Naples Field Days Report, 42nd Annual Conference
Finally I'm getting a chance to reflect on the wild and wonderful Naples Field Days of the 2023 Florida Native Plant Society Annual Conference; this was our first year since the pandemic that we've had any sort of in-person component to our Annual Conference. and I've really missed seeing everyone.
The Naples Chapter organized two days of native plant fun, with vegan-friendly food, plenty of caffeine, two guided hikes, and a pine needle basketry workshop. They were the first of our three regional Field Days to sell out and once I got there I understood why.
The early morning drive from Kissimmee had me road wary. I was navigating the rough streets of the failed Golden Gates Estates subdivision several minutes past the scheduled start time. Sweating, I pulled into a very Florida-esque rural/suburban driveway behind a wall of mostly-native vegetation several minutes past nine am.
This is Collier County's Robert E. Gore, III Preserve - a relatively small preserve carved out of exurbia that links the Florida Panther NWR to the Picayune Strand SF with a wildlife crossing under I-75. Protected basically by the passion and weirdness of a Gore and his mostly-platonic friends, Conservation Collier has picked up the slack and has an aggressive willing-seller landbuying program for the hundreds of small lots around the preserve.
I was greeted by Connie Nagele and Linda Weinland, both grinning their ears off. They offered me a glossy, reusable name tag with their Chapter logo and the saw palmetto part of the FNPS logo, calmed me down, and directed me to the snacks and coffee and tea, arranged tastefully in Gore's former kitchen.
The hike was lead by Molly Duvall of Conservation Collier, but Linda Weinland stepped in when it was time to talk about and find zombie ants. Zombie ants are ants that have been infected with the cordyceps fungus. An infected ant climbs to a height of ~6', walks a little over halfway down a Needleleaf Airplant / Tillandsia setaceae leaf, and then sits there while the fungus produces a reproductive stalk from the ants' head to release spores that will then infect another ant.
The post-session snack spread was divine, with many vegan and vegetarian options, and I was honored to meet many Naples Chapter members. Christy Duff and Beth Courtright invited me to the opening of a funky new bar called The Burrow in the up-and-coming industrial section of town. They introduced me to a number of Naples young conservationists, whose names I forgot instantly. The beer was good and the people watching was even better, but I'm an early riser so I turned in before the band got going.
The Naples Chapter organized two days of native plant fun, with vegan-friendly food, plenty of caffeine, two guided hikes, and a pine needle basketry workshop. They were the first of our three regional Field Days to sell out and once I got there I understood why.
The early morning drive from Kissimmee had me road wary. I was navigating the rough streets of the failed Golden Gates Estates subdivision several minutes past the scheduled start time. Sweating, I pulled into a very Florida-esque rural/suburban driveway behind a wall of mostly-native vegetation several minutes past nine am.
This is Collier County's Robert E. Gore, III Preserve - a relatively small preserve carved out of exurbia that links the Florida Panther NWR to the Picayune Strand SF with a wildlife crossing under I-75. Protected basically by the passion and weirdness of a Gore and his mostly-platonic friends, Conservation Collier has picked up the slack and has an aggressive willing-seller landbuying program for the hundreds of small lots around the preserve.
The hike was lead by Molly Duvall of Conservation Collier, but Linda Weinland stepped in when it was time to talk about and find zombie ants. Zombie ants are ants that have been infected with the cordyceps fungus. An infected ant climbs to a height of ~6', walks a little over halfway down a Needleleaf Airplant / Tillandsia setaceae leaf, and then sits there while the fungus produces a reproductive stalk from the ants' head to release spores that will then infect another ant.
After a delectable spread for lunch we listen to a presentation by a staff member of the fStop Foundation, a outfit that sets camera traps mostly around South Florida followed by a presentation by the Cypress Cove Landkeepers, the nonprofit that spearheaded the protection of the Preserve after Dr. Gore passed and maintains the preserve and the education center.
The post-session snack spread was divine, with many vegan and vegetarian options, and I was honored to meet many Naples Chapter members. Christy Duff and Beth Courtright invited me to the opening of a funky new bar called The Burrow in the up-and-coming industrial section of town. They introduced me to a number of Naples young conservationists, whose names I forgot instantly. The beer was good and the people watching was even better, but I'm an early riser so I turned in before the band got going.
The next day I headed down US 41 to Collier Seminole State Forest to film the Pine Needle Basketmaking workshop. I finally got to meet Riki Bonnema of Miami Botanical Garden after only seeing her on the Conservation Committee calls. In the photo below she's humoring me by showing me her basket.
I also got to see the very pregnant Chelsey and Chris Stevens of the Sunshine State Seekers and the illustrious Paul Rebmann before they headed off on the Pine Flatwoods Trail with biologist Maulik Patel.
Paul Rebmann stands in the back right of the combined group at Collier Seminole State Forest.
State Park Biologist Maulik Patel presents to the combined group before co-leading the hike with Dr. Brian Bovard
One of these days I'll get around to cutting that pine needle basketry video and putting it together, but for now it will relax on my hard drive as I ponder my most important lesson from this weekend, that event organizers that put themselves in the mindset of their attendees leave you with the most warm and fuzzy lasting memories.
No truer statement has ever been written on a sticky note.
By Valerie Anderson, Director of Communications and Programming.
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