The annual Native Plant Day returns to John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo on Saturday, Jan. 31.
Nursery volunteers from Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock will have an information booth where visitors can learn the importance of native plants, how to propagate and care for them and how to plant butterfly gardens. Native plants cultivated by the nursery volunteers will be distributed at no cost for planting at Keys residences. This event aims to increase awareness regarding the importance of growing natives in the delicate environment of Key Largo and the Florida Keys.
The event will concentrate on education about plants that grow in the Keys and will include a speaker on pollinators. Keys residents who attend the 10 a.m. talk will be given a chance in a drawing to receive an extra native plant.
There will be two 45-minute nature trail walks through the tropical hardwood hammock, at 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m., as well as two half-hour butterfly garden tours at 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. Each walk and tour is limited to 15 participants, on a first-come, first-served basis.
Native Plant Day is sponsored by Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park, John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park and the Friends of John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park and Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park.
For more information or for accessibility needs, call Elena Muratori, parks service specialist, at 305-676-3786.
