 2024 with surprise appearances at the winners鈥� schools. Moutoux said that administrators hope to wrap additional county vehicles in the future.

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Among the building鈥檚 green components are 150 rooftop solar panels providing renewable energy, and in-house coolers providing chilled water for the HVAC system. Cunniffe Commons also employs state-of-the-art ORCA waste technology, which uses bacteria to break down food waste, mimicking a whale鈥檚 stomach.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the most widely accepted international system for guiding and rating environmentally beneficial building practices. Only two other campus facilities, the Larry R. Thompson Academic Center and Ann and Alfred Goldstein Hall, have earned LEED Gold. Three other 红杏视频 buildings鈥擜lfred R. Goldstein Library, Richard and Barbara Basch Visual Arts Center, and Greensboro Hall鈥攈ave been certified LEED Silver, and Bridge Apartments are also LEED certified.

In addition to its construction and renovation projects, 红杏视频鈥檚 commitment to sustainability includes a number of ongoing programs and practices, like campus-wide recycling and the Green Ambassadors student club. The Princeton Review also named 红杏视频 to its , which recognized 522 environmentally responsible schools around the US. 

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红杏视频 is dedicated to working towards sustainability and having a green campus. Every new building has the goal of becoming LEED Certified, growing the list of buildings that can already claim the certification: the Larry R. Thompson Academic Center, Alfred R. Goldstein Library, the Richard and Barbara Basch Visual Arts Center, Bridge Apartments and Greensboro Hall, and our new dining facility Cunniffe Commons. The dining hall houses 150 solar panels on its roof and in-house coolers for chilled water. It also employs state-of-the-art waste technology that breaks down food waste using a bacteria that mirrors a whale鈥檚 stomach鈥攊nspiring its name, the Orca. 

The College鈥檚 Facilities department is currently overhauling our network of collection bins around campus and adding several locations to increase the ease of contributing to the Ringling recycling program. 

In addition to the recycling program, they have several other projects in the works, led by Energy and Sustainability Manager Ian Shannon, including expanding the number of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations around campus, expanding ice storage at our chilled water plant, LED light replacement, and converting buildings to smart air conditioning and energy recovery ventilation (ERV), which uses less energy and is designed to address the sick building syndrome when buildings are sealed too well.

At the end of last year, the College submitted information to the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System (STARS) for rating, which should be announced in March 2024.  

Since his arrival as Grounds Maintenance Supervisor, Devin Riles, who heads all of the landscape initiatives, has primarily been concentrating on cleaning up an overgrowth of trees, shrubs, and debris after two hurricanes and COVID-19 closures. Almost 120 trees were lost between the College鈥檚 Main Campus, Sarasota Art Museum and the Museum Campus, and the Englewood Art Center. As the team addresses the tree loss, they are integrating a new tree software system from PlanIT Geo to help track what is left and any new additions that they plant. Arborists from the Arbor Day Foundation鈥檚 Tree Campus Higher Education have been invited to review and rate the campus trees for health, size, and quantity, and to be included on their map of U.S. colleges recognized as tree campuses.

Facilities and Ground Maintenance have also been working with Phillip J. Smith of David W. Johnston Associates, Inc. Architects on plant selections that are low maintenance and follow the University of Florida鈥檚 Florida-Friendly Landscaping program for the landscape of new buildings and parking lots. The nine principles of the program are to find the right plant for the right place, water efficiently, fertilize appropriately, mulch, attract wildlife, manage yard pests responsibly, recycle yard waste, reduce stormwater runoff, and protect the waterfront. 

One of Rile鈥檚 main goals has been to develop an irrigation master plan to efficiently water plants across the campus. They have hired a team of aqua engineers to assess the grounds and put together a proposal. Riles is currently setting up 22 individual irrigation controllers with web-based service that allows users to control irrigation via any internet-connected smartphone or tablet.

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