7 minute read
2025 FNPS Conference Preview
Written by Athena Philips
We are pleased to share a preview of the upcoming 43rd Florida Native Plant Society Conference, to be held April 2-6, 2025 in Gainesville. Excitement is building for the first in-person conference since 2019, to be held at the Hilton University of Florida Conference Center, located next to the UF campus. Save the date–we are looking forward to seeing you in Gainesville.
The Florida Native Plant Society champions Florida’s native plants, and this multifaceted mission will be well covered at the 2025 conference. As the leading organization for Florida’s botanical treasures, we have a rich well to draw from and an important role to play in the state’s future. This year’s gathering will include many beloved activities, but we have added new things, too!
Sessions and CEUs
We’ll have two full days of sessions, featuring three tracks of speakers covering new research, conservation matters, and bridging our home environments with natural ones. We have also lined up Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for Landscape Architects, Florida Nursery Growers, and Landscape Association professionals.
For those who can’t be with us in person, we are offering a virtual option that features one of the session tracks broadcast live and all the same camaraderie of our online conferences from the last few years. Online access will be via the Whova event platform, which will also be available to in-person attendees who wish to network before the conference begins, catch a session they may have missed later, or navigate the venue rooms and schedule.
Speaker Preview
An exciting lineup of speakers will be presenting for us. Dr. Reed Noss will start off our plenary speakers by discussing how to move forward with conservation strategy. Drs. Doug and Pam Soltis will explore the cultural and practical uses of the Tree of Life in addressing conservation and new plant uses, and Dr. Jaret Daniels will discuss how native plants connect people and insects to conservation. We have a variety of concurrent sessions to choose from–these are just a few of the planned sessions:
Hanna Rosner-Katz on plant rescue and conservation seed banking
Rachel Mallinger on fire timing for pollinator nesting and floral availability
Gage LaPierre on Florida meadows
A Florida Wildflower Foundation panel discussion on native seed availability
FNPS Director Adam Arendell on how to use bioblitzes to engage the public
Claire Lewis on homeowner associations (HOAs) and native landscaping
There will also be a lineup of research presentations and a poster session where you can learn about the latest findings in plant science.
Networking and Social Events
We’ll have numerous opportunities for you to meet with leaders in the Society, discover the people working within our committees, and connect with fellow Floridians concerned with the future of our ecosystems. Lunch is included during session days and is a great way to get to know some of the amazing people that participate in our organization. You can also join a team for the Plant ID Contest and mix your skills with your teammates!
There will be four nights of social events, starting with a new offering on Wednesday. Many of us arrive early to enjoy a good night’s sleep before heading out on a Thursday field trip, and there will be an option to enjoy some local sites before the conference gets in full swing. Wednesday you can enjoy a walk from the conference hotel to the nearby Field and Fork Farm for a tour of this campus wildflower meadow and garden where more than forty crops are grown for good causes. Then, as the sun sets, you’ll watch the bats next door take flight from the largest occupied bat houses in the world. On Thursday we have a fun social event at a local brewery, with food trucks and games in a casual atmosphere. Friday we will enjoy a leisurely banquet dinner at the Hilton, and on Saturday we’ll enjoy refreshments, some chapter successes, and local history at the Matheson History Museum.
Field Trip Highlights
The field trip roster is filled to the brim with thirty-one trips to choose from, spanning a wide selection of plant communities. Locations range from private holdings to county parks and national forests, and activities include tram rides overland and paddle trips down crystal-clear waterways. We are very fortunate to have several of our speakers also lead field trips to places they love. There will be opportunities to visit historic sites as well as areas used for research and for training future conservationists, such as the UF Natural Area Teaching Lab trip led by Gage LaPierre.
Since Gainesville is located in the heart of sandhill country, there are several trips to premier longleaf sites that feature rare plants, field research locations, and areas normally closed to the public. Two of the sites have an all-terrain wheelchair available on request. You can also choose a tour of a working silviculture operation in the Ocala to Osceola (O2O) wildlife corridor that manages for wildlife and includes groundcover restoration in the powerline easement. Dr. Marc Minno will lead a trip through San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park to seek butterflies and their host plants. There are two home tour trips to demonstrate native landscape styles ranging from the neighborhood yard to large-scale neighborhood restoration. Or you may like to explore the orchids and carnivorous plants of Goethe State Forest and visit the Goethe Giant, a cypress tree that is over 900 years old. A lucky few will get to kayak the renowned Ichetucknee River with one of our expert speakers, Dr. Ken Sulak. And if a water walk is more your speed, you can wade in the tannic water of the pristine Deep Creek to see a rare southern population of Atlantic white cedar. There are two behind-the-scenes tours, one of the herbarium, mammalogy, and ornithology collections at the Florida Museum of Natural History, and a tour of the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity featuring their work to conserve and rear at-risk butterfly species and create pollinator habitats in Florida. There’s even a tour to the Lubee Bat Conservancy, where you can see the largest fruit bat species up close and learn about their ecologically vital role as pollinators and seed dispersers. This is just a snapshot of the exciting options available for the Thursday and Sunday field trips.
Silent Auction
A fun part of the conference is finding new things to take home from the silent auction and the vendors. We are currently seeking silent auction donations, so consider donating something you want to share with fellow nature lovers or an item from a business that deserves to be known better. We often have live plants, native gift certificates, yard decor, books, artwork, kayak trips, jewelry, and more. Most items will be available in Gainesville, and some items will be available for bidders who can’t attend in person. The conference plant sale has confirmed the participation of Natural Treasures Farm and Nursery, Farnsworth Farm, Cactus Island Nursery, Rewild Nurseries, and the UF Native Plant Nursery–they will be sure to have some interesting selections. Check our event website for updates and plant lists as they come in.
