Upcoming Chapter Events - Please Scroll Down As These Are Not In Chronological Order

Kate Borduas will lead our two-hour walk through the untrammeled northern reaches of Myakka State Forest on well-maintained flat trails. This is a joint walk with the Envrionmental Conservancy of North Port. Depending on conditions and reports, we will walk either the Palmetto Trail or Slash Pine Trail. We will meet at at 9am at the north entrance parking area on East River Rd about 3/4 mile east of River Road. [MAP]

The 8,500-acre forest consists of open prairies and mesic flatwoods. The forest is well managed with frequent managed burns to prevent succession. These burns help promote the lush growth of many wildflowers, some of which are quite rare.

There is a $2 entry fee. If you do not intend to pay online, bring $2 cash to the parking area.Please wear long pants as ticks are often thick in this area. Closed shoes, hat and water recommended.  Car pooling recommended.

There will be a nature walk at South Venice Lemon Bay Preserve, Kenisco entrance from 9-11 am. Guides will be Bill Dunson (long loop about 1.5 miles) and Anne Risberg (short loop about 0.5 miles). We will meet at the entrance at 5472 Kenisco Rd, Venice, FL, at the corner of Euclid Rd. 

The preserve is mainly scrubby flatwoods with extensive scrub oak stands managed for scrub jays. There are both fresh water and saline wetlands and the long loop extends down to Lemon Bay.  Walking is predominantly on sandy trails. No reservations required. Participants must be fully vaccinated, no smoking/vaping and no dogs. Contact Bill Dunson (wdunson@comcast.net) for further information.

Wednesday, February 16, 4:00-5:00 PM Join Dave and Linda Manley from the Mangrove Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society for a Sunset Stroll at Lemon Bay Environmental Park, 570 Bay Park Blvd, Englewood.

The Sunset Strolls are a new series of walks that take place in parks with paved or otherwise smooth paths. The pace is slow, with time for questions and observations. If you are looking for a different experience from our longer morning walks in the woods, you might want to try one of these new walks.

While in Lemon Bay Environmental Park, we will walk only the short trip on the boardwalks along the mangroves looking for waterside native plants. We may see wading birds or other wildlife, and with luck, we’ll see the approaching sunset over the bay. Meet at the nature center.

Join Sarasota County Environmental Specialist Jeff Weber for a walk at Manasota Scrub Preserve, 2695 Bridge St, Englewood. Most walks at this preserve are on the wetlands (east) side, but we will be visiting the west side of the preserve. Jeff will lead us on a leisurely 1-mile hike to explore mesic flatwoods and oak scrub habitats and look for blooming pawpaws, false pennyroyal and yellow jessamine, among others. We'll also see the 3 scrub oak species and some old, gnarled Florida rosemary shrubs.

Bridge street is off of Manasota Beach Rd, just west of the intersection with Englewood Rd. The walk begins at 9am. Limited pull in parking is available at the main Bridge Street entrance with additional parallel parking available along the road shoulder.

Guided Walks at Lemon Creek Wildflower Preserve - FREE with no registration.

Guided Walk: "Successional Changes" -- Feb 18, 10:00am - 12:00pm
          Join Anne Risberg as she discusses expected transitions over time in plant communities..
Guided Walk: Preserve Central Part -- Feb 21, 10:00am - 12:00pm
          Take a guided walk with Charlie Woodruff through the central sections of Lemon Creek Wildflower Preserve learning about the plants and animals that we see along the way. 
Guided Walks at Stump Pass SP, 900 Gulf Blvd, Englewood, Feb 17, 24 at 8:30 a.m.
          Contact Charlie Woodruff at 914-799-0664 for details and required registration
Welcome to Wildflower – Feb. 23, 9:00 – 11:00 a.m.
          Tonya and Steve Bramlage will describe the recently completed preserve restoration project and introduce walkers to preserve plants and animals.
Audubon Morning Bird Walk – Feb. 26, 8:00 – 11:00 a.m.
          Join members of Peace River Audubon and LBC guides for a leisurely, early morning bird walk around Lemon Creek Wildflower Preserve. Note 8:00 start time!
Estuarine Bird Walk – Feb. 28, 10:00 a.m. - noon
          A walk to observe birds on the western (estuarine) side of Lemon Creek Wildflower Preserve with Mike Weisensee.  Bring your binoculars.  Note 10:00 a.m. start time.

COVID Safety - Participants must sign a liability waiver; walk leaders may require face masks. Schedules are listed for information only..Changes occasionally occur and you should confirm via info@lemonbayconservancy.org or at https://lemonbayconservancy.org/contact/

Join Kate Borduas from the Mangrove Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society for a walk at Carlton Reserve, 1800 Mabry Carlton Parkway, Venice at 9am.

This 24,565-acre preserve was acquired by Sarasota County in 1982 to provide a wellfield for the county’s drinking water. With 100 miles of trails, the Carlton Preserve offers unparalleled nature-based recreation in our area. The walk will cover 1.6 miles of pine flatwood, oak hammock, and a large depression marsh. In addition to multitudes of native plants, lichens,epiphytes, and flowers, we may also see Red-headed Woodpeckers and Swallowtail Kites, and perhaps a Crested Caracara!

Directions: Go west on Border Road in Venice to the T junction. Take a left at Mabry Carlton Parkway. The parking lot will be signed on the right.

Join Linda Hayes from the Mangrove Chapter of the Native Plant Society at 9am for an easy walk at Ollie's Pond Park, 18235 Avon Ave., Port Charlotte, FL.  This Park is a 41-acre man-made pond surrounded by pine flatwoods managed by Charlotte County. We will walk a one-mile loop around the pond to identify various native plants and flowers in and around the pond. Bring your binoculars to view raptors, migratory, and wading birds. You'll find the parking lot at 18235 Avon Ave at the intersection of Avon Ave and Gobron St. Most of us will take Toledo Blade south to right on Collingswood Blvd, south to left on Wintergarden Ave. Gobron will be a right turn the park is directly ahead.
Map: https://goo.gl/maps/urt47YHg3AWshtrN6

Help the Mangrove Chapter of the Native Plant Society celebrate its 35th anniversary at Cedar Point Environmental Park, 2300 Placida Road, Englewood. Former and current members will share memories of their time with the chapter and historical documents will be available for perusing. A running photo loop will feature early field trips. You can take a walk with longtime walk leader Al Squires or stroll through the garden with Lois Cantwell, our recently retired president. Light refreshments will be provided. 

If you are thinking of joining our chapter, this would be a good way to get to know us. Masks are required inside the education center.

Join Bill Dunson of the Mangrove Chapter of the Florida Native Society from 9 to 11 a.m. Feb. 1 for a guieded walk at Manasota Scrub Preserve (2695 Bridge Street, Englewood).

The walk is approximately 1.5 miles along a loop trail to explore the tale of two wetlands. Although there are mesic pine flatwoods in both wetlands, the remarkable ecological demonstration is the differences in plants between one wetland degraded by groundwater pumping for the Englewood Water District (wetland 1), and one much less impacted by such pumping (wetland 2).

There is a small parking lot and additional parallel parking available along the road shoulder. The leader requests that all participants be vaccinated. No dogs are allowed in this park.

Walks start at 9am, and end by 11am unless otherwise posted

Tues Jan 4 - Myakka State Forest, 2000 S River Rd, Englewood, FL 34223. 
Entrance fee $2 per person, credit card only.

Walk leader Bill Dunson will escort us on Gordon Smith Trail, a short and scenic 1.5-mile loop trail on easy terrain. We will examine the ecology of pine flatwoods, and a pristine fresh-water pond. This is an early season walk to see what flowers are out and to learn some of the classic flatwoods and wetland plants. Enter at the So River Rd entrance and meet at the parking area about 1 mile into the park.

Sat Jan 8 - Lemon Bay Environmental Park, 570 Bay Park Blvd, Englewood, FL 34223 

Plan to meet walk leader Kate Borduas at the Nature Center. This beautiful 210-acre park boasts 1.7 miles of shoreline on the Lemon Bay Aquatic Preserve. For this visit we will explore the northern reaches of the park consisting of pine and scrubby flatwoods, together with a slough and a mangrove fringe. Recently burned areas will provide us a window into the way habitats repopulate after fires, including ferns, flowers, shrubs, and trees. The walk will be a leisurely two hours with a rest stop halfway.

Tues Jan 18 - Tippecanoe Environmental Park, 2400 El Jobean Rd, Port Charlotte, FL 33948

Meet walk leader Jean Leavitt at the Park endtrance behind the old Stone Crab statium parking lot. We will walk approximately 2.0 miles along loop trail to identify various plants of pine flatwoods, salt marsh along board walk, "Mount Tippi" , and a small fresh water wetland creek.

Wed Jan 19 - Sunset Stroll at the State College of Florida, 8000 S Tamiami Trail, Venice 34293. 4:00pm - 5:00pm.

After entering the campus from Tamiami Trl, make a left turn at the stop sign to go around Lake Jervey. In the first parking lot on the right, look for Linda & Dave and our group near the lakeside sidewalk.We'll stroll around a beautiful lake with lush (mostly native) aquatic plants and other treats including a demonstration food garden. Watch for birds of all sizes.