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FNPS Mission: To preserve, conserve, and restore native plants and native plant communities.
Learn more by visiting the FNPS website • Check our calendar for upcoming events sponsored by the Pinellas, Nature Coast, and Suncoast Chapters • Not a member yet? Join today!
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Monthly program: Florida's Native Palms
6:30 p.m., Wed., Jan. 8th Moccasin Lake Nature Park, 2750 Park Trail Lane, Clearwater
Jan Allyn will give a program on Florida's native palm species, including information about  how/whether to trim palms, and about lethal bronzing, a growing threat to native and exotic palms. In her former life as a book publisher, Jan wrote and published "A Guide to Landscape Palms" which describes the most common native and exotic palms used in Florida landscapes.
Meeting starts at 6:30 with announcements, refreshments and native plant silent auction. Presentation is at 7:00. Come at 6:30 and meet your new President, Michael Coleman and new Directors Bonnie Carine, Nicole Jones and Pam Schrader. See below for a brief bio on each new member of the Board.
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January Fieldtrip: Gizella Kopsick Palm Arboretum
Saturday, Jan. 11th, 9:00 - 11:00 am
11th Ave NE & N Shore Dr NE, St. Petersburg, FL 33701
 This St. Petersburg park overlooking Tampa Bay has more than 500 palms and cycads representing some 150 species from around the world. Development of the arboretum is a continuing, never-ending project. The collection will grow as new species become available. Its development is supervised by the City Beautiful Commission in cooperation with the St. Petersburg Parks and Recreation Department.
Meet at the entrance at 11th & N Shore Drive at 9:00. Bring a bag lunch and a blanket to spread out on the grass, and after our tour we'll find a good spot for a picnic.
More information about the park: http://www.stpeteparksrec.org/gizellakopsick/
Please RSVP by email: pinellasfnps@gmail.com
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Calling All Butterfly Gardeners!
January 25th, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., Moccasin Lake Nature Park, 2750 Park Trail Lane, Clearwater
Join Nicole Schmidt Jones of Hort & Soul Landscape Design for a volunteer workday to benefit our pollinators. Please bring hand tools, gloves, and a reusable water bottle. Nicole will have cold water available. Thanks to all the dedicated folks who have been helping us to maintain the garden these past months. Your efforts are sincerely appreciated! No RSVP required, just flit on over to the park.
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Meet Your New 2020 Chapter Officers & Directors
We are excited to welcome back many of our 2019 Directors and introduce five new additions to the 2020 Board.
Michael Coleman, President
Michael Coleman is a decorated veteran, retired CFO/COO in manufacturing and Food/beverage distribution industry, and an attorney and college professor. He comes armed with the knowledge and leadership skills to lead this chapter into the new decade.
Michael has been a member of FNPS since March 2019, and is excited to increase his knowledge of Florida native plants and plant communities. His other interests include:
- Graduate of Florida Master Naturalist Program
- Graduate of Certified Interpretive Guide Program
- Graduate of UF/IFAS Advanced Plant ID & Workshops
- Eppley Interpretive Program
- Florida State Park Volunteer - Honeymoon Island, Caladesi Island
- Interpretive Walk/Talk/Paddle Programs - Lake Tarpon, various CSOs, Honeymoon/Caladesi Island, Hillsborough River State Park
- Member of Friends of the FMNP, FNPS, Friends of the Islands State Park, Audubon Society
Michael is married to Jackie Crawford. Our thanks to Michael for stepping up and taking the reins from Past President Jan Allyn. You can email Michael at pinellasfnps@gmail.com.
Pamela Schrader, Director / Program Chair
Pam Schrader is a Florida native, born in Gainesville. She grew up in Clearwater/Dunedin and graduated from Eckerd College with a BA in Business Management. Her professional career was in information technology, including coding, training, user support, reporting, documentation and network support.
After retiring, Pam completed the Master Gardener Volunteer program and volunteers with MGV, Florida Botanical Gardens and Sierra Club. Pam's other interests include running, hiking, mountain biking and most importantly - spending time with her family (which includes the dog of course!) She has been a member of FNPS since 2009.
Pam will be chairing the Program Committee which develops the schedule of monthly chapter meeting presentations, field trips and workshops. If you are interested in serving on this committee, or have suggestions for programs, field trips or workshops, email Pam at pinellasfnps@gmail.com.
Bonnie Carine, Director / Membership Chair
Bonnie Carine has been a member of FNPS since 2017, when her interest in gardening and caring for the environment united in a new way. She is a long time organic gardener, who provided most of the food for a family of four while living in Pennsylvania. Moving to Florida provided different challenges. When attempting to control the environment did not succeed, finding a way to work with nature paved the path to focusing on native plants, including learning about edible native plants. She and her husband Gene, an active PCFNPS member, are in the process of converting their yard to mostly native Florida plants.
Bonnie is a retired clinical psychologist, who spent 10 years working in the VA and another 10 in private practice. She became the the Membership Committee chair in 2018 as a volunteer, and we are excited to have her join us as a Director. If you would like to serve on the Membership Committee, or have questions about your membership, you can contact Bonnie at pinellasfnps@gmail.com.
Nicole Jones, Director / Volunteer & Events Chair
Nicole Jones is a Landscape Designer and founded Hort and Soul Landscape Design in 2010. She has a BS in Horticulture and Landscape Design from Michigan State University. Nicole has worked extensively with Florida native plants, collaborates frequently with local native plant nurseries and is a member of the Florida Association of Native Nurseries. She has been a member of FNPS since 2017. Nicole was commissioned to design the landscape for the recently renovated Moccasin Lake Nature Park, where she continues to oversee the maintenance of the Butterfly Garden.
Nicole cherishes her personal time with her husband and two boys, her home garden and time spent in the great outdoors. We appreciate Nicole taking time away from her family to help us strengthen our volunteer program and our outreach efforts through our displays at local events. If you are interested in helping Nicole recruit and manage volunteers, and staff our display at local events, contact Nicole at pinellasfnps@gmail.com.
Robin Peacock, Director / Communications Chair
Robin Peacock has been a member of FNPS since 2004! She is an elementary school teacher with the Pinellas County School System. An avid gardener, native plant aficionado and lover of all living things, she served this summer as an assistant herpetologist at the Boyd Hill Nature Preserve Herpetology Camp. Thirty campers learned about the ecology and conservation of Florida turtles.
Robin is married to Tom Peacock and will be taking charge of the Communications Committee, which handles promoting chapter events and news to our members, and the general public. This includes maintenance of the website, Facebook Page, Meetup Page and production of our monthly Newsletter. Her committee also posts meeting and event notices on community online bulletin boards and to media outlets. This committee needs your help and expertise. If you would like to help with just one of these media channels, you can contact Robin at pinellasfnps@gmail.com.
Pinellas Chapter Florida Native Plant Society - 2020 Officers, Directors and Committee Chairs
President - Michael Coleman
Vice President - Stefan Babjack
Secretary - Susan Taylor
Treasurer - Rebecca Wellborn
Past President - Jan Allyn
Director - Belinda Lambert
Director / Membership Chair - Bonnie Carine
Director / Events & Volunteer Chair - Nicole Jones
Director / Communications Chair - Robin Peacock
Director / Programs Chair - Pam Schrader
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