VNPS Florida Trip, March 25-31, 2012
The cost of the trip is $675.00 and includes lodging (double occupancy), lunches, guides, admission fees and a donation of $150 to VNPS. The motels have some breakfast food included.
The trip itinerary begins in the town of Marianna, about 1 hour and 10 minutes from the Tallahassee airport.
While staying in Mariana we will be guided for a couple of days by the eminent botanist Loran Anderson, professor emeritus at Florida State University in Tallahassee. Here is some information about him.
We will also visit Appalachicola Bluffs and Ravines, a Nature Conservancy property south of Mariana that is adjacent to Torreya State Park, which we will also see. The Bluffs and Ravines is a Nature Conservancy property, and we will have a briefing by the director and a tour of the site. Learn more about it here.
The northern part of the tour is on upland environments. When we leave Marianna for the last time, we will venture in to lower lands in the Appalachicola National Forest. There will be a combination of roadside botany and some short walks to see a multitude of plants. We’ll be staying in Appalachicola at the Best Western Inn. We will also see a dune habitat on St. George Island and for the lucky 13, there is a boat tour of the Appalachicola Basin. We’re sorry the boat only holds that many, but there are other places to botanize, and the new museum related to the estuary is a gem.