CREW 10th Annual Wildflower Festival
March 30 – 31, 2012
Friday March 30 – 7 – 9 PM at Bass Pro Shops, GCTC
Saturday, March 31 – 8:30 AM – 2:00 PM at CREW Cypress Dome Trails
We are excited about the 10th anniversary of this fun and flowery CREW festival. With the summer prescribed burns we did in 2011, the flowers should be more spectacular than ever come spring 2012. Our hikes are led by some of the best wildflower and butterfly experts in southwest Florida. We’ve identified the levels of each hike so you can choose the one that best fits your needs. See registration form below.
Saturday March 31, 2012 Wildflower Hike Schedule
Hikes last approximately 2 hours each… when registering, select only one hike. If hikes are full, you are still welcome to come and enjoy the exhibits, food, and art and hike the trails on your own.
All guided wildflower hikes are currently filled to capacity. You are still welcome to come out and enjoy the exhibits from 8:30 AM – 2:00 PM, watch our awards ceremony for the Wildflower Art Contest at 10:15 AM, and to hike on your own – all at the Cypress Dome Trails.
- 8:30 AM – Flower hike with Roger Hammer, author Wildflowers of the Everglades (Advanced)
- 9:00 AM – Flower hike with Sally Stein, Director of Adult Programs, Corkscrew Sanctuary (Beginner to Intermediate)
- 9:30 AM – Flower hike with Glen Stacell & Gary Schmelz, authors of Wildflowers of Southwest Florida (Intermediate to Advanced)
- 10:00 AM – Flower hike Dr. David Cooper, Florida Master Naturalist (Beginner to Intermediate) – may also do some butterfly ID
- 10:30 AM – Butterfly Hike with Nick Bodven & Robin Gardner, North American Butterfly Association (All levels)
- 11:00 AM - Flower hike with Roger Hammer, author Wildflowers of the Everglades (Intermediate to Advanced)
- 11:30 AM – Flower hike with Deb Hanson, CREW EE Specialist (for Beginners)
Advanced (will include Latin names and more in-depth descriptions)
Intermediate (for those with some basic knowledge of wildflowers looking to expand your ID skills)
Beginner (for people with no or little knowledge of botany or Florida wildflowers – basic ID)
Requested donation upon check-in at the event: $3 for CREW members, $5 for non-members
Come early or stay after your hike so you can visit the display booths of various environmental organizations, enjoy conversation with other hikers, eat a bite of lunch provided by the Corkscrew Country Store, and watch our Wildflower Art Contest winners get their prizes in a ceremony at 10:15 AM.
Wildflower Art Contest
2012 Winners and Art Work
Our annual Wildflower art contest is open to 3rd graders – college age students in Lee, Collier, Hendry, and Charlotte Counties. Download the 2012 CREW WF Art Contest flyer.
WHO is ELIGIBLE: All 3rd – 12th grade public, private, and home-schooled students as well as college students in Charlotte, Lee, Hendry and Collier Counties.
CRITERIA: READ CRITERIA CAREFULLY. ONLY QUALIFIED ENTRIES WILL BE JUDGED.
Illustrate a wildflower (or wildflowers) native to Charlotte, Lee, Hendry and/or Collier Counties. Flower species must be identified on the back of the entry for entry to be judged. (Preference will be given to wildflowers found at CREW.)
Click here for a list of CREW wildflowers and links to other Florida wildflower information.
Create original artwork in the medium of the artist’s choice – crayon, pencil, pen/ink, charcoal, pastels, oils, acrylic, original digital art, etc. NO PHOTOGRAPHS AND NO 3-D ENTRIES.
Artwork must be a minimum of 5 x 7 inches and a maximum of 30 x 36 inches, on paper or canvas.
Artwork MUST be labeled on the back with artist’s name (and school/teacher if appropriate), age and grade level, address, phone number, and email.)
ENTRIES WILL BE JUDGED ON:
- Artistic skill and use of the medium selected
- Composition of the piece
- Emotional impression
PRIZES: Cash awards and art supplies for 1st ($50), 2nd ($35), and 3rd ($25) place winners in 4 age categories: Elementary (3 – 5), Middle School (6 – 8), High School (9 – 12) and College.
Winning entries will be displayed at our Annual Wildflower Festival and on our website. Presentation of awards will take place at the Annual CREW Wildflower Festival on Saturday, March 31, 2012.
DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES: All entries must arrive at the CREW offices (23998 Corkscrew Road, Estero, FL 33928) no later than NOON on WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7, 2012. Winners will be announced the week of March 19th.
We will make every effort to return artwork to the artist. However, any artwork not picked up at the CREW office within 1 year of the contest becomes the property of CREW Trust.
For more information contact Deb Hanson (eecrew@earthlink.net) at CREW Land & Water Trust, 239-657-2253 or visit our web site at http://crewtrust.org. To see pictures of CREW flowers go our Flickr page at http://www.flickr.com/groups/crewtrust/pool/
The prizes for this contest are sponsored in part by a micro-grant from the Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program (www.chnep.org).
