2026 Plant ID Retreat

Join FNPS's First Fundraising Field Trip in the Apalachicola River Region

Details

Dates: June 12-14, 2026

Location: Tallahassee, FL

Field Biologists: Lilly Anderson-Messec

Meals: Valerie Anderson (chef)

Host: Melissa Fernandez-de Cespedes

Spend a weekend immersed in one of Florida's most botanically rich landscapes - and help fund the conservation, education, and advocacy work that protects it.

Led by Lilly Anderson-Messec, this small-group trip takes you into the sandhill bluffs and steephead ravine ecosystems of the Apalachicola River region, home to rare endemic species found nowhere else on earth - including the critically endangered Torreya taxifolia. Along the way, you'll build real plant identification skills using a scope and dichotomous key, guided by someone who knows this landscape deeply.

We'll be staying together in a comfortable AirBNB, sharing meals, and spending evenings working through challenging IDs as a group. It's equal parts field school and naturalist gathering - the kind of experience FNPS members have been asking for.

Your registration fee isn't just covering a trip - it's funding the conservation, education, and advocacy work that keeps Florida's native landscapes intact.

Cost: $600/person

Spots are limited. Reserve yours today: REGISTRATION OPENING APRIL 20, 2026!

Agenda

Coming soon!

Check in: June 12 at 5pm

Check out: June 14 at 10am

Lodging

Attendings will have access to a 8,000 square foot home including the main home, guest home, natatorium with indoor pool, and extensive grounds including outdoor eating areas, and many massive live oaks.

Guest Home
Bedroom one: queen plus couch bed with two twin options; bathroom

Bedroom two: queen plus three twins; bathroom, sizable living/dining area with kitchenette; accessible guest bathroom (ground floor)

Main Home
Bedroom 1: queen; bathroom with dual sink areas and divider between sinks and shower/toilet
Bedroom 2: twin daybed with popup trundle underneath and three additional twins; bathroom with divider between sink and shower/toilet
Fully stocked kitchen/butler’s pantry/dining/great room (ground floor); library (plus a cot, air mattress, 2 pack n plays, and multiple couches)

The natatorium features 3,500 square feet with an indoor, granite pool and two stories of floor to ceiling windows overlooking an oak-filled paradise that is often home to grazing herds of white-tailed deer.