SARASOTA COUNTY – There’s a new way to learn about a range of landscaping approaches, conservation initiatives, solar options and more at UF/IFAS Extension Sarasota County: a virtual tour.

The tour consists of 19 distinct stops — with more to be added — set around the Extension complex at which visitors can use their smartphone, tablet or other web-connected device to watch a short video sharing information about the station.

“We’re excited to increase the ways residents can learn about the many demonstration areas around the Sarasota County Extension office and how they could adopt these best practices in their homes or businesses,” said Lee Hayes Byron, UF/IFAS Extension Sarasota County director.

Sarasota County Extension, as a partnership between the University of Florida and Sarasota County, has a mission to bring the science of the university to educate the community on issues important to residents and businesses. Extending that education to non-standard hours and through innovative approaches offers more opportunities for a wider audience.

The virtual tour allows anyone to explore the environmental initiatives and beautiful settings that make the Sarasota County Extension complex special. Those visiting in person can walk the Extension grounds to locate tour stops, but anyone can find and visit stations virtually using a locator map available at tiny.cc/ufsaraext_virtualtourpage.

Each tour stop is located outside the Extension building and marked with a distinct sign that features a QR code unique to that station. QR codes point to YouTube-hosted, 60- to 90-second videos, available for in-person and remote visitors alike, with information about each topic.

While each stop focuses on a single topic, the overall tour has been organized by broad themes to help navigation and to better showcase the programs and information available through Extension. Those themes, highlighted in video notes and on the overview map, include:

·        Ecology and natural resources.

·        Florida-Friendly Landscaping™.

·        Gardening.

·        Horticulture.

·        Sustainability.

·        Waste reduction.

·        Water resources.

This initiative is part of a broader effort to increase online access to educational resources, including several story maps connecting people with community and demonstration gardens, natural areas and more. They can be found at tiny.cc/ufsaraext_storymaps.

Start touring at the Extension office or via tiny.cc/ufsaraext_virtualtour. Or, visit tiny.cc/ufsaraext_virtualtourpage for more information.

Questions? Call 311 (or, 941-861-5000 outside Sarasota County) or email sarasota@ifas.ufl.edu.