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FNPS Mission: To preserve, conserve, and restore native plants and native plant communities.
Learn more by visiting the FNPS website • Check our calendar for upcoming events sponsored by the Pinellas, Nature Coast, and Suncoast Chapters • Not a member yet? Join today!
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Event Updates
Please see details for these events in the newsletter below and check our Facebook Group and website calendar for the most up-to-date information.
- Tuesday, 8/3 and Saturday 8/21, 8 - 10 am - Moccasin Lake Butterfly Garden Volunteer Opportunity
- Wednesday, 8/4 , 6:30 pm - Container Gardening With Florida Native Plants - Zoom Presentation
- Monday, 8/9, 6:30 pm - Conservation Committee Meeting - 6:30 to 7:30 on Zoom
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Wed., August 4th, 6:30 pm
Zoom Video Meeting and Presentation
Container Gardening With Florida Native Plants
Davis Byrkit, Wilcox Nursery and Landscape
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Did you know you can create a small habitat of Florida’s native plants – even if you live in a patio home, apartment or condo? By planting native plants in containers, you too can enjoy the presence of small birds, butterflies and other native pollinators who will visit your garden space!
Davis Byrkit, Office and Community Content Manager at Wilcox Nursery, will be giving the low-down on potting-up native plants! He will discuss what to keep in mind when starting a native plant container garden, including sun exposure, soil types, pot styles and species selection. He will offer a tour of his own garden and the plants he has used to create a truly botanical balcony.
Meeting starts at 6:30 with announcements. Submit questions via Chat function or ahead of time to info@pinellasnativeplants.org
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83415771952?pwd=TzcycnFIR09DeU9oTVROSHFpQnMvUT09
Meeting ID: 834 1577 1952
Passcode: 778935
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Butterfly Garden Volunteer Opportunity
Tuesday, August 3rd and Saturday, August 21st
8:00 am - 10:00 am
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 Landscape designer Nicole Jones will be leading a team of volunteers in the Butterfly Garden at Moccasin Lake Nature Park in Clearwater. This is a great opportunity to learn more about which plants attract and host our local butterflies, what conditions they prefer and how to prune them.
Volunteers will:
- Identify and prune existing native plants according to seasonal growth and bloom cycles.
- Identify and relocate native plant seedlings.
- Identify and remove weeds and non-native seedlings.
- Distribute mulch when needed.
Please bring hand tools, work gloves and drinking water. The chapter will provide trash bags.
To join, please contact us at volunteer@pinellasnativeplants.org. Please also provide us with your cell phone number to be notified of last minute changes.
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T-Shirt Artwork Design Competition
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Attention artists and creatives!! The Pinellas Chapter is seeking a new design(s) for our branded t-shirts. In 2020 we printed t-shirts for volunteers with a design created by Cindy Liberton and Marjorie Shropeshire for the 2012 state conference and adapted for our use. Volunteers who donated at least 5 hours to the chapter received a shirt. With this next batch of shirts we are considering also making them available for sale to members as well.
We are asking that you submit designs or design ideas for the 2021 shirts by August 27, 2021. The design should reflect our mission and include the name of the organization. The Communications Committee will select the top three designs, and submit them to the membership for a vote in the September newsletter. The winning designer will receive a gift certificate worth $50 to a local native plant nursery. We have a graphic designer who will render the winning design for production.
So get your creative juices flowing and get to work on your design! Submit your design to info@pinellasnativeplants.org no later than August 27, 2021.
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How to Rewild Your Balcony
One Native Plant at a Time
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So you don't have a lawn. Author Jeff VanderMeer shares his eight steps for creating a biodiverse oasis in your limited city space.
Published in Esquire Magazine, Apr 22, 2021
In 2018, I began to rewild our yard to help wildlife and create better habitat—something anyone can do at any scale, large or small. It doesn’t have to start like my journey did, with the local rabbit looking on in surprise as I wrestled like some fool with thousands of strangling air potato vines, often down on my hands and knees for hours digging out the tubers. I’m sure most of the animals watching from the bushes wondered just what this weird human was up to and how would it affect them.
 But they needn’t have worried, because I was doing it for them. That included 30-year-old box turtles down by the dry creek bed, migratory birds passing through, and, yes, even the bumbling armadillo that loves to dig up grubs. As far as I could tell, neglect and indifference had doomed the ravine behind the house to a slow decline, and I had the power to reverse that trend.
Rewilding has huge momentum right now. The idea, as most artfully expressed by entomologist Doug Tallamy, is that even in suburban and urban areas, we can make a huge difference in helping the environment by planting native plants and trees. “Native” refers to “pre-settler” and acknowledges the legacy of Indigenous land management for the good of the environment and human beings. Native plants have evolved over thousands of years to be the best hosts for the largest number of birds, butterflies, bees, and other organisms. Audubon suggests that yards be comprised of at least 70 percent native plants, bushes, and trees, or, for example, chickadees can’t find enough caterpillar food for their young.
But what if all you have is a balcony? The situation facing many city-dwellers is limited space and, given the pace and stress of urban life, little time to devote to nurturing plants in the first place. Also, take it from me: It’s ill-advised to plant a huge oak tree in the middle of your living room. I mean, you can try, but when the roots start tickling the neighbor’s head in the apartment below you, it may be time to move in the middle of the night with no forwarding address.
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New Native Plant Demonstration Plot
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The Pinellas Chapter has revived sponsorship of a Florida native plant demonstration plot in the Dunedin Community Garden, at 1040 Virginia St, Dunedin, FL 34698, behind the fire station. The chapter has been a supporter of the DCG since its inception in 2012, thanks to our past president and long standing member Jim McGinity, who helped found the garden. The chapter funded the first native plants in the garden, and again in 2018 when high school student Madison Thomas and her mother Vicki established a new plot as her 4H project. Madison has graduated and her Mother was happy to relinquish the plot back to the chapter. Madison and Vicki, with the help of Jim, did a great job of landscaping the plot with blanket flower, black-eyed susan, sunshine mimosa, seaside goldenrod, tropical sage, beautyberry, spiderwort, bahama cassia, elliott's lovegrass, wild petunia and leavenworth's tickseed. The plants all have high quality tags with both common and botanical names.
When we took it over in July, the plot was overgrown with weeds and grass, but in a couple of hours was brought under control. The board has approved funding for a two-sided educational sign along the walkway that is used by residents of the nearby condo community and tennis players, as well as a sponsorship banner at the entrance of the community garden. You can view photos of the plot on our Facebook photo album.
If you live in or near Dunedin, and want to participate in designing the banner and signage, and/or maintaining and adding to the plot, please reach out to us at Volunteer@pinellasnativeplants.org. Many hands make light work.
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The post Become A Water Steward! appeared first on UF/IFAS Extension Pinellas County.
Working With Water, Working With People
To make a difference concerning the issues surrounding water quality and quantity in our communities, we must understand the various ways in which we interact with water. As Floridians, we are connected to our oceans and bays by our faucets and laundries, to our neighborhood ponds and lakes by our yards and streets, and to our regional and statewide neighbors by our surface and groundwater supplies.
This program will use expert presentations, online explorations, experiential learning, field experience in watershed science, and communication skills training to foster a greater understanding of these interactions and provide the tools necessary to become stewards of our water resources.
During this seven-session course, participants will travel to locations across Pinellas County to explore the natural beauty, learn about emerging water issues, and meet with local experts.
Participants will also plan and implement an individual (or group) stewardship project that makes a difference in the community, attend a relevant stakeholder meeting and explore online resources to learn more about water between class sessions.
Each class session will be three hours long and include Working with Water instructor-led presentations looking at water at the state-level as well as Working with People instructor-led presentations highlighting communication best-practices. Classes will also include time for discussions, guest speaker presentations highlighting local water resources, and a field tour.
Note: The program is planned to occur in-person but may switch to online depending on the status of COVID at the start of the program.
This course has limited seating/availability. Register early to reserve your spot. Youth (under 18) are eligible to register as long as an accompanying adult is also registered for the program.
Cost: $89
If the cost of the program will prevent you from participating, please complete a scholarship application. Application deadline is Friday, August 13th.
Register Now on Eventbrite
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2nd Annual Hope Spot Festival in Dunedin
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Mark your calendars! SATURDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2021, 10 AM EDT – 6 PM EDT
Blue-Green Connections, one of our partners in the Save The GDP Fundraising campaign, is celebrating the 2nd Anniversary of the launch of the Florida Gulf Coast Hope Spot with an outdoor festival. The Pinellas Chapter will have an exhibit there, along with food, drinks, live music and activities! Fun for the whole family awaits with a variety of eco-friendly arts and crafts, games, hands-on activities and learning experiences. Get up close and personal with a pod of mermaids, touch live native animals, or find your zen space with guided yoga! This event will be sustainable in nature, featuring eco-friendly product vendors, locally sourced food and beverages, and fun learning experiences about our Hope Spot while exemplifying practices that will keep our waters healthy for future generations. More details coming soon!
Learn more about the Florida Gulf Coast Hope Spot
For the most up-to-date information, check out the Facebook event page.
Help us staff the Pinellas Chapter Exhibit by volunteering for a 2 hour shift. Email volunteer@pinellasnativeplants.org
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Plant a Pine In a Florida State Park
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What: Plant a Pine is an easy way to help Florida State Parks get greener!
Why: Trees play a key role in our environment, cleaning the air, filtering water, and providing needed habitat for hundreds of species of insects, and other animals and plants. Trees are an integral part of our ecosystems and they help reduce stress and allow us to connect with nature and provide a calming effect. Imagine a time when you walked through a park among towering trees…that’s why we started the Plant a Pine campaign.
Plant a Pine is focused on Longleaf Pine trees, which are native to the Southeast, and now cover an estimated 3% of their original habitat. They have long been prized for their commercial use in building houses, ships, and railroads and their resin used for making turpentine. Mature longleaf ecosystems support more than 30 endangered and threatened species, including red-cockaded woodpeckers, gopher tortoises, and indigo snakes. Regular burning to restore their natural rhythms enables longleaf pine to become rich, stable ecosystems. Longleaf pines are fire-adapted and dependent on burning which stabilizes and enriches the soil.
When: Plant a Pine kicked off on Earth Day, April 22, 2020 with our goal of planting 100,000 trees by Earth Day 2021 and we accomplished that goal. Now help us plant 100,000 more trees by 2022!
How: For every $1 donated, we will plant one Longleaf Pine seedling in a Florida State Park. It’s that easy!
Special thanks goes to partner, Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's Outdoor Fund for their generous $50,000 matching grant in support of this crucial program.
Groups interested in supporting hands-on tree planting projects through the Employees in State Parks program can contact Julia Gill Woodward, Chief Executive Officer. Tree planting projects are limited to specific parks, targeting restoration projects, and restricted planting seasons.
Recognition: Donations to Plant a Pine may be dedicated to the memory of a loved one or in honor of another person. Thank you for caring about Florida State Parks and giving to our Plant a Pine campaign.
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This feature of our monthly newsletter will highlight local conservation issues and opportunities for our members to influence decision making by our local, state and federal governments. If you have issues you would like the Conservation committee to explore, email them to conservation@pinellasnativeplants.org.
Gladys Douglas Hackworth Preserve
 Great news! The Florida Communities Trust met last week and ranked the Gladys Douglas Preserve as the number one project in the state. The City of Dunedin is working on the grant agreement now. Meanwhile, FNPS Pinellas is moving forward with steps to confirm a floristic survey on the property. Thanks to all the amazing advocates and members for protecting this treasure in Pinellas County,
Anclote Harbors
Advocates will have another chance to advocate for the protection of 74 acres next to the Anclote River in Tarpon Springs. It will be up for discussion at the Planning and Zoning meeting and City Commission. Stay tuned for dates. We need your voice.
Conservation Committee Has Open Seats
The Conservation Committee of our chapter currently has several open seats. Our Board considers it critical to hear the voice of our members to discuss strategy and formulate policies regarding local conservations issues. The Conservation Committee meets monthly, usually on the 2nd Monday of the month. If you haven’t contacted us already and are interested, please email conservation@pinellasnativeplants.org for more information.
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The Pinellas Chapter has several volunteer opportunities that will allow you to channel your passion for native plants and conservation into helping the chapter fulfill its mission. Many volunteer positions require just a few hours a month, and most duties can be performed at your home. If you are interested in applying or would like more information, email volunteer@pinellasnativeplants.org.
Secretary
- Attends and/or watches recordings of the virtual monthly board meetings and prepares minutes.
- Distributes draft minutes of the most recent board meeting via email to board members prior to the next meeting.
- Makes any corrections to the draft minutes and distributes the final approved minutes to all board members.
- Keeps paper copies of all meeting minutes and virtual copies in the chapter online archives.
Florida Botanical Garden, Native Garden Maintenance
- Biweekly maintenance of the Native Plant Garden at the FBG in Largo.
- Identify and prune existing native plants according to seasonal growth and bloom cycles. Identify and relocate native plant seedlings.
- Identify and remove weeds and non-native seedlings.
- Assist with updating signage as needed.
- Keep records of volunteer hours and report them to FNPS.
- (2 to 4 hours per month)
Volunteer Committee Member
- Recruiting volunteers for special projects and the speakers bureau utilizing social media, emails, and special events.
- Collecting volunteer contact information, availability and skills, and maintaining a volunteer database.
- Keeping new and existing volunteers informed about the organization’s volunteer opportunities, matching volunteers to opportunities that suit their skill sets, and ensuring they understand their responsibilities and receive the proper training.
- Keeping records of volunteers' hours and reporting them to FNPS.
- Motivate and reward volunteers through a volunteer appreciation program.
- (2 to 4 hours per month)
Volunteer Coordinator - Director-at-Large
- Recruiting, training, and supervising members of the Volunteer Committee.
- Serve on the Board of Directors and attend the monthly virtual board meeting. (About 2 evening hours month.)
- (4 to 6 hours per month)
- See job description.
Newsletter Editor
- Compile newsletter content about chapter events, plant profiles, local issues, or other topics of interest to members for twice monthly newsletter.
- Source newsletter content from Feature Writer, committee chairpersons, virtual board meetings, other chapters and other environmental/conservation organizations.
- Edit articles and format newsletter to be sent electronically using Mailchimp software or other desktop publishing software of Editor's choice.
- Write occasional direct emails to members on special events or topics.
- (2 to 4 hours per month)
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Thank You To Our Business Members
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Pinellas Chapter Florida Native Plant Society
2021 Officers, Directors and Committee Chairs
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President - Michael Coleman
Vice President - Stefan Babjack
Secretary - Sari Wood
Treasurer - Robin Peacock
Past President / Conservation Chair - Jan Allyn
Director / Chapter Representative - David Perkey
Director - Jane Graham
Director / Membership Chair - Ginger Brengle
Director / Programs Chair - Pam Schrader
Director / Events & Volunteer Chair - Nicole Jones
Director / Feature Writer - Debora Moran
Communications Chair - Rebecca Wellborn
Webmaster - Patty Perkey
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View a profile of the Pinellas Chapter FNPS created for the 2021 FNPS Annual Conference.
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Florida Native Plant Society Mission
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The Mission of the Florida Native Plant Society is to promote the preservation, conservation, and restoration of the native plants and native plant communities of Florida.
The Society fulfills this mission through:
- Support for conservation land acquisition
- Land management that enhances habitat suitability for native plants
- Education
- Public policies that protect our native flora, especially rare species
- Research on native plant species
- Encouragement of local landscaping practices and policies that preserve Florida's native plant heritage
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