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December brings Color to Hernando County
In December in Hernando, the leaves of many of our trees, shrubs and vines surprise us with bright reds, oranges, and golds. Take a drive in our forested locales, especially near the wetlands, and you will see cypress, maples and sweetgums in their glory. A hike through our state forests will provide a close, more casual look at winged sumac, persimmons, Virginia creeper and more in their holiday attire. For a detailed survey of the most colorful native Floridians, see the article, Florida Fall Color.
Upcoming Programs
January 5
The State of the State— Eugene Kelly, The Nature Conservancy, and President, FNPS
Conservation Corner
The High & Low Tech of Composting
You'd never know it from some of the elaborate methods you read about, but composting is really a very simple and basic process. But then again, if you really work at it, composting can be a very expensive and elaborate proposition. Let's look at the simple way.
In the natural world, composting is a normal and continuous process. As fallen fruit, leaves, and branches accumulate beneath plants and trees, they eventually decompose and become a part of the soil. These nutrients are in turn reabsorbed to help sustain the plants from which they came.
The first man-made 'compost' probably came from waste piles formed by our hunter gather forefathers. When seed-containing waste was thrown on the pile, no doubt, 'volunteers' would eventually sprout and thrive. Many anthropologists believe that such a serendipitous event could have been one of the catalysts that led to modern agriculture—an advancement that eventually freed human kind from the nomadic life necessitated by the hunter gatherer existence.
You can bet these early composters didn't go to the mall to buy a multi-binned tumbling super-duper composter. Simply piling your yard and vegetable waste in a corner of the yard will yield satisfactory results. My favorite method is to dig a trench a couple feet long and four or five inches deep in an unoccupied section of a flower bed, then spread the vegetative kitchen waste I've collected the length of the trench and cover with the soil and mulch displaced when the trench was dug.
There are a few simple rules of what can and cannot go in to your compost. If you are using a low tech method—avoid adding any seeds from unwanted plants—you don't want undesirable 'volunteers'. Other than that, most any vegetative waste will work. The only animal derived waste to use are hair, nail, and claw clippings, never use meat or animal fat.
Keep an eye on this column for other conservation ideas you can use to improve your life and environment.
Mark Hutchinson
Conservation Chair
Sabal minor E-news
Are you getting your Sabal minor on-line? If not, the Society may not have your correct e-mail address. Please send it to info@fnps.org to keep up with all the FNPS organizational news. You can also get the Sabal minor on-line, in pdf and expanded web page format.
Give a gift that gives on giving by purchasing a FNPS gift membership for only $25.00. For a membership form, visit http://www.fnps.org
December - No Public Meeting
Chapter Membership Holiday Feast
Saturday December 6, 2008
Each year the members gather at a member's home to share recipes and best wishes for the Holiday season. To join in, just join up. An annual family membership costs less than a family holiday dinner at a restaurant!
Next month, on Monday, January 5, we will start our public programs for the year with Eugene Kelly, President of the Florida Native Plant Society, who works for The Nature Conservancy, Science Department. We all look forward to hearing Gene's perspectives on the state of the state of Florida, and future directions for the Society.
Monthly meetings and programs of the Hernando Chapter are held on the first Monday of the month, and are open to the public, free of charge. Meetings are held at the Hernando County Cooperative Extension Office – 19490 Oliver Street (next to the County Fairgrounds) in Brooksville. We gather for delicious food and fellowship at 6:30pm, meeting and program starts at 7:00pm. For more information about this program or the Florida Native Plant Society, contact the Hernando Chapter Board at hcfnps@gmail.com.
Chapter News & Resources
Sid Taylor served as photographer for Pioneer day, and did an arresting job. Many Hernando Chapter members participate in activities in the community, especially at Chinsegut Nature Center. This commemorative newsletter (download the pdf file, 1.4meg) from November's Pioneer Day features many of our friends in action. Thanks to Becky Brown for compiling it!
Officers for 2009
We are pleased that Miki Renner has again agreed to serve a term as our Chapter's President. Other officers for 2009 include VP for Admin, Cindy Liberton, VP for Events, Jason LaRoche, Treasurer, Sue Blakeman, Chapter Rep, James Clayton, and our new Secretary, Judith Simpson.
Many other volunteers make up the Chapter's Board, serving as Chairpersons for important Chapter activities. The Chapter thanks Sid Taylor for her decade-long service on our Chapter's board. In recent years, she has served as Program Chair, and has been responsible for high quality programs for the membership and general public. She has been awarded a FNPS Green Palmetto Award for public education, and is admired across the state for her work to capture the history of Florida's pioneers and educate the public about the natural bounty of our state.
Chairpersons who have agreed to serve in 2009 include: Bruce Vanderveen will do Membership, along with keeping our website current, Brooke Martin will continue to be our archivist, Kristin Woods is at the Education helm, Mark Hutchinson will keep the conservation fire alight, and Elizabeth Hamilton has agreed to assist Christie Andenberg with hospitality and follow-up on our new Habitat for Humanity project. Thanks much to our propagators, Rita Grant and Traudl Heddelson, who bring native plant friends into our lives. We are also joined by Jennifer Roberts, who will assist with our program planning and other public education efforts. In the "transition team" board meeting November 18, initial planning for next year included a workday to spruce up our planting at Greenbean Organic Supermarket, pursuing the Habitat for Humanity project, and considering a presence at Brookville's Saturday market.
If you would like to participate in an activity or project in 2009, please contact our President, Miki Renner at pinery@wildblue.net
Governor Crist keeps Florida Turtles off the Dinner Table
In a recent memo to FWC, the Governor urged "that the commission move toward a complete ban on the harvesting of our wild turtles." Read the memo, and consider writing the Governor to thank him for his attention to the turtle biologists of our state, and concern for the future health of our wildlife. Download http://hernando.fnpschapters.org/news/newspdfs/cristletteronturtles.pdf.
Water Restrictions Extended to February
The Southwest Florida Water Management District's Governing Board recently voted to extend the current Water Shortage Order, which restricts lawn watering throughout the District to one-day-per-week, through Feb. 27, 2009. The Governing Board chose to extend the term of the water shortage order because the region is still impacted by the nearly three-year drought and portions of the District did not receive enough rain during the annual rainy season.
Your day to water is linked to your house number in most areas. For more information, see the announcement.
The State Shortfalls Spell Danger for Florida Forever
It is ironic that at the time when real estate for preservation may be more affordable than it will ever be again, budget shortfalls make Florida Forever funding uncertain. A recent memo to Governor Crist from the Florida Forever Coalition spells out what we stand to lose if the program is not funded as planned.
The memo stresses, "Florida Forever has also protected many of the beaches, rivers, forests, and estuaries that are the foundation for our $65 billion tourism industry, generating almost $4 billion in direct tax revenue annually. Florida Forever helps guarantee the beauty and quality-of-life that attract so many people — residents and guests — to Florida."
Karina Veaudry, FNPS Executive Director writes, "Individual organizations and individual citizens need to start contacting their legislators now to lobby for FF funding, and speak to congressional delegates and legislators about the important issue of funding FF." For more information, read the memo or visit www.supportfloridaforever.org
