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From the Ground Up:
Natural History Education in an Urban Campus Restoration
Karen Cole1 and Cynthia Bennington2,*
Abstract - We discuss the first phase of development of the Volusia Sandhill Ecosystem, a
teaching landscape on the grounds of the Gillespie Museum, on the DeLand, FL, campus
of Stetson University. Since its initiation in 2011 with the planting of a canopy of 80 trees,
undergraduates and community volunteers have contributed to the site’s development as an
urban-habitat fragment of the Pinus palustris (Longleaf Pine) forests that once dominated
the sandy ridges of Central Florida. In the first 5 years since its establishment, the site has
provided hundreds of undergraduate students opportunities to participate in site development
and interpretation, including the design of new outdoor activities that have been incorporated
into the museum’s K–6 programming. The Volusia Sandhill Ecosystem is a case
study for how, with volunteer labor and modest funding, a small but visible corner of a university
campus has been developed as a community-based environmental project, a research
site for the undergraduate curriculum, and an urban forest with environmental ben efits.
Background
The Volusia Sandhill Ecosystem provides an outdoor classroom and demonstration
site on the grounds of Stetson University’s Gillespie Museum of Minerals
and adjacent environmental learning center in DeLand, FL. In its 5th year of development,
the landscape is a 0.5-ha, ongoing restoration of the Pinus palustris
Mill. (Longleaf Pine) sandhill habitat that was native to western Volusia County
before the area’s agricultural and residential transformation began in the 1880s.
The campus is situated within the historic sandhills of the DeLand Ridge, an area
typified by rolling topography and well-drained sandy soils (German 2009). Like
other areas throughout the coastal plain of the southeastern US prior to European
settlement, the pine uplands on the ridge were dominated by Longleaf Pine and
characterized by a diverse herbaceous understory (Peet 2006). Over the last 150
years, these forests have been reduced to roughly 3% of their historic range, lost
largely to urbanization, citrus agriculture, lumbering, and fire suppression (Frost
1993). Within the city of DeLand, and on Stetson’s campus, most Longleaf Pines
have been removed and replaced by Quercus (oak). As a result of city beautification
projects in the mid-1920s and again in the early 1970s, Longleaf Pine ecosystems
have not only been fragmented, but the pines themselves were re moved.
Our restoration project began in 2011, when the opening of a new environmen -
tal learning center created a need and an opportunity to create a landscape that
embodied a commitment to native habitat and sustainable practices. Through this
1Gillespie Museum of Minerals, Stetson University, DeLand, FL 32723. 2Department of Biology,
Stetson University, DeLand, FL 32723. *Corresponding author - cbenning@stetson.edu.
Manuscript Editor: Andrew Edelman
The Outdoor Classroom
2017 Southeastern Naturalist 16(Special Issue 10):132–145
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restoration, we have developed a small, urban ecosystem similar to the habitat that
once occupied the site, demonstrating the benefits of restoring even a fragment of
a natural system (Fig. 1). In the first 5 years, over 1500 volunteers at all levels
of expertise (including ecologists, undergraduates, K–12 students, and community
gardeners) have engaged in planting, research, and interpretation at the site. We utilized
a modest budget and thousands of volunteer hours to transform the site from
an open, neglected field to a young forest of more than 80 trees and over 1000 understory
plants representing 49 species associated with the sandhill habitat. Support
from the university has taken several forms, including funding for a walking path,
and the freedom to allow the project to grow under its own momentum and the fluid
interests of participants. Now seen by over 11,000 museum visitors and uncounted
numbers of campus pedestrians and community cyclists on the nearby multi-use
trail, the teaching landscape has a broad reach. Here we describe the benefits of
using a small tract of campus land to educate and engage the community, to provide
a convenient and visible research site for undergraduates, and to develop and
maintain an ecosystem with intrinsic value.
A Community-based Project at an Earth Science Museum
As the university’s earth science museum, the Gillespie has for the last 5 decades
fulfilled an environmental mission to (1) provide the community a highly accessible
area for studying natural history through collections and environmental projects
(Fleischner 2011, Hampton and Wheeler 2012); (2) offer the museum and grounds
as an instrument for change (Weil 2012); and (3) promote community participation
in exhibits, interpretations, and, with the current project, ecosystem restoration
(Simon 2010).
The landscape surrounding the museum provides opportunities to educate
visitors about Florida’s natural history. Indoors, the museum features mineral collections
and earth science displays on Florida minerals and fossils and a gallery
devoted to Florida’s natural communities, where small, temporary exhibits connect
earth science and the state’s environmental legacy. As part of a broader university
commitment to environmental responsibility made in the mid-1990s, the museum
grounds were landscaped with 240 trees and shrubs native to Florida. The project
inspired development of a native-tree policy for the campus, which is now designated
by the Arbor Day Foundation as a Tree Campus USA.
The opening of the Rinker Environmental Learning Center in 2009 was the impetus
for a new native landscape, this one featuring an imperiled ecosystem. Unlike
the museum’s earlier initiative, which created a sense of place more broadly, we
conceived the Volusia Sandhill Ecosystem as place-based—a project that reflected
the natural history of the specific site (Davenport and Anderson 2005).
A Research Site to Support the Undergraduate Curriculum
The Volusia Sandhill on Stetson’s campus provides undergraduates with opportunities
to apply scientific knowledge to real-world ecological situations; the
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experience increases their scientific literacy (Reynolds and Lowman 2013) and
strengthens student commitment to conservation (McFall 2011). On the southeastern
Figure 1. The Volusia Sandhill Ecosystem was initiated on a neglected field adjacent to
Stetson University’s Rinker Environmental Learning Center in 2011. (A) The first Longleaf
Pine tree was planted to commemorate Arbor Day that year. (B) Five years later, the site has
nearly 80 trees and a developing understory.
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corner of campus, the site is accessible for outdoor classroom and laboratory exercises
for undergraduate courses in the natural sciences (including plant ecology,
geography, environmental sciences, and introductory biology for both majors and
non-majors) as well as instruction and self-directed study for students in the humanities
and social sciences (such as nature writing, environmental policy, and
museum studies). The restoration area is situated on the campus periphery; thus,
it was less managed and manicured than the center of campus. The more natural
conditions at the site created opportunities for student engagement in restoration,
including individual research projects related to the ecology and natural history of
Florida’s sandhills.
An Urban Forest
The Sandhill Ecosystem project has introduced elements of the historic landscape,
and recreated some of the habitat and services of intact sandhills on a plot
with highly altered soil covered in turfgrass and weeds. Home to many locally rare
and endemic species, sandhills and other Longleaf Pine ecosystems that once dominated
the North American Coastal Plain are recognized as a hotspot for biodiversity
(Noss et al. 2015). This rich diversity has been threatened, however, as Longleaf
Pine ecosystems have been reduced by human exploitation over the last 150 years
(Jose et al. 2006). The dry, upland sites occupied by sandhills in Florida are gravely
imperiled because they continue to attract new land development for residential,
commercial, and even recreational uses (particularly golf cours es) (Noss 2012).
In Florida, the largest remaining tracts of Longleaf Pine occur on federal and
state lands. While management of large national forests and other protected land
is centrally important to modern conservation efforts (e.g., Hodgson et al. 2011),
small urban/suburban fragments of native habitat can also play a role in conserving
biodiversity (e.g., Alvey 2006, Baldock et al. 2015) and providing ecosystem
services (Niemelä et al. 2010). Given the small size and recent origin of the Volusia
Sandhill Ecosystem, the soil characteristics, vegetation structure, and total plant
diversity differ from protected tracts of undisturbed sandhill habitat. As a result,
the plant and animal assemblages are likely to remain a novel mixture of species,
not completely reflective of those found in large sandhill occurrences (e.g., van
Nuland and Whitlow 2014). We expect, however, that with intentional management
designed to mitigate those differences (e.g., the introduction of fire and continued
removal of turfgrass), generalist species common to sandhill habitats, particularly
those at lower trophic levels (e.g., Gibb and Hochuli 2002), will populate the site.
Importantly, this 0.5-ha area will ultimately offer a home for pollinators, other arthropods,
birds, reptiles, and amphibians that would otherwise be absent from our
51-ha campus.
Approach
In every sense, this project has developed from the ground up. The site was made
available with the opening of a new environmental center and consensus that the
landscape should extend the museum’s native plant initiative; the geologic history
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and notable slope of the site shaped our plan to establish a Longleaf Pine sandhill
ecosystem. From the start, that plan has been informal and flexible, beginning with
a brief mission statement (to establish a native ecosystem as a teaching landscape),
a list of species to plant, and a schematic site plan. Plants have been added and lost,
small areas have been designated for uses not originally conceived, and the project
has gained partners. While expediency, funding, and volunteer commitment have
driven various stages of site development, the central narrative for interpretation
has remained the same and is guided by an early proposal for 10 “teaching stations”
related to the cultural and natural history of sandhills.
We have measured progress informally and by the academic calendar. Typically,
changes are most noticeable during fall and spring semesters, when trees,
understory plants, and seedlings are introduced and educational programming and
interpretation are developed (Table 1). Maintenance and some outdoor programming
occur in summer months.
The site was first established—environmentally as well as visually—in the summer
of 2011, with the installation of a temporary gray-water irrigation system and the
planting of 65 Longleaf Pines (from grass stage to 10 years old), 10 Prunus caroliniana
(Mill.) (Aiton) (Carolina Laurelcherry), 7 Diospyros virginiana L. (Common
Persimmon), and 6 Quercus laevis Walter (Turkey Oak) trees. We purposely planted
at a density that is slightly higher than would be found in a mature Longleaf Pine
forest (Gilliam and Platt 1999) because it was important to establish a visual impact
on the site even in the early stages. We expect some mortality and are prepared to
remove mature trees, if necessary, to retain the grassland community structure associated
with historic sandhills. We set up and expanded understory plots during a
series of community workdays and class projects in the 1st and 2nd years (2011–2013).
Each new area provided manageable projects within areas typically 30–40 m2 in extent,
with a visible outcome and a volunteer group to highlight in publicity. In the first
years, over 700 volunteers helped to move the project forward.
In year 3 (2013–2014), we clarified our strategies for interpretation. With
support from an undergraduate intern, and photographs from a biology faculty
colleague, we researched sign companies, sought funding for walking paths, and
began an almost 2-year collaboration to design and manufacture trail signs (Fig. 2).
In the same period, we were awarded grants from 2 state organizations, which enhanced
the project’s visibility in the region. We used text and imagery from these
grant applications to create webpages on the museum’s site.
Years 4 and 5 (2014–2016) brought significant change. We installed a 50 m x
100 m demonstration garden (funded by the Florida Wildflower Foundation) at
the southern entrance. This garden doubled the understory plantings of blooming
species, and it was installed during a series of well-publicized and well-attended
volunteer days. Grant funding also supported 2 new brochures: Why Plant Native and
Florida Wildflowers in the Volusia Sandhill Teaching Landscape. Other undergraduate
projects followed, including the development of outdoor classroom activities and
a seed library. In the current year, new concrete and gravel walkways and interpretive
trail signs were installed and 3 new interpretive areas were completed. The teaching
landscape is now a place to visit as well as a place to volunteer (Fig. 1).
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Table 1. Timeline for Volusia Sandhill Ecosystem development and interpretation. Interpretive projects
are italicized.
Year Development stage Campus and community partners
2011– Arbor Day planting, tree 1 Faculty/staff Tree Fund, volunteers
2012 Reclaimed water irrigation; planting of Volusia County environmental grant,
canopy (full site) Sandhill intern, campus volunteers
Understory plants (northern entrance) Volusia County environmental grant,
Student volunteers
Pollination Garden Biology 305 class project
Certification as Wildlife Habitat Biology 305 class project
Maintenance and plant labeling Volunteers; Biology 112 students
Wiregrass plots Volusia County environmental grant,
volunteers, Biology 100 students
2 Science Saturday programs Biology 305 and 450 class projects
The Volusia Sandhill Ecosystem (2-pages, Project directors
with site plan)
2012– Expansion of northern entrance plantings Student volunteers, Stetson Beekeeping
2013 Wiregrass plots Campus and community volunteers
Maintenance and plant labeling Student volunteers, museum staff, English
305 class project
Grass-stage Longleaf Pine planting Florida Department of Forestry
2 Science Saturday programs Biology 450 class project
Sandhill Scavenger Hunt Biology 450 class project
2013– Expansion of northern entrance plantings Volunteers, Biology 100 students
2014 Expansion of Pollinator Garden Biology 305 class project
Research and development of interpretive Project directors, Sandhill intern, faculty
signs colleague/photographer
Website development Sandhill intern
2014– Florida Wildflower Demonstration Garden Florida Wildflower Foundation grant,
2015 (southern entrance) Florida Native Plant Society, student
volunteers, Biology 450 class project
Persimmon Hollow planting Faculty/staff Tree Fund, student volunteers
Maintenance and plant labeling Student volunteers; Biology 112
Seed library Honors 102 class project
Interpretive sign for Wildflower Garden Biology 450 class project
Why Plant Native? (brochure) Florida Exotic and Pest Plant Council
grant, Sandhill intern
Website maintenance Sandhill intern
Engaged Learning activities for K–6 Independent study project
fieldtrips
2015– Wildflower seed collecting and sowing Stetson seed library, campus volunteers
2016 Native Orchid Garden installation Biology 375 class project
Wildflower Teaching Circle Biology 375 class project
Florida Botanical Explorers Garden Biology 450 class project
installation
Maintenance and plant labeling Student volunteers, Biology 450 class project
Arbor Day planting and working Biological Honor Society Beta Beta Beta
Installation of walking paths and Stetson University facilities, museum staff,
interpretive signs student volunteers
Native Florida Wildflowers in the Volusia Florida Wildflower Foundation grant, Sandhill
Sandhill Ecosystem (brochure) intern
Storyboard interpretive signs Biology 375 and 450 class projects
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Outcomes: The First 5 Years
Museum programming
The Volusia Sandhill Ecosystem has provided opportunities to move museum
activities outdoors, for new hands-on and participatory environmental education
and self-guided tours (Figs. 3, 4). It has allowed for a new menu of field-trip activities
including Florida Ecosystems—a curriculum for K–6 science classes. Each of
the 4 options (Native Plant Scavenger Hunt, Soil Profile, Pollination Study, and
Leaf Transpiration Lab, available at http://www.stetson.edu/other/gillespie-museum/
index.php) allows students the freedom to roam outdoors, collecting, testing,
reporting, and collaborating with museum guides (Tal and Morag 2007).
In the museum’s monthly Science Saturdays and Summer Outdoor Classrooms,
young scientists and their families are regularly engaged in planting or seed sowing,
as well as observation and experimentation in or interpretation of the site. For these
weekend programs, undergraduates (as volunteers or through class projects) create
informal activities at various learning stations; children choose activities and their
level of engagement. Free-choice childhood experiences contribute significantly to
science literacy (Falk and Dierking 2010).
The walkways and interpretive signs through the ecosystem enable self-guided
discovery, for visitors of all ages (Figs. 3, 4). To date, we have assessed visitors’
and volunteers’ impressions informally, mostly through open inquiry and anecdote.
Written responses to questions asked of over 150 undergraduate volunteers and
Figure 2. The 4 types of signs used in the Volusia Sandhill Ecosystem are: (A) interpretive
trail, (B) informational species, (C) storyboard, and (D) plant identification signs (listed in
descending order of cost and permanence).
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visitors demonstrate that they had learned to recognize and appreciate important
key features of the ecosystem including that it is pyrogenic, the sandy soils are
nutrient-poor, and why and how its plant community is adapted to dry conditions. In
addition, the answers indicated an awareness of the loss of Longleaf Pine Sandhill
habitat and its impact on native plant diversity. One student offered this remark:
“Though I’ve lived in Volusia County for my entire life and have been surrounded
by Longleaf Pines, I’d not recognized the importance of this ec osystem.”
Undergraduate education and research
Over the last 5 years, more than 500 students, with a broad range of interests
and talents, have developed the Volusia Sandhill Ecosystem by participating in
semester-long projects in a class or collecting data in a laboratory course as part of
an independent research project (Table 2). Class projects, which have included the
installation of several water features, a pollination garden, and bird houses, resulted
in the site’s being certified by the National Wildlife Federation as wildlife habitat.
Recent student research investigating the effects of pH and native soil biota has
produced results that will inform our continued restoration efforts and lead to additional
research questions. Similarly, data collected on Longleaf Pine tree height
and diameter, as well as bird and insect diversity and abundance will be used as a
Figure 3. On a Sandhill scavenger hunt (site-specific and free-roaming), Science Saturday
visitors can learn as they go.
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Figure 4. A museum without walls, the teaching landscape offers a place for the campus
and community to learn about and recreate a native ecosystem. Undergraduates drive the
project.
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point of comparison for future research as the site continues to mature. Descriptions
of methodology and results for several of these projects are available at http://www.
stetson.edu/other/gillespie-museum/vse/research.php.
Students introduced to the site through a class activity have responded positively,
often continuing to volunteer long after their graded work has ended. They
provide physical labor by planting, mulching, and weeding on workdays, and contribute
intellectual and creative energy to Science Saturday events. Students have
also raised awareness of the site by creating a site logo, emblazoned on t-shirts
worn proudly by volunteers; contributing to a website and Facebook page, which
now features a Wildflower Wednesday post each week; and creating Storyboard
signs of 15 to 20 words, that explain a variety of features of the landscape (Fig. 2).
Table 2. Data collection and research projects conducted in the Volusia Sandhill Ecosystem.
Research title Project type*
Calculating growth rate of Longleaf Pine ( Pinus palustris) Lab component in plant ecology
course (n = 16 students)
The effect of biotic and abiotic factors on the germination and Lab component in plant ecology
establishment of several understory species common on Florida course (n = 16 students)
sandhills
Comparing the abundance and diversity of insect pollinators Lab component in plant ecology
between the Volusia Sandhill Ecosystem and a mature sandhill course (n = 18 students)
site
Survey of insect biodiversity in the Volusia Sandhill Ecosystem Independent study project
teaching landscape
The effects of small-scale, young-growth, restored sandhill on Independent study project
avian diversity of Stetson University’s campus
Acidic soils benefit seedling growth in 2 perennial plant specie s Independent study project
native to Florida sandhills.
A vanishing ecosystem: Longleaf Pine decline in West Volusia Senior research project
County (Environmental Science)
Herbicide effectiveness on weeds in a restored Florida sandhill Senior research project
and its effect on germination of Aristida stricta (Wiregrass) (Environmental Science)
The effect of seed density of an aggressive weed ( Bidens alba) on Senior research project
the germination of 3 native, perennial sandhill species (Biology)
Restoration of sandhill ecosystems: The importance of soil fungi Senior research project
on the growth of a native perennial, Liatris tenuifolia Nutt. (Biology)
The effect of soil pH and fungi on the growth of a native sandhill Senior research project
perennial. (Biology)
The effect of priority in competition between an aggressive weed Senior research project
(Bidens alba) and a native perennial ( Asclepias tuberosa). (Biology)
*Each of the independent study projects was initiated by a student, introduced to the Volusia Sandhill
in their coursework, prior to their senior year. Senior research projects fulfilled the capstone requirement
in a student’s major and were conducted by students who were initially introduced to the site
through their coursework.
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Ecosystem development
The landscape currently hosts more than 80 trees, mostly Longleaf Pine. We
continue to incrementally remove turfgrass and weeds chemically and manually
(hoeing and solarization) from small (~30–40 m2) areas designated for a particular
planting scheme (e.g., Aristida stricta Michx. [Wiregrass] plots, wildflower seed
beds). Before plants are installed in a new area, the ground is covered by paper and
overlain with landscape cloth and pine-straw mulch to control undesirable species.
These sites, combined with defined garden areas that are more formally defined
(i.e., Pollinator Garden, Wildflower Demonstration Garden, and Wildflower Study
Site), contribute nearly 50 species of annual and perennial forbs to the landscape,
significantly increasing plant diversity relative to the rest of our traditionally landscaped
campus.
To increase understory diversity beyond species that are readily available
commercially, we are also increasing our efforts at propagation of plants from
field-collected seeds (e.g., Asclepias humistrata Walter [Pinewoods Milkweed],
Arnoglossum floridanum (A.Gray) H. Rob. [Florida Indian Plantain], and Froelichia
floridana (Nutt.) Moq. [Cottonweed]). With the exception of Chamaecrista fasciculata
(Michx.) Greene (Partridge Pea), direct seeding has produced few adult plants.
In order to improve germination and seedling success in the future, the site also
includes an unplanted area designated for student investigation, where research projects
will be conducted, in situ, for direct application to future management plans.
The time scale for measuring success for a project like this likely exceeds our
lifespans. However, one indication of success comes from reproduction of established
plants. In the spring of 2016, more than half of the Longleaf Pine trees
produced male cones and several are currently maturing female cones. Similarly,
the Common Persimmons have produced copious flowers each year and even
some self-sown seedlings that established on the site. Likewise, several understory
species have been exceptionally successful at spreading through the landscape,
including Pityopsis graminifolia (Michx.) Nutt. (Narrowleaf Silkgrass), Vernonia
angustifolia Michx. (Ironweed), Coreopsis spp. (tickseed), and Solidago odora
Aiton (Sweet Goldenrod). Ongoing measurement of pollinator diversity and abundance
will allow us to determine the effect this expanding plant community has on
the local insect community and, eventually, higher trophic levels.
Conclusion
Development of the Volusia Sandhill Ecosystem began with a broad vision,
which has been realized through continual volunteer support and small, purposedriven
projects often embedded in semester-long coursework. Its presence on a
college campus, adjacent to an earth science museum with a long history of outreach,
makes this site ideal for education focused on the upland Longleaf Pine
forests within which so many southeastern towns have developed (Heuberger and
Putz 2003). As a modest, developing fragment of this native community, the site
provides an accessible place for experiential natural history education at a time
when interest in field studies is waning (e.g., Noss 1996, Tewksbury et al. 2014), and
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when increasingly large segments of society receive their natural history education
through electronic encounters with vast remote areas and dramatic landscapes. The
small, personal scale of the site, intended to reflect a historic landscape, brings a
natural system to a place where people live, study, and work. A notably succinct
student response to the question “Would you recommend the Volusia Sandhill as a
place for fellow students or family members to learn about native ecosystems?” was
“Yes, because it is and is not wild.” With the development of the biological community
and the infrastructure to lead visitors through informed engagement with
the restoration, we can begin to more rigorously assess the effectiveness of both
formal and informal science education in the site (e.g., greater awareness of the
benefits of native pollinators, or the relationship between the mineral and biological
components of the ecosystem).
Small urban/suburban fragments of native habitat such as the Volusia Sandhill
Ecosystem also contribute to the vision of a “humane metropolis” (Pickett et al.
2011) where at least some of the biodiversity and ecosystem services of natural
systems can be maintained in a human-dominated landscape. The degree to which
the site meets these goals is under continual study, and the possibilities for future
projects seem endless. In the next 5-year phase, we will develop the Teaching
Landscape as we have done with the site’s other areas: through small, flexible, and
inexpensive projects which can be completed in a few weeks’ or, at most, a few
months’ time. We hope to find a balance between research into and experimentation
with management practices (e.g., introduction of fire, soil amendments, seed and
seedling propagation) and development of educational programming and additional
interpretative signs and strategies (e.g., a fossil dig site, a soil-profile station, additional
trail signs about native pollinators, Florida geology, and plant diversity).
As a participatory, outdoor museum, the site will continue to promote formal and
informal scientific research as well as community engagement.
Acknowledgments
We thank our faculty colleagues and the hundreds of undergraduate student volunteers
who have participated in the project, but especially recognize Jessica Bosma, Ben Chase,
Alonnah Creswell, Sarah Garcia, Breanna Mott, Tabitha Petri, Deja Rivera, Ethan Royal,
Amanda Silva, and Maya Suzuki for their scientific curiosity and dedication. Community
volunteers, including members of the Lyonia Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society
also participated in site preparation and maintenance. We are grateful to the County of Volusia
Department of Land Management, Florida Wildflower Foundation, and Florida Exotic
Plant Pest Council for grants in support of the project, and Stetson University’s Department
of Facilities Management for their physical and financial support. We appreciate Dr. Peter
May, Professor of Biology, who as photographer and natural history consultant, has been an
integral part of the project. Finally, we thank 2 anonymous reviewers for their constructive
comments that strengthened the final version of the manuscript.
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