Florida Friendly Gardening Workshops and Native Plant Sales for nature and people

 

Learn how to transform your property into a beautiful oasis for people and wildlife that will not only conserve precious water resources and reduce pollution but may also save you time and money. Additional workshops in Hardee and DeSoto counties are now being planned but details are not yet confirmed.

 

These workshops are free and no registration is required. Updates to these workshops will be posted on this page of this website (www.CHNEP.org). Information from this site is also available as a PDF file. As a thank you for participating, each person who attends (while supplies last) will receive a free native plant at the end of the workshop as well as many other informative and useful items.

 

 

Please encourage your friends and neighbors to attend.

 

CHNEP has initiated workshops in Hardee and DeSoto counties since 2005 because they do not have county staff dedicated to a program such as Florida Yards and Neighborhoods. If you live in Charlotte County, Lee County, Manatee County, Polk County, Sarasota County, please follow the links provided to learn more about the workshops offered in these counties.

 

Additional programs working in this area include the Florida Native Plant Society with several chapters in the CHNEP area of concern including:

and the National Wildlife Federation Backyard Wildlife Habitat Program.

 

 

Thanks to all who made prior workshops held in DeSoto and Hardee counties such great successes.

The presentation slides used by each speaker at past workshops are available by clicking on the name of each presenter. If you don't have PowerPoint software, you can download the free software PowerPoint Viewer. (Follow the link then search for "Powerpoint Viewer 2003.")

Past workshops included:

Reference books about native plants at the DeSoto County Library

• The Ferns of Florida: A Reference and Field Guide

• Florida’s Best Native Landscape Plants

• Florida Butterfly Gardening

• Florida Landscape Plants: Native and Exotic

• Florida Wildflowers in Their Natural Communities

• The Guide to Florida Wildflowers

• A Gardener’s Guide to Florida’s Native Plants

• Landscaping for Florida’s Wildlife

• The Shrubs and Woody Vines of Florida

• Southern Gardening: An Environmentally Sensitive Approach

• The Trees of Florida: A Reference and Field Guide

• Wild Orchids of Florida

• Your Florida Guide to Butterfly Gardening

These workshops are offered free because of the cooperation and generosity of many groups, including:

  • Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program

  • Peace River Basin Board of the Southwest Florida Water Management District

  • South Florida Community College

  • Pine Lily Nursery, Deluxe Trees and Shrubs, All Native Garden Center, DeSoto County Parks and Recreation

  • guest speakers

  • Sun State Landscaping (providing lunch on September 8, 2007)

  • Peace River/Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority (sponsoring lunch on October 13, 2007)

  • and many others.

For additional information, contact:

 

Maran Brainard Hilgendorf, Communications Manager

Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program

1926 Victoria Ave, Fort Myers FL 33901, www.CHNEP.org

239/338-2556, Toll Free 866/835-5785, Fax 239/338-2560

mhilgendorf@swfrpc.org, Phone extension 240

 

Working together to protect the natural environment from Venice to Bonita Springs to Winter Haven