Green Industries Best Management Practices (GI-BMP) Training

Florida and Sarasota County both require a license of commercial fertilizer applicators, and a Green Industries Best Management Practices certificate is the prerequisite; this UF/IFAS Extension Sarasota County class leads to it. Held at the Extension's Twin Lakes Park campus, the course covers best practices for lawn, landscape, pest-control and public-grounds work, aimed at keeping fertilizer and pesticide runoff out of Florida's waters. It ends with a pencil-and-paper exam graded at the University of Florida's GI-BMP office; 75 percent or better earns the certificate. Those who only need continuing-education credit can skip the exam, and in many places certification is a condition of bidding on commercial jobs.