Agenda   

23rd Annual Florida Native Plant Society Conference—April 19-22, 2007

Up to 4 CEU credits per day can be earned at conference program. A full registration for Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday can provide 16 CEU credits

Thursday April 19 and Sunday April 22 will be dedicated to field trips and workshops. Some field trips will be going to a variety of natural areas led by knowledgeable naturalists. Other field trips will focus on native landscaping and native nurseries. A variety of workshops will also be offered on Thursday and Sunday. CEU's will be offered for landscapers, arborists, and herbicide applicators.

Friday April 20 and Saturday April 22 will focus on the meeting program. Each morning will start with a keynote speaker, followed by breakout sessions or panel discussions. The speakers will discuss a wide range of topics including: native landscaping, plant conservation, plant identification, native landscape design, conservation land acquisition, conservation land management, exotic pest plant control, and community involvement.

Friday and Saturday also feature fun activities including an extensive native plant sale (with landscaping advice available from the Master Gardeners), a silent auction, and a vendor room offering books, art and landscaping services. Many non-profits and government agencies will have displays and educational handouts available. Because of the conference's location near the UF campus, a variety of self-guided tours of campus and the natural areas teaching unit are available anytime you need to go get some fresh air. The hotel is within walking distance of the Florida Museum of Natural History and its Butterfly Rainforest exhibit.

Business of the Florida Native Plant Society is also conducted, including a general membership meeting, handing out our landscape awards, and frantic sub-committee work conducted by people who often only meet face to face once a year at the conference.

Finally, social events will be available Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Thursday's social will be a low-key event around the pool for people staying in the Hilton. Friday night's event will be held at the Florida Museum of Natural History, and will include an author book-signing and the annual plant identification contest. The museum is within walking distance of the hotel. Saturday night's event is the annual banquet which will be held in the new modern art wing of the Harn Museum, also within walking distance of the hotel. If the banquet is sold out, the UF opera troupe is performing La Traviata at the Phillips Center.

For more information about what to do in Gainesville, go to: Visit Gainesville

Agenda At-A-Glance

Wednesday, April 18, 2007
4:30 - 9:00PM Registration
Thursday, April 19, 2007
6:30AM - 6 :00PM Registration
7:30AM - 5:00PM Field Trips more...
8:00AM - 5:00PM Workshops more...
5:00 - 7:00PM BOD Meeting
6:00 - 7:30PM Welcome Reception more...
Friday, April 20, 2007
7:00AM - 6 :00PM Registration
8:00 - 9 :30AM Plenary Session more...
11:30AM – 1:00PM Lunch on Your Own
1:00– 3:00PM Breakout Sessions more...
3:30– 5:00PM Breakout Sessions more...
9:00AM– 6:00PM Vendor, Plant Sale & Silent Auction more...
6:00 PM – 8:00PM Social at Florida Museum of Natural Hisotry, Author Book Signing more...
Saturday, April 21, 2007
7:00AM - 6 :00PM Registration
8:00 - 9 :30AM Plenary Session more...
10:30AM - 12:00 General Membership Meeting
12:00 - 1:00PM Lunch
1:00– 3:00PM Breakout Sessions more...
3:30– 5:00PM Breakout Sessions more...
9:00AM– 6:00PM Vendor, Plant Sale & Silent Auction more...
6:00 PM – 9:00 PM Banquet at Harn Museum more...
Sunday, April 22, 2007
7:00AM – 12:00PM Registration
7:45AM – 2:00PM Field Trips & Workshops more...
8:30AM – noon Forum for Chapter Presidents and Representatives followed by a Special Field Trip

Agenda Details

Workshops and speaker programs qualify for FNGLA CEU's for landscapers, arborists, and herbicide applicators.

Thursday Workshops

Workshop Descriptions for Thursday, April 19, 2007

W-1   8:00 am-Noon   Birdscaping your Yard
Bubba Scales, Co-owner Wild Birds Unlimited, Gainesville
Limit:   15
Workshop duration:  1.5 hr indoors; 2 hr outdoors  (carpooling to Lake Alice on UF campus)  

Your native plant landscape can benefit from a birdwatcher’s makeover.  In the first part of this workshop, participants will discuss concepts in bird friendly native plant gardening and landscaping with an emphasis on nest box specifications for many of Florida’s backyard birds from Carolina Wren to Purple Martin.  In the second part, participants will seek to observe many of those same species in the field at nearby Lake Alice with an emphasis on identifying birds by ear and interpreting behavior. 

W-2   8:00 am – 1:00 pm   Spiranthes Field Workshop in Goethe State Forest
Paul Martin Brown, Noted Author and Orchid Taxonomist
Limit:   10
Workshop duration:   1 hr drive each way (carpooling), 3 hr workshop

Although the delicate flowers of ladies'-tresses, genus Spiranthes, are easily recognized, identification to species can be difficult.  For orchid enthusiasts this workshop is your opportunity to learn from renowned orchid expert Paul Martin Brown how to identify spring-flowering species of Spiranthes in Central Florida.  Small class size will facilitate one-on-one instruction from Paul.  Paul has spent 9 years working with the wild orchids of Goethe State Forest.  He has authored 'Wild Orchids of Florida' and 8 other regional field guides, and is editor for the 'North American Native Orchid Journal.'   Enjoy the beauty of some of the largest tracts of contiguous, old-growth pine flatwoods in Florida as you look for six species of flowering Spiranthes; including brevilabris, floridana, eatonii, praecox, sylvatica, and vernalis.  Other orchid species, such as grass-pinks Calopogon multiflorus and C. barbatus, and Rose pogonia Pogonia ophioglossoides, may be seen.   Participants will be given a copy of Paul's 'Key to the Genus Spiranthes of Central Florida.'  Bring your binoculars, because Goethe also has one of the largest red-cockaded woodpecker populations on public lands in Florida. 

W-3   9:00 am-Noon  Invasive Exotic Pest Plant Management
Erick Smith, University of Florida 

Learn how to develop a plan to control exotic invasive plants. We will visit an invaded urban site, collect field data, and then return to the Hilton to outline the basics of a management plan.

W-4   10:00 am-Noon  Planting and Establishment of Young Trees
Earline Lurhman, City of Gainesville, Florida Urban Forestry Inspector.

Earline will discuss placing new trees in the landscape and how to plant, water and establish young trees.  The group will then move to Archer Road in Gainesville and plant several trees in honor of Earth Day. The City of Gainesville Arborist, Tree Advisory Board, Florida Urban Forestry Council, and Mayor of Gainesville will be at the tree planting.

W-5   10:00 am-2:00 pm   Stormwater Pond Design for Wildlife
Dr. Mark Clark, Extension Specialist in Wetlands and Water Quality, University of Florida Soil and Water Science Department
Co-presenter Fritzi Olson, Executive Director, Adopt-A-River.

Dr. Mark Clark of IFAS will conduct the workshop to teach methods that address the problem of nutrient loading in our waterways.  The workshop is designed to teach these new methods to agency staff, landscapers, homeowners, and others whose work involves storm-water ponds in some manner.  Please join us in learning better ways to manage and design stormwater ponds.  Our goal needs to be a “no net nutrient increase” policy in our stormwater practices in addition to the past emphasis on “no net volume increase.”  The workshop will have both a classroom component and hands-on activity.

W-6   9:00 am-4:00 pm   Small Landowner Restoration Techniques
Dave Conser, Florida Division of Forestry, Alachua County Extension Forester.

Dave will explore techniques for planting longleaf pine for habitat improvement and income.

W-7   2:00 pm-5:00 pm    Two Topics at University of Florida Environmental Landscape Horticulture Education Lab
Efficient Irrigation and Plant Establishment
Wendy Wilbur, Alachua County Environmental Horticulture Extension Agent.  1 hour
Preservation and Restoration of Urban Trees
Dr. Ed Gilman, Professor, Urban Trees and Landscape Plants, Environmental Horticulture Dept., University of Florida

This 2- hour walking tour will showcase recent experiments on tree production, root and top pruning techniques and weather resistance models.

W-8   1:00 pm-3:00pm    Plant ID:  Common Lawn and Garden Weeds
David Hall, Environmental and Forensic Consultant
Limit 25 people;  Pre-registration required

Florida has “weeds” that take advantage of every climatic change, soil type and landscape opening.  Do these weeks have any value?  Dr. Hall will help you identify the most common “weeds” that seem to occur year after year in our gardens and yards.

Breakout Sessions • Friday April 20, 2007

10:00 am-11:30 am

Conservation by Yards - Homeowner

Wild Orchids of Central Florida State Forests: Goethe, Perry and Jennings
Paul Martin Brown, Noted Author and Orchid Taxonomist

Edible and Medicinal Plants of Florida in April
Susan Marynowski, Pandion Systems, Inc.

Conservation by Miles - Environmental

Water Level Decline in the Appalachicola River and Effects on Flood Plain Forests
Helen Light, US Geological Survey Scientist

Land Conservation and Springs Protection: Recent Achievements, Big Challenges
Fay Baird, Senior Hydrologist, Pandion Systems, Inc.

Science Track: Speakers TBA

Workshop: Panel Discussion: The Role of Private Land Trusts in Conservation.
Members of Alachua Conservation Trust, Conservation Trust of Florida and Putnam County Land Trust

1:00 pm-3:00 pm

Conservation by Yards - Homeowner

An Amateur’s Thoughts on Starting Longleaf Pine Restoration
John Winn, Private Landowner, Longleaf Pine Restoration

Mulch as an Upland Restoration Tool
Brandt Henningsen, SW Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD)

Gopher Tortoise Public Advocacy
Ray and Pat Ashton, Ashton Biodiversity Research and Preservation Institute, Inc.

Conservation by Miles - Environmental

Overview of Everglades Restoration
Presenters TBA

Everglades in Bloom
Chuck McCartney, Writer and Editor, Miami Herald

Deering Rehydration Project
Craig Grossenbacher, Mgr., Natural Resources Planning Section, Miami/Dade Cty Dept. of Environ. Resources Management

Native Plants and Other Wilds of the Big Cypress National Preserve
Steve Woodmansee, Senior Biologist, Institute for Regional Conservation

Science Track: Speakers TBA

Workshop: Successful Native Landscapes
Larry Teague, Landscape Architect with Zamia Designs and EJ Bolduc, Landscape Architect with Buford Davis and Associates.
An interactive presentation and discussion with two experienced landscape architects focusing on successful native urban landscapes. How does a good design integrate the owner’s perspective, the landscape contractor’s perspective and the maintenance perspective?

3:30 pm-5:00 pm

Conservation by Yards - Homeowner

Ditch of Dreams -History of the Cross Florida Barge Canal
Steve Noll, Department of History, UF

Conservation by Miles - Environmental

Connectivity for Wildlife in Florida
Tom Hoctor, Res. Assoc., UF Geoplan Center

Restoration Efforts at Ocala National Forest
William Carromero, Botanist, Ocala National Forest

Science Track: Speakers TBA

Workshop: Native Plants as Hosts and Attractors of Beneficial Insects for Farmscaping in Agricultural Systems
Robert Kluson, UF; Katie Sieving, UF; Dr Legesse, FAMU; Mickey Swisher, Anthropologist; Glen Hall; John Sivinski and Rob Meagher, USDA Entomologists

Breakout Sessions • Saturday, April 21, 2007

1:30 pm-3:00 pm

Conservation by Yards - Homeowner

Why the Heck Should I Mow My Yard
Mark Hostetler, Asst. Prof., UF Wildlife Ecology & Conserv. Dept.

Butterflies and Their Host Plants
Marc Minno, Author and Biologist, St. John’s Water Management District

Learn About Florida’s Flora, Fauna and Ecosystems in the Florida Master Naturalist Program
Marty Main, Assoc. Prof., Wildlife Ecologist, UF

Conservation by Miles - Environmental

Ecological History of Florida
Speaker TBA

A History of Land Conservation in Florida
Mark Glisson, Environmental Admin., Dept of Environ. Protection

Conservation in Florida: It's not too Late, but Almost
Reed Noss, Davis Shine Professor, Conservation Biology., UCF

Science Track: Speakers TBA

Workshop: Exotic Pest Plant Control for Home Owners
Ken Langeland/Michael Misenberg, Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants, UF

3:30 pm-5:00 pm

Conservation by Yards - Homeowner

Sustainable Landscaping: Conservation in Your Yard
Barbra Larson, Florida Yards and Neighborhoods

Promoting Low Impact Development in Master Planned Residential Communities
Pierce Jones, Prof. UF, Director, Prog. for Resource Efficient Communities

Conservation by Miles - Environmental

Pine Lands
Jack Putz, Professor, Botany Dept., UF

The Gory Details of Native Ground Cover Restoration in Florida’s Pinelands
Anne Barkdoll, Environ. Specialist, FL Div of Recreation and Parks

Special Wildflowers of the Florida Panhandle
Gil Nelson, north Florida writer, naturalist, and educator

Science Track: Speakers TBA

Workshop: Grow your Own Landscape – Plant Propagation Techniques
Hector Perez, Asst. Prof., Environmental Horticulture Dept., UF