Florida Native Plant Society Blog

By Scott Davis It is a wide known fact that the attention span of today's youth is short—and getting shorter. Twenty years ago, it would have taken hours (or days) of research to acquire the same amount of knowledge that can be obtained in just a few seconds of keyboard finger tapping today! Though the future of FNPS depends upon the successful recruitment of members from all age groups and cultures, it is obviously paramount to the society's future to adapt for the ever-changing interests of young people. The Magnolia Chapter's outreach has included local universities and the USFWS. If your chapter hasn't forged partnerships with like-minded organizations, now is a great time to start. Recently, the Magnolia Chapter developed some ideas that have proven to be very effective in "hooking" local youth. Magnolia chapter officers voted recently to establish three chapter leadership positions for student board members. These three positions reflect Tall...

By Gail Fishman Beautiful Wakulla Springs sparkled in the summer sun. The first time I floated over the vent—185 feet below—made me dizzy as a child. The water was so clear it seemed that I might fall into the hole. Geographic and hydrologic elements at Wakulla. Wakulla Spring discharges about 250 million gallons per day, with a nearly constant water temperature of 69ºF. The Wakulla River gently carries the water to meld with the St. Marks River about nine miles away, and together they flow to Apalachee Bay on the Gulf of Mexico. Mastodon bones and a trove of ancient artifacts have been found in the spring. Movies were made—two Tarzan films, Airport 77, and The Creature from the Black Lagoon—because the clarity of the water allowed for stunning underwater scenes. But such is not the case today, even though Wakulla Springs is a protected state park. A gallinule chick makes its way across a mat of Hydrilla . When the water turned dark and the glass-bottomed boats could not ...

Written by Jackie Rolly and edited by Juliet Rynear At the FNPS Annual Conference this year I was listening to Russ Hoffman speaking on “Why People Don’t Get It? - The Psychology of Embracing Native Plants.”  I remember him saying that we should refrain from voicing issues in the negative. The example he used was the state of Texas deciding to put up road signs saying “Don’t Litter,” yet puzzlingly, littering increased. Characteristically, we immediately do what we’ve been told not to do. Later though when Texas put up signs saying “Don’t Mess with Texas,” littering decreased. This was appealing to Texans’ sense of pride of place and even though negatively stated, the pride trait was stronger. So why am I bringing this up?  I have now volunteered to serve on the FNPS Conservation Committee and we are in the process of writing a draft policy on the Conservation and Preservation of Florida’s native plants and their communities. What’s so hard about this?  We as membe...