WEBINAR — Saving Roadside Wildflowers

“Saving Roadside Wildflowers” was originally broadcast live on Sept. 15, 2020. It was presented by Liz Sparks and Suzanne Spencer. View the recording above.

Roadsides are often sunny, disturbed sites — perfect places for Florida’s native wildflowers to take root. And, boy, do they! In this informative presentation, Liz Sparks and Suzanne Spencer will talk about the work being done to protect native wildflower habitat as pollinator pathways and how to work with your county to reduce mowing so wildflowers can flourish. We’ll also spotlight a program in the Panhandle that has been particularly effective, thanks to Santa Rosa County’s extension office and Master Gardeners chapter.

Liz, the Foundation’s Regional Alliance Liaison, joined us in 2017. In an effort to build urban and roadside pollinator pathways, she advises and collaborates with wildflower advocates, local government and the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) in the 34 North Florida counties in FDOT Districts 2 and 3. Before joining the Foundation, she was a planner with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Office of Public Access and Wildlife Viewing Services in Tallahassee. She was previously the paddling trail coordinator for the Office of Greenways and Trails with the Florida State Park Service.

Suzanne Spencer has been a Florida Master Gardener volunteer since 2015, and currently serves as past president of the Santa Rosa County Master Gardener Association. She was chosen as the Foundation’s 2019 Volunteer of the Year for her wildflower conservation efforts in implementing a roadside wildflower program in Santa Rosa County. In addition, she earned the 2019 Award of Excellence for Outstanding Florida Master Gardener, in part due to her involvement in the county’s wildflower program. Suzanne is a former science educator and small business owner/manager. She continues to be actively involved with helping to manage her family’s timberland in Santa Rosa County.