Description
Authors Kendall Southworth and Sean Patton, specialists in creating aquatic ecosystems for pollinators and wildlife, share their knowledge and skills in this guidebook for creating aquatic butterfly gardens in Florida. 70 butterfly species that call Florida home are closely associated with wetlands. Found on shorelines, along backyard ponds and tidal marshes, these species rely on over 100 popular aquatic host plants--the trees, shrubs, grasses, wildflowers and vines--found in Florida's aquatic ecosystems. While Florida has lost more than 9 million acres of wetlands, more than any other state, Florida has created 70,000 stormwater systems that are easily transformed into healthy, resilient hotspots for pollinators and native wildlife. Southworth and Patton cover these underrepresented and undervalued aquatic habitats and show how they can be used to create the critically important ecosystems necessary for the butterfly species of Florida. TOC for Building an Aquatic Butterfly GardenMaking a plan, preparing the area, providing host plants, planting in clusters, planting for continuous bloom, buying local and organic, and maintaining the garden.
About the Author
Sean Patton is an Aquatic Biologist and founder of Stocking Savvy, a habitat restoration company . Sean has researched alternative methods of restoring Florida's landscapes with natural biological systems and native plants and wildlife species to restore habitat across the state. He is Professor of Biodiversity at Ringling College and Plant Coordinator at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. He regularly lectures and teaches throughout the state on aquatic butterfly gardening. Sean lives in Sarasota, FloridaKendall Southworth is a restoration specialist and manager of Stocking Savvy. She has a BA in Environmental Ethics from New College of Florida and works directly with the Science and Environment Council of Sarasota as their Outreach Coordinator. Kendall lives in Sarasota, Florida