How to Use this Website

Our Green Your Routine website is a big read, and it’s getting bigger and changing every day. That’s because there is so much to learn about green living and so many things we can all do to make Fort Lauderdale a truly resilient city that is ready for the future. Here are a few tips for navigating the more than 500 pages of content that we offer here.

Browse by topic or by audience.

Our site is organized in two ways. You can browse the six topics by clicking on them from the Home Page or accessing them from under the Greener Government menu. Together, the six topics cover all of the challenges we face in building a sustainable future, with each one no more important than another.

You can also access a lot of this same information (and more!) by audience. You would use the menus at the top of the screen for this. Depending upon your role in our city, whether you live, work, study here or are visiting, we’ve curated the most relevant pages for you and added some customized content.

The final menu on the far right, Greener Government, provides you with information about the history of Green Your Routine, our plans, how we are organized to achieve our green goals, and provides resources for our own employees (Community Builders) and for vendors  who want to do business with us.

As each menu pops down, look to the far right. You will see photo boxes displaying features of special interest to that audience. These features will rotate throughout the year, so check back often.

The six topics and five menus, as well as the corresponding images, will take you to “landing pages.” Each page presents a series of buttons so you can choose the order in which you would like to navigate each topic. Start with what is most meaningful, useful or interesting to you! At the bottom right of each landing page, you will find shortcut links back to the six main topics.

Wherever you are, you can always click on the Green Your Routine logo to get back to the home page.

Check out the highlights.

From the Home Page, you can access seven features. First, toggle through the box in the center of the page to get News, Events and Links.

Sustainability News – Here we bring you news and press releases related to the six main topics and to our efforts to be a greener government.  The most recent three news items are shown. You can "View All" to see a complete news listing.

Green Your Routine Events – We publicize events that we sponsor or participate in. We may also raise awareness about national events related to sustainability even if we do not host a local program. Finally, we may use our calendar to provide useful seasonal reminders. The next three upcoming events are shown. You can "View All" to see our complete calendar by month.

Tool Links – Here you can access a selection of tools that we have developed including directories, blogs, and instructions like these!

Next, click on the collage to find some fun tools that will help you to get to know Fort Lauderdale better.

Green Your Routine Action Map – Click on this box to link to a mapping application (a geographic information system) where you can see sustainability happening all around our city. Each point on the map corresponds to a story. Click on these stories to be inspired, get information, or get involved, and go visit and see for yourself.

Sustainability Action Plan – This takes you to the planning document that we use to set goals and monitor progress towards a more sustainable Fort Lauderdale. The page holds the original plan, progress reports and updates.

Going Green Apps – Click on the phone image to get a list of fun apps, widgets and other technology that can help you to green your routine right here in Fort Lauderdale, in our region and beyond.

Click on the bright orange bubble to see all of the ways that you can get involved and help to spread the GYR message.

Finally, each time you log on, please check whether there are any alerts at the top of the page. Regular reminders are in green. In case of emergency, we will post important information in red. You may show or hide this information bar by clicking on the attached arrows.

Don’t know where to start? Try these search tools.

There are many ways to find what you need on our website:

• Use the search box in the upper right. It’s powered by Google Search. Just type in your key word and wait for the page listing to appear.
• Try the Green Your Routine Dictionary & Site Index. This is an alphabetic listing of sustainability terminology. Use the dictionary to find out what something means, and then click through the hyperlinks to get to a related page. You can access it from the Links Box, the Greener Government menu, from the Explore & Learn section of the footer, and from the very bottom of the footer using the "Site Index" link.
• Use the main City of Fort Lauderdale A to Z index. Our most popular searches have been added to the directory and link through directly to our GYR pages.
• Try one of our directories or maps. We are compiling directories to help neighbors get practical information. Current directories include: Waste Disposal, Trees, Garden Pests, Urban Farms and Community Gardens, B-Cycles, Electric Vehicle Charging Stations, Waste Haulers, and Charities Accepting Clothing Donations. More directories are in the works.
• Try the How to Contact Us page. If you just don’t know where to begin, this listing may point you in the right direction. It includes ways to email us for further assistance.
• Reach out to our 24-hour Customer Service online via Lauderserv or at (954) 828-8000. Representatives are familiar with our website and can assist you. You can get to Customer Service by clicking the "operator head" button in the blue bar at the top of our page, by clicking on the link in the "Connect" section of our footer, or via links throughout our site.

If you’re not even sure where to begin, try our Get Started with GYR page. Or, you can start with the five arrows on the bottom left of the footer. Here, we rotate a selection of pages that we think everyone should try. Browse these and see where they take you!

Use our website to “teleport” to other places.

We’ve designed our website to be a destination and also a portal. That means we’ve reviewed and selected the best of the best sustainability information available and have presented that to you where it is most relevant.  You will find links to websites of other government agencies, educational institutions, private research or advocacy organizations, and of course local businesses. These links are usually represented with the organizations logo and the title of the specific page on its website.

We also offer link lists for each audience, including: Helpful Links At Home, Helpful Links for Businesses, Helpful Links for Visitors, Teach Green Links, and our Going Green Apps list.

You can get to the City of Fort Lauderdale main website by clicking on the city icon in the top left corner of our website.

Watch each page for extras.

Throughout our website, you will see standardized boxes (like the one shown at right) presenting little known facts, correcting myths, recommending simple actions, offering money saving tips, and much more. Embedded to pages you will find everything from infographics, to videos, to widgets, to downloadable apps. Many of our graphics are clickable, so we encourage you to "mouse over" everything.  

The footer, fine print and extras.

Just about everything that you can get to is also available in the footer. Check out the listings under Take Action, Explore & Learn and Connect. It’s all fairly self explanatory.

Accessibility and translation information is available at the very bottom of our footer. You can also click there to check out our Website Policies, access a site map and also the Site Index (dictionary).

Just above those, you can:

Click to sign up to receive the City of Fort Lauderdale newsletter, Currents, and receive other e-notifications.

Access our interactive We Build Community website to share your great ideas for our city and to participate in our visioning and planning processes.

Let us know what you think…and what you would like to see.

We want to hear from you! There are several ways to tell us what you think about our website and to contribute to its content.

• On each page you can click the [+] Feedback button to share your comments, ask for more information or let us know if something is not right or is not working.
• Email our Webmaster to provide general comments.
• Share Your Success Story including uploading text, photos and videos. We love sharing our neighbors’ successes, and we may even use your experiences for a case study. Just follow the instructions on the form.

Help us to share our site and create a more sustainable world.

If you like our website, or just a particular page, we encourage you tell your friends, neighbors, co-workers, students and others.

• Just click on the Bookmark and Share icon at the top right corner of each page.
• Share the home page, or access city social media accounts, using the circular buttons on the right hand side of the footer. From here you can also watch FLTV.
• You are also welcome to link to our site from your own website. Please use our Green Your Routine "leaf mobius" logo as shown here, and /or the words “City of Fort Lauderdale Green Your Routine Website.” Link to the URL fortlauderdale.gov/GYR.