Drainage Ditch Jewels

Snowy Egret If you walk or bike, you have time to appreciate those “jewels” of drainage ditches. Just along a short segment of Eber Road in Melbourne (Fla.), herons, egrets, ducks, sandhill cranes and a wood stork flock here.

Great Blue Heron I won’t say that water birds thrive in our “created” environment. Runoff from roads and residential and commercial lawns pollute waterways with oils, grease, metals, nitrogen and phosphorus (from fertilizers) and sediment.

Lance-Leafed arrowhead with spiderwebs Communities are taking more action. An increasing number of retention ponds in Melbourne have vegetative buffers that filter many toxic products and improve water quality. Still, numerous opportunities exist. Along NASA Boulevard, high-tech corporations could work toward environmental protection by creating shoreline buffers that reduce the amount of pollutants that enter waterways. Clean waters will attract more wildlife and make the workspace sustainable.

Crane Creek

An opportunity for more sustainable practices . . . . Note: If I have inaccurately identified flora or fauna, please let me know.