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President's
Message ~ What Do We Do?
Our Pinellas Chapter has
the fourth largest membership of FNPS chapters, and a very active
group it is. Some dedicated and effective leaders supported by
volunteers make things happen. It occurred to me that many casual
members perhaps are not familiar with all that we do in support
of the FNPS mission to preserve, conserve, and restore the native
plants and native plant communities of Florida. Here is a summation
of many of our activities over the past few years.
Educational Outreach: Meeting and educating people
about native plants is one of the main ways we accomplish our
mission. PowerPoint presentations of "In Harmony with Nature
(comprised of "The Healthy Landscape and "Landscaping
and Gardening with Florida Native Plants), developed in partnership
with St. Petersburg Audubon Society, have been presented to thousands
of people at major environmental events, neighborhood association
meetings, garden clubs, and various civic groups, as well as
state conferences of Audubon of Florida and FNPS. Our presenters
have been Bruce Turley, Cathy Quindiagan, Jan Allyn, and Bill
Bilodeau. Designed to make people aware of environmentally friendly
approaches to home property management, it has also been a strong
vehicle for putting our chapter name and mission out into community
awareness. We created a narrated CD version of the programs and
sell it statewide, with the help of a favorable article in Audubon,s
state publication "The Naturalist. The "Landscaping
and Gardening with Florida Native Plants PPT was given a post
production grant from FNPS, copied, and distributed to every
FNPS chapter statewide by educational chair Marty Main. We exhibit
at every major environmental event in the region with a first
class display managed by Marie Hughes. We distribute voluminous
amounts of free literature to the public from our display. Some
of these events have been very well attended, e.g. the Pinellas
Living Green Expo (approx. 5,000 people) and the Tropicana Field
Home Show ( approx. 30,000 people).
Partnerships: We are an active part of a countywide
environmental coalition, "Alliance for a Livable Pinellas
or ALP, which meets monthly to share news and issues, and to
coordinate advocacy strategies when appropriate. Cathy Quindiagan
and Bill Bilodeau have been attending. ALP has been meeting monthly
with the chief administrative/environmental officer of the city
of St. Petersburg in an attempt to assist the city in advancing
from silver to gold status in the Green Cities program. A result
of these meetings is a forthcoming revision of the city tree
ordinance which is much more protective of the tree canopy than
the prior ordinance. Our chapter played an important role in
this development. Two years ago the Pinellas county administrator
formed the Environmental Science Forum, an invited collection
of non-governmental environmentalists, to function as an advisory
board to the administration. Ray Wunderlich, our chapter representative,
has regularly participated in this opportunity.
We partnered with Heritage Village, a county historical preservation
site, to create signage for the Shirley McPherson Trail, a native
plant ethnobotanical interpretive trail. We developed the plant
description content and donated $3500 to the project. Jane Williams
was the chapter project manager. Every December for many years
we have joined with St. Petersburg Audubon Society for a Conservation
Celebration where we both give our annual awards, have a silent
auction fund-raiser, and a top-notch speaker. It,s an inspiring
event attended by approximately 200 people.
Conservation: We have partnered with the city of St.
Petersburg in the restoration of Little Bayou Park and an important
Indian mound at Pinellas Point. Ray Wunderlich, our conservation
chair person, has spearheaded the endeavor. We joined with the
Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) to remove
invasive exotic plant species and plant natives at Clam Bayou.
One of our members, Elizabeth France, has arranged a transfer
of county property to the city of Clearwater and created a neighborhood
demonstration "pocket park supporting butterflies and birds
with native plants. We have also been a participant in the ongoing
planting and maintenance of an extensive demonstration garden
of native coastal species at the USF marine sciences educational
site at Clam Bayou. Bill Bilodeau has been a regular supporter
of that project.
Scholarships and Awarded Grants: For several years
running our chapter, under the leadership of Cindy Peacock, our
scholarship chairperson, has donated an average $2000 a year
in scholarships for various city and county environmental summer
camp programs for youth. We just received feedback from the program
manager of Moccasin Lake Nature Park that, in one family,s case,
the sponsorship of the child allowed the single mother to get
a job to support her family. We provided an assistance grant
of $100 to long time member John Beckner for his efforts to digitally
scan the historically significant and fragile journals of James
MacFarland, a Florida botanist of the 1920s. Recently we gave
a grant of $250 for the Tracy McCommon "Gardening for Native
Pollinators TV production, which will potentially reach millions
of Floridians. We sponsored the 2008 FNPS conference in the amount
of $500.
Grants Received: We received a $1,907 grant from the
Tampa Bay Estuary Program to print giveaway literature folders
for our "In Harmony with Nature series. The chapter received
a $1,000 grant from Progress Energy to help restore the St. Petersburg
city park at Little Bayou. A grant of $7500 from the Tampa Bay
Estuary Program was obtained for the planting of the pocket park
known as Rainbow at Mars in Clearwater.
Plant Sales: Our chapter, with the lead of Bruce Turley,
holds major plant sales each spring and fall. Not only do they
provide income for the chapter but also a wonderful educational
and membership opportunity. Our most recent sale garnered 22
new memberships and provided the host, Wilcox Nursery, a record
breaking sales day. At our monthly membership meetings Ray Wunderlich
has consistently provides native plants he has grown for our
silent auction which, over time, has provided an important income
stream.
Newsletter and Membership Communication: We have had
one of the best newsletters in the state and one of the first
to go digital. Thanks to Lisa Curry, our former editor, the transition
was smooth and accepted by the membership and has substantially
reduced our per-issue cost. Our email communication with our
membership, managed by webmaster Jan Allyn, is outstanding. She
sends a regular feature entitled "News from the Pinellas
FNPS which details activities, advocacy issues, and volunteer
opportunities.
Landscape Tour: In 2007 we reestablished an annual
native plant yard tour for the public. The event sparked the
involvement of new volunteers within the chapter. The tour was
well attended and highly praised as a direct learning experience.
We plan to continue the activity.
Advocacy: In the past several years the Pinellas Chapter's
level of advocacy has increased significantly because of development
threats to our local preserves and parks. In concert with other
local environmental groups, we have been able to affect some
county management policies. Debbie Chayet and Jan Allyn also
provided input at master planning meetings for some of our parks
and preserves. As a way of saving our coastal forests in Louisiana
and Florida we have signed on to two letters, sponsored by the
Gulf Restoration Network, requesting that Home Depot, Lowe,s,
and Wal-Mart cease selling cypress mulch.
Other Projects/Activities: For the last two years,
committee of chapter members, under Bruce Turley,s lead, have
been creating a book on shade gardening with native plants. Jane
Williams created three large notebooks of native plant pictures
and descriptions as a reference for use at our plant sales. We
were also a co-host of the 2008 FNPS State Conference. As you
can see, our chapter is heavily committed to action and should
be very proud of its accomplishments. As a member, if you have
not yet lent your time and talents to our impressive efforts,
don,t keep hesitating. Be involved! The more of us who participate
the stronger and more effective we can be. Your contribution
is very important to the growth of our chapter and the well being
of the communities in which we live.
--Bill Bilodeau
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