Neighboring Pawpaw chapter member Paul Rebmann will present Wild Florida - Images of nature from the panhandle to the keys at the November meeting. This will be a presentation of photographs by Paul Rebmann of scenes, flora and fauna throughout the state. Photographs by Paul Rebmann have won awards in the Orange Audubon's Kit & Sidney Chertok Nature Photography Contest for each of the past three years. This year the close-up image of a small butterwort shown here won Honorable Mention in the "Florida Invertebrates and/or Wildflowers" category. 
Greeting cards, matted prints and select canvas prints will be available for sale.
Paul has created a web site - wildflphoto.com - to showcase his photography as well as provide information about Florida nature.

Lyonia Chapter meetings start at 7pm at the Lyonia Environmental Center, 2150 Eustace Ave. Deltona and are free and open to the public. 

Our speaker will be Bill Bilodeau, past president  of the Pinellas Chapter of FNPS. Bill is a long time professional gardener who designs and installs native plant landscapes. He will discuss important basics, tools needed, and answer questions about how to keep your native plants looking good all year round. This is one not to miss as we all need to know how to keep our garden attractive!   

SICA Hall will be unavailable to the Pawpaw Chapter on the regular meeting night, so the Pawpaw Chapter is invited to attend the Lyonia Chapter meeting on the second Tuesday of February at the new Lyonia Environmental Center next to the Deltona library at Lyonia Preserve.
The program will be Pawpaw Chapter member Paul Rebmann with an updated and streamlined version of the program: Wild Florida - images of nature from the panhandle to the keys
For more details on this joint chapter meeting (one week earlier than the Pawpaw Chapter normally meets), see the Lyonia Chapter page. 

Patrick Gault, Assistant Director and General Curator of the Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge in Destin, will introduce us to the wildlife refuge and rehabilitation center and discuss their plans for expanding their facility and restoring native plant and wetland habitat on Okaloosa Island.  

WHEN: Thursday, February 11, 6:30 pm

WHERE: Lucia Tryon Branch Library Meeting Room, 1200 Langley Avenue in Pensacola

 

Tarflower chapter member Fred Hunter has preserved his weekend getaway near the Ocala National Forest for decades.  He has invited us to his sand pine forest parcel to help him discover the botanical jewels within.

On Saturday, February 13th, we will meet at his cottage on 27120 County Road 42 near Paisley at 10:00 am.  We will take a lakeside hike of about 1 1/2 miles at a leisurely Southern style pace.

Bring a lunch as Fred has a suitable spot for a picnic after botanizing.
 
Paisley is a small forest community in Northeast Lake County.  A helpful hint to find his ranchette:  it's a little more than three miles east of the Paisley post office or about eight miles west of the Saint Johns River near DeLand.
 
Please feel free to call John Cento at (407) 913-2417 if you have any questions. 

See their website.

 

A self-guided driving tour of Chassahowitzka Wildlife Management Area in Citrus County. The tour is 8 miles through a variety of habitats. The guide brochure says the drive takes from 1.5 to 2 hours if one stops at the suggested points of interest for short walks. The unpaved, single lane road is fairly well maintained and traverses pine uplands, transitional zones, and penetrates deep within the largest and most pristine hardwood swamp south of the Suwannee River. There are no facilities along the way. Bring drinks, food, binoculars, and field guides and we'll enjoy a roving picnic in the wilderness. Directions: The entrance to Chassahowitzka WMA is on the west side of US19 in Citrus County, about 10 miles north of Weeki Wachee (SR50). Meet at the “Iron Ranger” station at 10am. There is an honor system fee of $3 per person or $6 per vehicle, but people over 65 or under 16 are free.  Carpooling: To carpool, meet in the old Publix parking lot (behind Wendy's) on the northwest corner of US19 and SR52 at 9:15am. (Take SR52 west past Wendy's and the bank and turn right. Go into the parking area. We meet at the east end near Wendy's.) 

Audubon's Florida Islands Sanctuaries
Dr. Ann Hodgson, a Certified Wildlife Biologist and Professional Wetland Scientist, is Audubon of Florida Gulf Coast Science Coordinator and Sanctuaries Manager. She guides the ornithological and colonial waterbird research program which manages over 50 colonies along the Gulf Coast. Dr. Hodgson will talk about the effects of introduced plant species on colonial waterbirds and beach-nesting birds in Florida. 

6:30 PM  

David Hall, Ph.D. will be presenting on Florida native shrubs for landscapes.  Then, four days later you can take what you learned at this meeting and head out to the Cabin 4 Part I:  Site Analysis review.  It will be great! 

Please see the Announcements above!

 

Beth Wertchnig, restoration ecologist and closet Suncoast member, has been responsible for some of the earliest and most successful flatwoods restoration in west-central Florida.  These are sites that have been growing for years.  She has learned, sometimes the hard way, what it takes to recreate flatwoods from pasture.  Beth will show us the process, from preparing a donor site to planting and maintenance.  She her presentation includes lots of photographs of the restoration in process and includes interesting sldes of the wildflowers, birds, snakes, and other wildlife that now call the sites home. 

Speaker:  Randall W. Parkinson, Ph.D., P.G -- Administrator, Space Coast Climate Change Initiative.

Subject: The Science of Climate Change and Rising Sea Level

 

Time:  6:30 PM

Location:  Regency Square Library, 9900 Regency Square Blvd., Jacksonville, FL 32225

Agenda:  Business meeting followed by member program and pot-luck appetizers

Program:  Several Ixia members will discuss turning their non-native yards into native gardens.  They will bring before and after photographs and will discuss how they became interested in native plants, how they made decisions about plants to use in their gardens and how they made landscaping decisions.  The members will also answer questions from meeting attendees who are considering landscaping their properties with native plants.  This meeting will benefit those that are thinking of “going native” but are unsure of the steps to take.  Please bring photographs of your yard and your specific questions.  Also, please bring an appetizer to share at this meeting.

 

Time: 9 am
A Nature Conservancy staff member will give us a two-hour walking tour along some of the trails. They will discuss the property's restoration and point out some of the native plants. The 12,000-acre Preserve, located south of Orlando, protects the headwaters of the Everglades and is bordered by Lake Russell. Limited to twenty participants. 

February 20, 2010, Saturday, 10 am - 4 pm DISCOVER LAKE MANATEE Join us at the 'Discover Lake Manatee' State Park event with a day of fun for the whole family. There will be guided nature walks, arts and crafts, junior fishing clinics, live bluegrass and folk music courtesy of Myakka Bluegrass, wildlife exhibits and much more. If you have any questions or would like to volunteer at the event, please contact the ranger station. Fees: Free to the public. Lake Manatee State Park, 20007 Hwy 64 East,
Bradenton, Florida 34202
Phone: 941-741-3028, http://www.floridastateparks.org/lakemanatee Serenoa Chapter will be there with a booth. Contact Nancy West to volunteer 941-748-1463  

Please read about his topic in the Announcement Section above.

 

Saturday, Feb 27 field trip to Green Springs in south Volusia County, not far from the north shore of Lake Monroe.
Green Springs Park encompasses 36 acres of nature at its most beautiful, with one of Florida’s few green sulfur springs.

For carpooling, meet at the Daytona Beach Home Depot on International Speedway Blvd (Hwy 92) at 8:30am.
Green Springs information at volusia.org 

Steven Bass will help us understand native plant communities and the animals that call them home. On Saturday, March 6 we will visit Sea Branch Preserve State Park located along Dixie Hgwy, south Stuart. 

March's meeting is Tuesday, March 2, 2010 at Leu Gardens, 7:00 PM. Meetings are open to the public.  

Speaker: Craig Huegel, PhD.

The flora of Torreya State Park and adjacent Bluffs and Ravines Preserve is comprised of a great many species found nowhere else in Florida. Because of the region’s geological history, the steephead hammock forests and sandhills have developed a flora rich in endemic species and species which are more common north of the state line. Craig has been exploring this region for several years with his wife, Alexa, and he will share some of the many photos he’s taken; giving us all a preview of what we might expect to see later in the month when our Chapter travels there for our field trip.

Place: Pinellas County Extension, 12520 Ulmerton Road, Largo
Time: 7:00 pm

 

Time:  To Be Announced

Location:  Duval County Agricultural Extension Office, 1010 N. McDuff Ave., Jacksonville, FL 32254

Join Ixia and other vendors for a day of presentations on multiple gardening topics, plant sales, garden art, etc.

 

See the Friends of the Wekiva web page.

Click HERE to add the event to your OUTLOOK CALENDAR.

 

Kari Ruder/ Landscaping with Florida Native Plants 

6:30 PM at the Seminole County Environmental Studies Center
2985 Osprey Trail
Longwood, FL  32750
(accross from Soldier's Creek Park)

 

This program is part of the Living Earth Environmental Study Series, sponsored by National Garden Clubs, Inc.

Please contact Judy Greenberg and see the Announcement in the section above.

 

Paul Rebmann will lead a joint field trip of the Pawpaw and Sea Oats chapters to Crescent Lake Conservation Area.  This is a St. Johns Waster Management District property northeast of Seville and southwest of Bunnell, at the south end of Crescent Lake in northwest Volusia county.
More information on the conservation area at sjrwmd.com
Trip details to be announced. 

Sandhill Communities.
Dr. Craig Huegel, a FNPS Pinellas Chapter member, has published several books and numerous articles about Florida native plants and wildlife. His newest book, Adding Life to Our landscapes: Designing for Wildlife with Florida's Native Plants should be published in 2010. Dr. Huegel will provide an in-depth look at one of Florida's most beautiful and diverse ecosystems, but one that is now globally imperiled. 

Call Marion County Parks & Recreation Department at (352) 671-8560 and speak with Cathy Norris.

Pleae read the Announcement above.

 

Time:  6:30 PM

Location:  Regency Square Library, 9900 Regency Square Blvd., Jacksonville, FL 32225

Agenda:  Business meeting followed by guest speaker

Program:  Dr. Marc Minno, published author and expert on Florida butterflies.  He will sell copies of his books following his presentation.

Dr. Minno received a Bachelor’s degree in entomology from Purdue University, a Master’s in entomology from the University of California at Davis, and a Ph.D. in zoology from the University of Florida.  He works as a Supervising Regulatory Scientist for the St. Johns River Water Management District in Palatka.  Dr. Minno has written or co-authored many scientific and popular articles on butterflies and moths as well as the following books of local interest, Butterflies of the Florida Keys (Scientific Publishers, 1993), Florida Butterfly Gardening (University Press of Florida, 1999), Butterflies through Binoculars: Florida (Oxford University Press, 2001), Florida Butterfly Caterpillars and Their Host Plants (University Press of Florida, 2005), and Rare, Declining, and Poorly Known Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) of Forests and Woodlands in the Eastern U.S. (U.S. Forest Service, 2009).

 

Speaker:  tba

Subject:  tba

 

Time: 9 am
Enjoy a 3-mile hike through a diversity of habitats in the park's northern wilderness area. See the fringe trees blooming in the spring. 

Pine Lily Chapter will have an information booth, so please stop by.  Volunteers always needed for the booth.  Contact Jenny

 

The Harry P. Leu Gardens is located at 1920 North Forest Avenue, Orlando, Florida 32803

Entry into the gardens is free to the public during the event.  Be sure to bring your garden wagon to take all of the great buys home.  Learn more at http://www.leugardens.org/events.html.

Click HERE to add the event to your OUTLOOK CALENDAR.

 

Join us for a weekend trip to the Tallahassee area, to see spring ephemerals and rare plants! Bring your tent or RV, or stay in a "Yurt" at Torreya State Park. We will be visiting this park, Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve, and other places in the surrounding area and on the drive from Pinellas to Leon County.

Information about Torreya State Park

Hiking Trails at Torreya State Park

Information about Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve

 

Gardening speakers, demonstrations & wildflower and general gardening and related vendors. Call (386)738-0649

 

Cheryl Peterson of Bok Tower Gardens will describe the methods used at the conservation garden at Lake Wales' Bok Tower Gardens. Members and guests will travel to the Gardens on Saturday, April10. 

April's meeting is Tuesday, April 6, 2010 at Leu Gardens, 7:00 PM. Meetings are open to the public.   

Learn how to use native plants in the landscape in a functional and aesthetic manner.

 

Place: Pinellas County Extension, 12520 Ulmerton Road, Largo
Time: 7:00 pm

 

The date for this field trip is scheduled for either April 10 or April 17th.  

In Beautiful downtown Winter Garden. Learn more at http://www.springfeveringarden.com/.

Click HERE to add the event to your OUTLOOK CALENDAR.

 

Time:  6:30 PM

Location:  Location:  Regency Square Library, 9900 Regency Square Blvd., Jacksonville, FL 32225

Agenda:  Business meeting followed by guest speaker

Program:  Neil Armingeon, the St. Johns Riverkeeper, will join us for an in depth presentation and discussion on “An Update on Issues Facing the St. Johns River”.

Neil Armingeon previously served as the Environmental Director of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation in New Orleans. For over 10 years, he galvanized diverse coalitions of citizens in support of a clean, sustainable Lake Pontchartrain Watershed and developed and directed grass-roots campaigns that integrated science, advocacy, and public policy. Prior to his work in with the Foundation, Neil was Project Director for the North Carolina Coastal Federation, one of the state's largest environmental groups, where he directed advocacy and hands-on regulatory education programs.

Neil has a bachelor of science degree from North Carolina State University and a master's degree in Environmental Management from Duke University.

 

Speaker:  tba

Subject:  tba

 

Plant Sales, exhibits, music, guided walks, food, children's activities. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED. 

details tba

 

Time: 10:00 AM—12:00 PM. Picnic facilities available.  Bring lunch and stay after the hike.

Location: Theodore Roosevelt Area, 13165 Mt. Pleasant Road, Jacksonville, FL 32225

Additional Information:  Join us for a hike along the St. Johns River and experience both the problems and the magnificence of this precious resource.  The St. Johns River flows 310 miles from south to north until it empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Mayport.  We will not only learn more about The River, we will also learn about the native plants along its banks and in the water and hear about the  eco-system. Wildlife surrounds more than four miles of these scenic hiking trails, including rare birds, raccoons, foxes and turtles. The preserve is accessible from the Arlington Expressway and Atlantic Boulevard on the east side of the city. There is no entrance fee.

 

Plant sales, exhibits, music, guided walks, food, & children's activities. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED. 

Environmentally Sensitive Gems of Sarasota County
Bruce Holst, botanist at Selby Botanical Gardens and Serenoa Chapter member, will discuss Selby's collaboration with Sarasota County to conduct inventories of select preserves purchased through the ESLAP program, and show slides of the areas and of some of the plants. 

Location:  Museum of Science & History (MOSH), 1025 Museum Circle, Jacksonville, FL 32207.  A small entry fee will be charged.

Time:  Evening, specific time to be announced

Program:  Join the Ixia Chapter and the St. Johns Riverkeeper for an Earth Day celebration featuring Florida nature photographer, John Moran and his Journal of Light: A Photographer’s Search for the Soul of Florida

“If Florida had a Photographer Laureate, John Moran should hold that title.” –Gary  Mormino, Florida Studies Program, University of South Florida.

Traveling the Sunshine State with his cameras, John Moran seeks his vision of natural Florida as it must have appeared to Ponce de Leon and other early strangers in paradise. Moran’s work celebrates the magic of a unique landscape born of water and blessed with beauty beyond measure.

Moran’s remarkable Journal of Light speaking programs, based on his book and touring museum exhibit of the same title, highlight a 20-year odyssey to discover the soul of one of the most photographed states in the country, and feature his striking photographs of the alligators, beaches, birds, rivers, springs, palms, turtles and flowers that make Florida the amazing place we call home. Moran's ever-evolving speaking programs have been called “exquisite,” “powerful,” “lyrical,” and “like nothing I have ever seen.”

 

In the Kit Land Nelson Park, 111 N. Forest Avenue, Apopka, FL. Learn more at http://apopkawomansclub.org/apopka-art-and-foliage-festival.

Click HERE to add the event to your OUTLOOK CALENDAR.

 

Anne Cox, of Ecolo-G, on Identifying Martin County's Endangered Plants. On Saturday May 8 we will have a field trip to the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse Natural Area. 

We will divide into small groups for short tours to show form, foliage, and sizes of full grown natives in a garden setting.

 

Place: Pinellas County Extension, 12520 Ulmerton Road, Largo
Time: 7:00 pm

 

Time: 9:00 am
Bruce Turley, past president of the Pinellas Chapter and owner of Wilcox Nursery and Florist in Largo, will lead a loop hike through salt marsh and coastal uplands. Fort DeSoto has some of the best diversity of coastal plants in west-central Florida. If possible, we will also hike the Arrowhead area with coastal hammock and scrub. 

We will be attending the annual FNPS Conference and all members are welcome.  This year, the conference will be held in Tallahassee, May 13-16, and titled “Rooted In History, Forever Blooming”.

For additional information:  http://www.fnps.org/pages/conference/

 

To volunteer your yard, send an email to Jan Mangos at j.mangos@att.net.

 

Florida's Reptiles - Exotic vs. Native
Brian Pavlina, Environmental Specialist with Sarasota County, will discuss the benefits of native reptile species and why exotic animals pose such a problem for the environment and public. He will discuss the basics of reptiles while showcasing live animals. 

Bring photos of your garden to share.  Bring your native plant gardening questions.  This will be our annual "share day" where the meeting is yours.  Please bring your photos on a thumb drive or CD.  Plan to talk for no more than 5 minutes and keep the theme to native plant landscaping. 

LOOKING AHEAD!!

FNPS Annual Conference - May 20 - 23, 2010

Looking ahead in 2010, the FNPS Annual Conference theme will be "Rooted in History, Forever Blooming!"  This conference will be held at the Leon County Civic Center in Tallahassee.  The special 30th Anniversary conference will honor our FNPS history and the natural heritage of North Florida.  Mark your calendars now and go to www.fnps.org for updates. 

 

 

The theme for this year's conference is "Rooted in History, Forever Blooming." 

Place: Pinellas County Extension, 12520 Ulmerton Road, Largo
Time: 7:00 pm 

Please go to our website for information on our Monthly Meetings and Field Trips. 

Time:  6:30 PM

Location:  Location:  Regency Square Library, 9900 Regency Square Blvd., Jacksonville, FL 32225

Agenda:  Business meeting followed by guest speaker

Program: Terry Zinn, a founding member of the Florida Wildflowers Cooperative, is our featured speaker.  His PowerPoint presentation will provide an overview of the cooperative of wildflower seed growers along with planting and production information related to the seed industry.  At the conclusion of his presentation we will have the opportunity to purchase Florida wildflower seeds.

Growers of Florida wildflowers have taken a major step toward increasing the supply of native Florida seed available for beautification projects and consumer use.  Currently, wildflower production in Florida falls far short of demand.  This results in seeds for large scale Florida highway beautification projects, totaling millions of pounds annually, being purchased from major seed producing states such as Texas.  A group of Florida wildflower producers, working in conjunction with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences (IFAS), is developing strategies to increase planted wildflower acreage and seed production to better meet the demand for native species.

 

Place: Pinellas County Extension, 12520 Ulmerton Road, Largo
Time: 7:00 pm 

This is our annual joint meeting with Sierra and Audubon.  Sierra is hosting.  Date may be revised.  Program and location to be announced.  Expect a pot luck dinner and program. 

Some of the topics to be covered are these:  How are springs formed?  What do they do?  How do they recharge the aquifer?  And what is the pumping effect?

Place: Pinellas County Extension, 12520 Ulmerton Road, Largo
Time: 7:00 pm

 

 

This meeting is a preview of the Fall Landscape Tour.  Homeowners will talk about their yards.

 

Our chapter will be hosting a guided tour to see our recenty adopted Chapter Native Plant: Robin's Mint (aka Long-spurred Mint, Dicerandra cornutissima) in bloom in it's native habitat. 

Our January 2010 speaker, Dave Bowman, with the FDEP Office of Greenways and Trails as offered to give a guided tour of this portion of the Cross Florida Greenway where this plant naturally exists.

This will be a lot of fun.  We are planning for a picnic lunch afterward so stay tuned!

 

Annual business metting and election meeting with powerpoint program of highlights of this years field trips and fun projects.

Place: Pinellas County Extension, 12520 Ulmerton Road, Largo
Time: 7:00 pm

 

 

Expect a brief business meeting (to elect our 2011 Board of Directors) followed by a program. 

The date for this meeting will be announced later.