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Natives
for Your Neighborhood Wednesday,
February 15
Florida
Native Plant Society - Keys Group,
with the
Key West Botanical Garden Society (KWBGS), is inviting the public to
a free presentation (donations encouraged to any/all
organizations involved) of NATIVES for YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD,
by George Gann, President of The Institute for Regional
Conservation (IRC). This program was postponed due to the aftermath
of Hurricane Wilma. Now, more than ever, we need the help from the great
tool found on the website for The Institute for Regional Conservation
(IRC).
Formally launched last September, the Natives for Your Neighborhood (NFYN)
feature is that tool, and George Gann, an IRC co-founder, will
elaborate on the aspects of NFYN demonstrate how to use it most
effectively. Native plant professional and amateur experts as well as
newcomers to the field are finding this innovative web application to be
user-friendly and tremendously useful for placing the "right plant in
the right place." It promotes the use of native plants within their
historical ranges in order to increase the success of native plant
projects and maximize conservation benefits. In view of Wilma's surges
especially, the NFYN feature is more valuable than ever for our work in
our Keys yards, public places, and natural habitats. The site now has
info on more than 500 native plant species and 27 habitats for the 10
southernmost counties of Florida, and it displays nearly 2,000 images
from photographers including Roger Hammer, Chuck McCartney and Shirley
Denton. And if you haven't used the website since the official launch,
please notice NFYN is updated constantly and is now much faster.
(LINK)
This event will be at Key West Botanical Garden, Stock Island,
College Rd., in the charming courtyard, on February 15, 2006,
Wednesday evening. We begin with the 7 PM 'mystery' plant ID session
along with raffle plant descriptions. Please bring your cuttings of
interesting/mystery plants - include fruit or flowers if possible, as
well as stems and entire leaves (not just leaflets of compound leaves).
7:30 PM is the program/meeting, all preceded by optional 5:30
and 6:00 brief overview Botanical Garden tours and optional 6:15
box dinners, pre-arranged, for a small charge, with the Garden at
296-1504.
The native plant raffle follows the program. As always, members
are encouraged to bring a healthy, potted and labeled, Keys native plant
for the raffle; you will receive a raffle ticket for each plant you
donate. Most raffle plants are graciously provided by the Pennekamp
State Park native nursery which depends on the hard work of
knowledgeable, dedicated volunteers. Raffle proceeds help fund FNPS programs.
General, program-specific, and new-member info, plus merchandise
(publications, T-shirts) will be available throughout the event.
The Florida Native Plant Society's purpose is to promote the
preservation, conservation, and restoration of the native plants and
native plant communities of Florida.
FNPS operates through our chapters and our state programs to implement
and fulfill our mission.
For comprehensive info about Dade/Keys FNPS, IRC, and KWBGS please visit
their websites:
fnps.org
regionalconservation.org
keywestbotanicalgarden.org |
