Special Projects of the Pinellas Chapter

Native Landscape Tour

Shirley's Trail

Stroll this interpretive trail when you visit Heritage Village at Pinewood Cultural Park. It has been planted with tree and shrub species that are native to Pinellas County and which had special uses for Florida pioneers and Native Americans.

In 2008, the Pinellas Chapter worked with the staff at Heritage Village to design new signage for the trail to replace the printed trail guide that was used previously. The Chapter funded the new signs, an example of which is shown here. They include the common and scientific names of plants, one or more photos of each plant, and information about the plants' ethnobotanical uses.

Interpretive Trail Guide (430K PDF)

In Harmony with Nature

"The Healthy Landscape" and "Landscaping and Gardening with Florida Native Plants" are complementary educational presentations that suggest ways to make choices in your garden that conserve resources, nurture wildlife, preserve a sense of place and, of course, include native plant species. Pinellas Chapter members have presented this information dozens of times to neighborhood associations, garden clubs, civic organizations, and other groups.  Designed to make people aware of environmentally friendly approaches to home property management, these programs have been a strong vehicle for promoting our mission in the community. With support from a grant from FNPS, these programs were copied to CD and distributed to every FNPS chapter and Master Naturalist program statewide. The CD is also available for purchase. Contact Bill Bilodeau for more information.

Little Bayou Park

"Pocket Park" at Rainbow & Mars

This lovely little park was made possible by the indefatigable efforts of Pinellas Chapter member Elizabeth France. She lobbied the city of Clearwater and Pinellas County to give her control of a vacant lot at the end of a cul-de-sac created by the extension of Keene Road. She applied for and received a grant from the Tampa Bay Estuary Program to fund the project. She solicited donations of labor, building materials and plants. She marshaled volunteers who cleared exotic plants and trees, installed a circular brick walkway, and continue to plant and maintain the property. The result is a lovely addition to the Skycrest neighborhood. Stop and visit sometime! The park is at the intersection of Rainbow Avenue and Mars Avenue. [map]

Moccasin Lake Butterfly Garden

This native garden is just outside the classroom building at Moccasin Lake Nature Park. It includes plant species that provide nectar for adult butterflies and larval food for their caterpillars. Pinellas FNPS treasurer Jane Williams gathered photographs and composed descriptions of the plants, creating signage that educates visitors to the garden. Native plants there include:

black-eyed susan blanket flower coralbean elderberry	firebush greeneyes maypop partridge pea	privetleaf senna scorpiontail tickseed tropical sage	wild coffee wild lime
American beautyberry	trailing porterweed	dotted horsemint	starry rosinweed
List of plants for Florida butterflies and their caterpillars (PDF file). Article: "Attracting Butterflies to your Central Florida Yard" by Hernando Chapter member Sharon LaPlante

Educational Outreach

Meeting and educating people about native plants is one of the main ways we accomplish our mission. Our outreach programs have been presented to thousands of people at environmental events, neighborhood association meetings, garden clubs, and various civic groups, as well as state conferences of Audubon of Florida and FNPS. We exhibit at many environmental events in the region, with a first-class display created and maintained 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 (ALP), which meets monthly to share news and issues, and to coordinate advocacy strategies when appropriate. Cathy Quindiagan and Bill Bilodeau have been representing the chapter. 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.

We partnered with Heritage Village, a county historical preservation site, to create signage for the Shirley McPherson Trail, a native plant ethnobotanical interpretive trail (see above). 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 collaborated with St. Petersburg Audubon Society for a "Holiday Conservation Celebration" where both organizations present annual awards, have a silent auction fund-raiser, and enjoy a presentation by a top-notch environmental speaker. It's an inspiring event typically attended by over 200 people.

Scholarships and Grants

For many years Cindy Peacock, our scholarship chairperson, has supervised the donation of an average of $2000 a year in scholarships for various city and county environmental summer camp programs for youth. We also provided a 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. We gave a grant of $250 for the Tracy McCommon "Gardening for Native Pollinators" TV production, which will potentially reach millions of Floridians. Each year we are a sponsor of the state FNPS conference. Periodically we receive grant requests to fund native gardens, restoration projects, and other worthy conservation efforts, which we evaluate on a case-by-case basis.

Grants Received

We received a $1,907 grant from the Tampa Bay Estuary Program to print folders filled with literature to be distributed as part of 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 holds major plant sales each spring and fall. Not only do they provide income for chapter projects, they are 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 each of our monthly membership meetings we have a silent auction of plants contributed by members. The different species are described, educating all present about their various virtues and preferences.

Newsletter & Electronic Outreach

We have had one of the best newsletters in the state and were one of the first to "go digital." Thanks to Lisa Curry, our former editor, the transition was smooth and accepted by the membership; it has substantially reduced our per-issue distribution costs. Current newsletter editor Craig Huegel and designer Cathy Vogelsong work hand-in-hand to produce an informative, attractive product. Our subscription-based email communication service, managed by webmaster Jan Allyn, is outstanding. She sends a regular feature entitled "Notes from Pinellas FNPS" which details chapter activities, advocacy issues, and volunteer opportunities.

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 positively affect some county management policies. Lorraine Margeson, 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

A committee of chapter members, under Bruce Turley's lead, have been creating a book on shade gardening with native plants. To educate the public and for use as a reference at plant sales, three large notebooks of native plant photos and descriptions have been created by Jane Williams.