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)

Speakers Bureau

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. Contact Mary Jackson 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. 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 shares news and issues, coordinates advocacy strategies among local environmental groups.

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.

Pinellas Chapter volunteers are very active at Pinellas County Extension, assisting with garden maintenance and administrative tasks. Extension has many programs that are complementary to the Chapter's mission, and we promote them to our members and the larger community whenever we can.

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

In addition to covering program costs, the Chapter uses the funds it raises to support local efforts that complement the FNPS mission.

Cindy Peacock, our scholarship chairperson, supervises the donation of an average of $1500 a year in scholarships for environmental youth summer camp programs, which have included Boyd Hill Nature Preserve, Brooker Creek Preserve, Dunedin Hammock Park, McGough Nature Center, and Moccasin Lake Park. The Chapter has also supported adult environmental education by funding a scholarship for the Master Naturalist course. Each year, a special scholarship is designated to honor the late Jerry Shrewsbury, a founding member of our chapter and a generous contributor of his time to benefit local parks and preserves.

The Chapter funds worthy projects on an ad hoc basis as budget allows. Grant applications may be submitted at any time, and are subject to review by the Chapter's board of directors. Project goals must be consistent with the FNPS mission and benefit the community at large. Examples of past grants:

• Expenses related to scanning the historically significant and fragile journals of James MacFarland, a Florida botanist from the 1920s.
• Support for production expenses related to the "Gardening for Native Pollinators" TV production, which will potentially reach millions of Floridians.
• Annual sponsorship of the state FNPS conference.
• Purchase of landscape materials for a native garden at a local halfway house.
• Purchase of landscape materials for a native garden at the Palm Harbor Library.
• Purchase of landscape materials for the native garden at Pinellas County Extension.
• Purchase of landscape materials for a native garden at Nature's Academy in Fort DeSoto County Park.

For information and a grant application, please contact Debbie Chayet.

Plant Sales

Our chapter holds plant sales each spring and fall. Not only do they provide income for chapter projects, they are a wonderful educational and membership opportunity. Each plant sale includes talks by local experts on topics of interest to native plant gardeners. At 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 newsletter "Notes from Pinellas FNPS", compiled and distributed by webmaster Jan Allyn, reaches over 500 members and others; it details chapter activities, local environmental events, advocacy issues, and volunteer opportunities. Our Pinellas FNPS Facebook group is gaining in membership with over 100 members, and provides an opportunity for members to communicate with each other about native plant-related topics.

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.