Dade Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society

LEARN HOW TO BE A MORE ENGAGED, EDUCATED AND EFFECTIVE ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCATE!

Become a lifelong champion for birds, other wildlife and South Florida’s natural places.

Register today for our empowering 2024 program featuring online classes, field trips, deep dives with local experts and hands-on advocacy campaigns.

NEW streamlined schedule features four South Florida ecosystems!

This award-winning education series is Free & Virtual!
Virtual Sessions in Spanish and English!

You can now register for the 2024 season of the Tropical Audubon Ambassador Program! This free and virtual program teaches South Floridians ages 18+ how to be more engaged and effective advocates for our local ecosystems. The registration deadline has been extended to September 3rd, with a program start date of September 12th. This year’s new streamlined structure features four South Florida ecosystems: Everglades, Biscayne Bay, Pine Rocklands, and Tropical Hardwood Hammocks! Sessions are also offered with live Spanish interpretation. Other program highlights include expert panelists, field trips to local ecosystems, and action alerts on pressing environmental issues.

Reach out to Education & Advocacy Director, Stephanie Clements, Ph.D., at [email protected] with any questions. Tropical Audubon Society

Deadline to register 9/3/2024: https://tropicalaudubon.org/ambassador

Posted by: Florida Native Plant Society

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has just announced plans to defile up to 9 of our illustrious State Parks with grossly incompatible development, including golf courses in the scrub of Jonathan Dickinson State Park, a 350-room lodge adjacent to the beach and dunes at Top Sail Hill Preserve State Park, and pickleball courts and a disk golf course in the mesic hammock of Hillsborough River State Park. The proposed unit management plan amendments and conceptual maps for each of the parks are available in our action alert at https://www.fnps.org/news/alerts. It is difficult to comprehend the incompatibility and insensitivity of these proposals, and the process for conducting a public review is similarly outrageous.

The FDEP announcement of these proposals was released on Tuesday the 20th – and the 8 one-hour public meetings to collect public comment will all be conducted concurrently NEXT TUESDAY, AUGUST 27. This is a stealth attack on our public lands. Information on the proposals for each of the 9 affected State Parks (Jonathan Dickinson, Hillsborough River, Honeymoon Island, Anastasia, Topsail Hill Preserve and Grayton Beach, Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson, Oleta River and Camp Helen State Parks), and meeting locations and times, are all available using the links provided below. If one of these Parks is especially important to you, or if you live near one of these meeting locations and can plan to be present, PLEASE ATTEND and speak in defense of our entire State Park system. Because if state officials are allowed to get away with this kind of development in these parks, they will not stop there.

🚨Jonathan Dickinson State Park Public Meeting | Florida Department of Environmental Protection
DATE AND TIME: Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, 3 – 4 p.m. (ET)
PLACE: The Flagler of Stuart – 201 SW Flagler Ave, River Room, Stuart, FL

Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park Public Meeting | Florida Department of Environmental Protection
DATE AND TIME: Tuesday, Aug. 27, 3 – 4 p.m. (ET)
PLACE: Downtown Event Center - 416 NE First Street
Lecture Hall, Building C – 2nd Floor (Enter at Main Entrance 😎, Fort Lauderdale, FL

Hillsborough River State Park Public Meeting | Florida Department of Environmental Protection
DATE AND TIME: Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, 3 – 4 p.m. (ET)
PLACE: Jimmie B. Keel Regional Library – 2902 W. Bearss Ave, Community Room D, Tampa, FL

Oleta River State Park Public Meeting | Florida Department of Environmental Protection
DATE AND TIME: Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, 3 – 4 p.m. (ET)
PLACE: Florida International University – Kovens Conference Center
Room 114, 3000 N.E. 151 Street, North Miami, FL

Honeymoon Island State Park Public Meeting | Florida Department of Environmental Protection
DATE AND TIME: Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, 3 – 4 p.m. (ET)
PLACE: The District, 11141 US HWY 19 N., Suite 204, Clearwater, FL

Anastasia State Park Public Meeting | Florida Department of Environmental Protection
DATE AND TIME: Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, 3 – 4 p.m. (ET)
PLACE: First Coast Technical College – The Character Counts Conference Center, Building C 2980 Collins Ave, St. Augustine, FL

Camp Helen State Park Public Meeting | Florida Department of Environmental Protection
DATE AND TIME: Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, 3 – 4 p.m. (CT)
PLACE: Lyndell Conference Center – 423 Lyndell Lane, Panama City Beach, FL

Topsail Hill Preserve and Grayton Beach State Parks Public Meeting | Florida Department of Environmental Protection
DATE AND TIME: Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, 3 – 4 p.m. (CT)
PLACE: WaterColor Lakehouse – 238 Watercolor Blvd W, Santa Rosa Beach, FL

If you attend, please make it clear you object to the proposals and consider sharing any of these points:

-The mission of the State Park system is to preserve these lands in a natural condition in perpetuity for the enjoyment of all Floridians, current and future. Preservation should supersede recreational use.

-Recreational uses allowed in State Parks should be resource-based activities that are dependent on a natural state and condition. Pickleball courts and disk golf courses can be developed nearly anywhere, and the enjoyment of those activities does not require natural surroundings.

-The enjoyment of compatible, passive recreational uses like hiking, botanizing and wildlife observation can be greatly compromised by uses that intrude on the quiet and solitude of a natural area, and that could be more easily and effectively be provided in urbanized areas.

-The rare and sensitive natural resources protected in a State Park should never be destroyed or displaced in favor of nonpassive uses.

-Altered areas should be dedicated to habitat restoration or low impact development necessary to provide access for compatible uses.

We will continue to oppose these proposals until they have been withdrawn. Stay tuned for a follow-up alert that will launch the next stage of our opposition.

Next Tuesday, August 27, DEP is holding public meetings for the proposed changes to the state park management plans. For a list of the meeting details meetings, visit: https://drive.google.com/file/d/19l1rswp9L93JnclsEKpbHJ7tyYgzFSPS/view?usp=sharing

Oleta River State Park
Tuesday, August 27, 2024, 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. (ET)
Florida International University (FIU), Biscayne Bay Campus, Kovens Conference Center - Room 114
3000 N.E. 151 Street North Miami, FL 33181
https://www.flrules.org/Gateway/View_notice.asp?id=28665748

🌳 Miami-Dade County Mayor releases Draft Urban Forestry Plan for community feedback

We invite your thoughts and feedback.

At the direction of Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and the request of the Miami-Dade County Commission, Miami-Dade County developed the draft plan to inform residents, businesses and stakeholders of the state of our urban forests and the challenges we face so that we can outline steps to collectively take to advance our goals for an equitable, robust and resilient urban forest system. Miami-Dade County cannot achieve these goals alone, which is why your input is so critical.

Provide your comments through the online survey form below by Monday, August 26

👉Read the Plan:https://www.miamidade.gov/economy/library/urban-forestry-report.pdf

👉Take the Survey: https://feedback.miamidade.gov/jfe/form/SV_6DoSCnM2RHCQP8a

🌳🌳 “PLANT FLORIDA NATIVES!”🌳🌳

🌳 Native trees are more important than ever in our urban environments.

They provide shade, reduce heat through evapotranspiration, and improve air quality, helping to combat the urban heat island effect as temperatures in our cities continue to rise. Not to mention they create biodiverse habitats for many insects, birds, and mammals.

🌴Use this handy dandy search tool: ( https://www.fnps.org/plants ) to find Florida native trees that are suitable for your ecotype.



(source: https://loom.ly/uxLCkcA)

During Florida summers we need plants that can, not just survive the heat, but thrive in it. Native plants are adapted to do just that - they’ve been part of Florida’s landscape for centuries.

Native plants also nourish our native wildlife – pollinators need blooms throughout the growing season, birds feed on seeds and fruit, and all wildlife needs cover and places to raise young.

Some native species do well in full sun while others need some shade to thrive. Read the full blog post to learn more about native plants that thrive in our hot Florida summers.

Read the full blog: https://floridawildlifefederation.org/florida-native-plants-can-take-the-heat/

📸: Butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa) by Daniel E. Rieck

Happy ! Clematis is a large plant genus with well over 300 species mostly found in temperate regions. Florida however is home to 6 species, one of which is endemic, Pine-hyacinth (Clematis baldwinii). This whimsical little wildflower occurs naturally in moist flatwoods, sandhills and prairies throughout much of the peninsula.

Happy ! Clematis is a large plant genus with well over 300 species mostly found in temperate regions. Florida however is home to 6 species, one of which is endemic, Pine-hyacinth (Clematis baldwinii). This whimsical little wildflower occurs naturally in moist flatwoods, sandhills and prairies throughout much of the peninsula.

Learn more here: https://www.flawildflowers.org/flower-friday-clematis-baldwinii/

Photo by Bob Peterson (CC BY 2.0)

The third bud of the second 2024 bloom has opened on our "Super" ghost orchid! Look closely to see a green crab spider (Misumessus oblongus) hiding in the middle blossom.

Photo: R J Wiley

! 2 birds in the bush!
American beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) is in the mint family (Lamiacaeae). Appropriately enough, the genus name is Greek for beautiful fruit. Usually the fruit is a bright purple, but white berries sometimes occur naturally and both purple- and white-berried shrubs are available in the native plant trade.
It's native to all of Florida. Did you find the two birds in my beautyberry bush? A Cardinal is in the lower left and a Mockingbird is in the upper right.
Read my article for more details and more photos, plus I've included a link to my recipe for beautyberry bread. https://greengardeningmatters.blogspot.com/2020/03/for-more-beautiful-yard-plant-more.html

SEPTEMBER WEBINAR: Natural Heritage Know-How: An Intro to FNAI with Research Scientist and Botanist Hanna Rosner-Katz

Have you heard of the Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI) - our state's Natural Heritage Program? This often unsung organization maintains a database of Florida's rarest species to help restore and conserve them.

Be sure to join us on Wednesday, September 18 at 2pm to learn about this critical work and how you can help: https://www.flawildflowers.org/event/240918-webinar-fnai/

Did you hear the news? The "Super" ghost orchid is blooming again. Here is the first of four new buds.

Photo: R J Wiley, photographer in residence

Members of the Florida Native Plant Society (FNPS) recently received the latest issue of "The Palmetto," their peer-reviewed quarterly journal. This is another excellent edition with interesting and educational articles:
- "Dune Savers -- Grassroots Conservation" by Barbara Driscoll and Marcia Warren is about a group of activists work to remove invasives and maintain natives in the City of Treasure Island.
- "Oaks Have a Lot of Gall: The Intimate Interactions of Oaks and Gall Wasps" by Warren Abrahamson provides details on this relationship plus other organisms that are the predators and parasitoids of the wasps.
- "Symphyotrichum Asters for the Home Landscape: Part I" by Craig Huegel is a survey of these excellent and easy-to-grow natives.
- "Love Those Spider Lilies" by Roger Hammer covers the 14 species of Hymenocallis that are native to Florida.

To receive your own copy of The Palmetto, join FNPS today, plus you'll also be part of the effort to help make native landscapes the new normal in Florida. Here's a link to The Palmetto page on the FNPS website that provides access to old copies of our excellent journal: https://www.fnps.org/resources/palmettoissues

Do you know the difference between a female and a male Eastern Black Swallowtail butterfly? Females are typically larger than males. Males have more noticeable yellow and less blue on their wings, while females have more blue and less yellow.

🌿🌟 Exciting News for Homeowners and Communities! 🌟🌿

Our latest blog is live and it's all about a game-changing tool for fighting invasive air potato vines. Learn about a newly available beetle that can help you reclaim your landscape and help heal your ecosystem! 🐞✨

In the blog learn about:
🌱 Invasive Air Potato and its impact
🌿 Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
🍃 The "old" air potato leaf beetle
🆕 The "new" air potato beetle and why it may be more effective!
📦 How to get your own batch of beetles to release and join the fight! 👩‍🌾👨‍🌾

👉 Click for Blog https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/sarasotaco/2024/08/01/new-air-potato-beetle-available/

Sarasota County Government, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences

Happy ! Partridge pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata) is the epitome of summer with its plethora of bright sunny flowers brimming with life. This tough plant occurs naturally in our harshest environments from beach dunes to the scrub providing nectar to butterflies, bees, wasps, flies and even ants. The seeds also feed birds and other wildlife.

Learn more: https://www.flawildflowers.org/flower-friday-chamaecrista-fasciculata/

August is National Make-A-Will Month. You can help us continue our important work of protecting Florida’s native plants beyond your lifetime by putting FNPS in your will. Though making a will may seem daunting, our free will making tool makes this important life goal easy to check off of your to-do list. Get started here - https://buff.ly/3SySKMy