Category: News

FMNP Friends Group Monthly Programs

2^nd Tuesday of Month from 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM

For All of the FMNP Friends Groups Statewide; Members Only

January 12, 2021 – Tuesday

“All About Manatees”

Cora Berchem

Director of Multimedia and Manatee Research from Save the Manatee Club

7:00 – 8:00 pm

• Join us via Zoom – no Zoom subscription necessary

• For FMNP Friends Group Members Only

• Is your membership current with us? If not, no worries! You can renew your membership by visiting the Friends of Pinellas Master Naturalists’ website at http://pinellasmasternaturalists.org/membership-application/.

• This month’s program is being hosted by the St Lucie Friends Group of FMNP

Program Summary:

All About Manatees will cover basic manatee facts, including diet, anatomy, habitat and reproduction. The presentation will also cover threats to manatees and what people can do to help as well as what Save the Manatee Club does to help. There will also be specific information on how manatee protections and how to spot and report sick or injured manatees.

Registration is Required and You Must be One of the FMNP Friends Group Members:

• Please register in advance for this meeting.

• Go to https://ufl.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwudemtqzwiG9RiPuYFopMLCotMRBALcIiL to register.

• After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Speaker Biography:

Ms. Berchem oversees Save the Manatee Club’s live webcams, is involved in all sorts of video production work for the Club, and also maintains the Club’s social media sites. Cora was born and raised in Bonn, Germany, and moved to the United States in 2002. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies from the College of New Jersey and a Master’s Degree in Film and Media from the J.W. Goethe University of Frankfurt/Germany.

Upon moving to Florida, Cora has become an Advanced Florida Master Naturalist through the University of Florida. Cora worked in film and television in New York City before becoming involved with manatees in 2013 when she made a feature-length documentary about Florida’s endangered gentle giants titled “Before It’s Too Late.” Cora did contract and volunteer work for Save the Manatee Club throughout 2014 before joining the staff in 2015.

Apart from multimedia work, Cora also assists with the manatee research at Blue Spring State Park and oversees the Manatee Observer Volunteer Program in the summer to prevent manatee harassment. Outside of work, Cora enjoys traveling, photography, and scuba diving.

Join Us for Our
Friends of Pinellas Master Naturalists
Annual Membership Meeting via Zoom
From the Safety of Your Own Home

April 29, 2020 – Wednesday

6:30 PM – 8:00 PM

Registration is Required for Our Meeting & Webinar via Zoom at

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_R24tr1wASJCqEO3nAaRrkw

Although we can’t be in-person, we are excited about sharing this annual meeting with you, as well as a live presentation by Dr. Marty Main!

Join Us to Revisit the Past Year’s Activities and Learn about Our Plans for 2020

• Learn how the Friends of PMN keeps expanding outreach in the community.

• Discover details about our upcoming webinars.

FMNP Scholarships from the Friends of PMN

• Learn how your Friends of PMN Scholarship Program for FMNP classes is reaching the community.

Election Results: Your votes have been tallied! Meet your new Board Members for 2020-2022.

Webinar: Enjoy learning about UF/IFAS Florida Master Naturalist Program updates from none other than Dr. Marty Main, FMNP creator and Program Leader! He will share with us about upcoming courses in the Restoration Series, advances with the FMNP Endowment, and then Dr. Main will deliver a program providing insights about seasonal changes engaging us to see Florida a little differently.

Zoom Directions:

• Before the start of the webinar, if you haven’t already, be sure to download Zoom by clicking this link and choosing “Zoom Client for Meetings.” Click here to download Zoom.

• You do not need a Zoom account to join us.

• Plan to sign-in to the meeting 10 minutes early, in case you need a few extra minutes.

• After registering, on the evening of the meeting click in your confirmation email where it says, “Please click this URL to join.”

Questions? Contact Jeanne Murphy at jmurphy@sensingnature.com.

We look forward to seeing you!

Please note that due to health concerns surrounding the Covid-19 virus many events are being postponed or cancelled.  Please check back with us as we update our calendar with new dates.  Also, the upcoming annual March membership meeting has been postponed until April.

The Friends of Pinellas Master Naturalists would like to remind you the deadline for the next scholarship drawing is June 30, 2019 – get you application submitted now!

The scholarship is good for any one of the eight UF/IFAS Florida Master Naturalists Program courses and must be used for a course offered in Pinellas County before the end of one year from the award date – details and application can be found at: SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION

1. The Friends of Brooker Creek Preserve have added a NEW program called Songbird Sunrise. As the title hints as, this is for early risers, but be sure to check this out on the monthly calendar. Our first one will be Saturday, July 14^th!

2. Also NEW is our Featured Creature Series, led by our very own Penny, a passionate Brooker Creek volunteer. July will feature the gopher tortoise, so come find Penny along our Education Center trail between 9:30-11:30am

3. Another one of our dedicated volunteers, Cheryl has started a NEW Junior Naturalist Hike for our little ones 😉 Bring your kiddos on Friday, July 20^th at 9:00am.

4. I wasn’t kidding…James will be teaching another NEW program called “More than Mushrooms: The Unsung Heroes of the Fungus Kingdom”. A flyer is attached for this program that will take place on Saturday, July 21^st from 10:30am-noon.

Other exciting programs:

1. We kicked off our 4^th Wildlife Wednesday Webinar series in June. July will feature Common Ducks of Central Florida! This is an online learning opportunity, so tune in with us during your lunch break J All ages are welcome! I’ve attached the flyer for this. You can also catch all of our past webinars online at: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMHbwAhD6pLea-Z1kyYDta1ifvKUy1aJi

2. There are still a few spaces left for our super fun, hands-on ECO Teacher Training Workshop! We will explore frogs, Florida agriculture, water resources, sea turtles and trees. You won’t want to miss it, so if you’re an educator, be sure to check it out: https://eco2018.eventbrite.com I’m attaching the flyer for this program.

Lastly, these don’t take place until August, but I can’t wait to tell you about them: 

1. I’ve officially opened registration for the 3^rd class of my Florida Waters Stewardship Program! This multi-session program takes you on a deep dive to learn about Florida’s water from the groundwater to the oceans and everything in-between including impacts to our water. I could go on and on about how great this program is, but instead I’ll direct you to the website where you can find more details and the program schedule. I hope you will consider becoming a water steward and joining the 40 other water stewards from Class I and Class II. Check it out:http://fwspclass3.eventbrite.com A flyer is attached for this as well.

2. Have you noticed all the momentum around reducing the use of plastic straws?! We have partnered with 1 Piece Each to offer you a screening of STRAWS, the documentary and we will also include an introduction to microplastics and ways to get involved with the Florida Microplastic Awareness Project!

Julia Herbst of Palm Harbor

We are thrilled that our winner will be using this scholarship to complete her third class in the Florida Master Naturalist Program and that she wants to inspire people ‘new’ to the outdoors to love and protect their plants locally and beyond.

Congratulations Julia!

Interested in applying for a Scholarship?  Details and application are at http://pinellasmasternaturalists.org
Interested in supporting or funding a future scholarship? Contact us at friends@PinellasMasterNaturalists.org
Friends of Pinellas Master Naturalists, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit environmental organization supporting the mission and goals of the University of Florida/IFAS Florida Master Naturalist Program – scholarships are possible through membership dues, donations and fundraising efforts – We thank you for your support.

Brooker Creek Epiphytes ferns and Wildflowers – August 22nd