Volunteer Newsletter
Inside Dirt
An E-Newsletter for Selby Gardens Volunteers
MAY 2015
Volunteers are encouraged to provide “news tips” and stories for The Inside Dirt.
If you have something to share, please contact Phyllis Kirtley at (941) 366-5731
x 227 or email [email protected]. or email Diana Schultz at
[email protected]. (please specify subject as “selby.”)
Just $15,000 More…
We’re so excited at the progress of
our fundraising campaign to replace
the Mangrove Walkway. The
Lookout Point collapsed into the Bay
earlier this year, and we are raising
money to replace the entire
Walkway. If we raise $50,000, we’ll
earn an additional $50,000 towards
rebuilding this gorgeous green
escape with such magnificent views
of Sarasota Bay.
Generous donors have contributed
more than $35,000 to date – which
means we need just $15,000 to
wrap up this portion of the campaign and earn $50,000 in matching funds!
You can help—by making a contribution before May 31. Your donation will do more
than just repair the Lookout Point: it will take us closer to replacing and improving the
entire Mangrove Walkway, which is such an important part of the Selby Gardens
experience. Best of all: every dollar you contribute will be doubled thanks to two
generous local foundations!
Your support will take us so much closer to ensuring that this gorgeous spot will endure
for years to come, providing a wonderful place to enjoy a magnificent view of Sarasota
Bay, explore and learn about one of Southwest Florida’s most important natural
habitats, and enjoy quality time immersed in the sights, sounds, and fragrances of the
place where the Gardens meet the Gulf.
If you’d like to contribute, visit http://selby.org/mangrove-walkway/ and make a
secure online gift that will be matched dollar for dollar!
Upcoming Volunteer Gatherings
Pot Luck Luncheon May 21st, 12:00 Noon in the Great
Room by the Bay for Volunteers and Staff
Last event of the season will be potluck lunch for
volunteers and staff to show off their culinary talents and
gather in a more informal, family style setting. Please
RSVP to your Evite invitation so we know how many
people are coming
Bring something to share—for those unfamiliar with
potlucks, just the size serving you might make for 6-8
people should suffice (unless you’re making something that
is likely to be extremely popular). See the list below for
suggestions of what category to bring, but if you have something you just have to
share, we’re game!
Last names starting with:
A-F: Sides and Salads
G-L: Drinks
M-R: Dessert
S-Z: Main Dish
Please remember to bring serving utensils!
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
If you are interested in any of these positions, please contact Phyllis Kirtley
at 366-5731 x 227 or [email protected]
Welcome Center Register positions are available Saturday mornings and
afternoons.
Library Assistant An assistant is needed either Friday afternoon or Monday
morning
Horticulture We have openings in the gardening crew on Thursdays and Fridays.
Plant Shop There are openings Wednesday, Friday and Saturday mornings and
Friday and Saturday afternoons.
Administrative Help in Education We are looking for one or two volunteers to
organize and schedule the volunteers who work in the Conservatory and on the
Ask Me Cart.
Administration Volunteer needed in reception in Admin Tues PM
Calligraphy Volunteers The
Events Department is looking for
Calligraphy artists to address
development and community
formal invitations.
A call to our existing Walk &
Talk Tour Guides Our Adult
Tour Guide team is seeking new
guides. You will begin by
shadowing one of our
experienced Adult Guides.
These tours are generally
between 1 to 1.5 hours. We also
have a full Gardens' "talking
points" document to share with those interested. Please contact
[email protected] for more information and to schedule a shadowing session.
Ask me Cart and Conservatory Guide Openings We have six open slots for
Ask Me Cart and three open slots for Conservatory guides.
Museum docents needed
Permanent /full time Docents needed in the Payne Mansion/Museum.
Morning and afternoon weekly, bi-weekly and sub positions available. If interested
contact Marilynn at [email protected].
Membership
If you are adept at the computer and enjoy database work, we have a spot for you
on Monday mornings and other times during the week.
Kids' Corner/Children's Rainforest Garden
We have openings most days of the week. Our greatest need is on "Selby
Saturdays" mornings once monthly. Contact is [email protected] or x 273.
School tour guides Shifts vary. Contact [email protected] for more
information.
Computer Graphic Artist – We need a talented individual for several volunteer
projects.
Volunteer from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM on the 4th of JULY and stay
for the fireworks!
The Fourth of July will be upon us before you know it and this event is sure to be a
REAL BLOWOUT as we celebrate the Great American BBQ. Selby Gardens is the
best venue for enjoying the 4th of July. We need lots of willing volunteers to make
it a success so contact Phyllis at [email protected] to get your requests in early.
Volunteer needs are: North Gate Monitors, Will Call, South Gate Greeters,
Bounce House Monitors, Outside Greeters/Crowd Control, Shop Hawkers,
Cashiers, Armbanders, Floaters, and Kids’ Corner Helpers.
Because this is a fundraiser, only volunteers who are working can get in for
free.
Volunteer Recognition Dinner
There isn’t a more perfect location for the volunteer awards ceremony than
outside at Selby Gardens, and this year was no exception. The food by
Michael’s on East was superb, the weather cooperated, the mosquitoes
refrained from showing, and the ambience contributed to the overall
enjoyment experienced by those in attendance.
Volunteers contributed more this year, both in hours and in volume.
Volunteers who received exemplary awards for service were:
TOP VOLUNTEERS FOR 2014: David Muolo (1151 hrs) Wade Collier
(890 hrs) Dave Troxell (821 hrs) Cathy Layton (750 hrs) Daniel Reskow
(729 hrs) Richard Dietrich (639 hrs) Kelvin Cooper (633 hrs) Zita Kasza
(513 hrs)

YEARS OF SERVICE: Ann Esworthy (40yrs) Marge Albrecht (25 yrs) Glad
Elias (20 yrs)Tom Giles (20 yrs) Zita Kasza (20 yrs) Ken Lucas (20 yrs)
Rose Marie Sette (15 yrs) Hannah Neubauer (15 yrs) Susan Zwakman (15
yrs) Pat MacLeod (15 yrs) Susanne Amico (15 yrs) Lisa Crump (10 yrs) Jo
Franz (10 yrs) Donna Baker (10 yrs) Laurie Stoner (10yrs) and Joyce
DeMaria (10 yrs)

PRESIDENT’S GOLD AWARD (500+ Hours) Wade Collier, Kelvin Cooper,
Richard Dietrich, Zita Kasza, Cathy Layton, David Muolo, Dan Reskow,
Dave Troxell

PRESIDENT’S SILVER AWARD (250-499 Hours) Boyd Aebli, Marge
Albrecht, Hedley Burrell, McKenzie Carpenter, Cynthia Christenson, Carol
Collier, Joanne Corcoran, John Crawford, Ella Deprez, Lloyd Doctoroff,
Diane Emerick, Tom Emerick, Patricia Evans, Barbara Feinberg, Jim Ferri,
Jo Franz, Jean Glynn, Maureen Hager, Cody Harrison, Shirley Hicks, Bill
Irish, Joan Irwin, Donna Knack, BobLaRoe, Denise Leschinski, Kenneth
Lucas, Michele Meisart, Sue Mills, Lavette Mullinix, Kathryn Murphy, Jennie
Ness, Jim Paone, Jane Paulishak, Gundi Pease, Joel Pye, Wesley Rouse,
John Sandbach, Bill Sexton, Michael Ann Wells, Clifford White, Mary
Winckler, Patricia Woodruff

PRESIDENT’S BRONZE AWARD (100 -249 Hours) Joanne Allen, Celeste
Amicay, Regina Anderson, Shirley Andrews, Joe Angers, Allison Archbold,
Flo Bennett, Deborah Bergman, Fred Bigio, Sondra Biller, Patricia Bonarek,
Sharon Bourdeau, Brenda Bricker, Thomas Budny, Nancy Bushnell,
Edward Carl, Mary Caro, Sharon Carpenter, John Carson, Pat Case,
Stanley Chappell, Debbie Cohen, Arnold Colon, Kathleen Cone, Robin
Connor, Cay Correll, Rich Craig, Emily Danner, Bill Danner, Lee Davis,
Judith Day, Cynthia Dennis, Nadine Desloge, Kathleen Dewey, Linda
Dowson, Nancy Ernst, Betty Fanz, Elaine Foster, Thomas Frankhouser,
Donna Galloway, Chris Gilligan, Ilse Goesmann, Steve Goff, Ann
Goldstein, Lawrence Grajek, Paula Griffin, Marilyn Guilliford, Linda Hagen,
Kay Hale, Jill Halman, Phyllis Harrison, Stephen Hazeltine, Amanda Healy,
Linda Heller, Joseph Hennessy, Diane Hochman, Elizabeth Holman,
Martha Horton, Richard Huber, Susan Iklody, Anna-May Jacobsen, Sorina
Jansen, Vivienne Jefferies, Karen Johns, Anne Johnson, Marie Jones,
Babs Kahlmann, Nancy Karam, Kay Karioth, Carol Kast, Marie Keeney,
Charles Kiblinger, Sue King, Patty Klamert, Marijke Knipscheer, Nicholas
Kovalakides, Douglas Lehrian, Leone Levy, JoAnn Lindquist, Betty Liner,
Stanley Liner, Richard Lopez, Pat MacLeod, Ann Madden, Jean Maier,
Elioise Malinsky, Marcia Malmfeldt, Betsy Marks, Judith Maurer, Nathalie
McCulloch, Bruce McLean, Glenda McMurray, Ruth Mendelevitz, Mary
Ruth Meyers, Judy Miller, Marilynn Miller, Diane Miner, Evelyn Mink, Lisa
Mirabelli, Eugene Moleiro, Cathy Nemeth, Virginia O’Doherty, Jeanne Oyer,
Rose Paolicelli, Marjorie Pflaum, Wendy Poelke, Lucille Pohl, Patricia
Porter-Edwards, Mary Powers, Mary Prindiville, Tom Rabone, Sanford
Rederer, Jill Rex, Marilyn Rheingold, Tara Richards, Mark Rieke, Jeff
Ritchie, Paul Rivera, Carrie Romaine, Nancy Rutledge, Diana Schultz, Sue
Scully, Dorothy Sedlak, Bonnie Sexton, Barbara Shafer-Hockett, Joan
Shaver, Lynnie Siegal, Lynne Singer, Joyce Slezak, Barbara Sloat, Nita
Smith, Rachel Smith, Dave Soltis, Ellen Steele, Jane Stephenson, Amelia
Stern, Karen Stewart, Laurey Stryker, Arlene Sullivan, June Sweeney,
Larry Swift, Sally Tavernelli, Wyatt Thomas, Joseph Voisine, Ann Vozzolo,
Lori Walker, Emily Walsh, Marilyn Watsey, Gwendolyn Watson, William
Weed, Douglas Weiss, Joel Whitten, Bruce Wickham, Heather Wilder,
Arthur Wood, Marian Yeager, Jetty Zarfos, Janice Zoller.
Tribute to Ann Esworthy – 40 Years Volunteering for Selby Gardens
95-year-old Ann Esworthy receiving
her 40-year volunteer pin from
Bruce Holst and Jennifer
Rominiecki in the mounting room
where she works.
Ann Esworthy began
volunteering not long after
Selby Gardens opened to the
public. She and Ginny
Saloman developed the guide
program and ran it together
for many years. Ann finally
ceased organizing, training,
scheduling guides and doing
tours herself in 2008. Ann
also helped found the
Associates and the Orchid
Ball, and she was among the
“ambassadors” from the
Associates who spoke on behalf of Selby Gardens at various community
organizations. Ann wrote a guidebook for Selby Gardens tour guides that was
used for many years to train new guides.
For nearly 10 years, Ann has been one of a group of Botany volunteers who
mount herbarium specimens each Wednesday afternoon –the “Prime
Specimens.”
Ann has had the ear of many Selby Gardens CEOs, who have sought her out as
a longtime volunteer and a leader with a great deal of knowledge about and
passion for Selby Gardens and its mission.
What’s New with the Associates
By Carmen Baskind
The Associates are pleased to announce that at the end of May we will have met
our goal of donating $40,000.00 to the Gardens!!!
The May Associates’ luncheon
program on May 18 is a lecture by
David Pilston, CEO of Save Our
Seabirds. He will discuss the
organizations’ mission to rescue,
rehabilitate and release injured birds.
Save Our Seabirds receives over
2,500 calls each year regarding
distressed birds. A volunteer rescuer
is then dispatched to transport the
injured bird to their avian hospital for
treatment. The most common injuries
to the birds are caused by fish hooks,
automobiles and golf balls.
You will meet some of the birds who
could not be returned to the wild and
have been given permanent homes at
the Save Our Seabird Learning
Center. Milan Catering will be serving
a tropical themed menu for the
luncheon. Associate’s guests,
volunteers, members of the Gardens,
and staff are welcome to attend.
Please contact Carmen Baskind at
941.724.1854 for more information.
Celebrating birthdays in May are Ann
Logan, Jane Paulishak, Elly Rotheim,
Sandy Rotner, Jessica Ventimiglia,
and Lynn Walther.
A special thanks to Associates who
have already renewed their
memberships for 2015-2016 at the patron level: Allison Archbold, Carmen
Baskind, Carol Biddle, Linda Bush, Phyllis Kirtley, Cal Lampton, Joan Levenson,
Linda Morrison, Jane Potter, Elly Rotheim, Margarete Van Antwerpen, and
Jessica Ventimiglia. We hope to have forty members at the patron level in honor
of Selby Gardens’ 40th year.
Upcoming Noon Lectures in the Great Room by the Bay
Admission to lectures is free to members and volunteers or with paid admission
to the Gardens.
Coastal Dune Lakes: Jewels of Florida’s Emerald Coast
May 20 at 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
This event is in conjunction with our annual juried photo contest (runs May 1 – June 25)
Be among the first to view this 1-Hour High-Definition Documentary featuring the
coastal dune lakes of northwest Florida.
These lakes are listed by the Florida
Natural Areas Inventory as ‘globally
imperiled’ since few are found around the
world. A diverse group of species can be
found in and around the lakes—many of
them endangered such as the
Choctawhatchee Beach Mouse,
Loggerhead Sea Turtle, and Snowy
Plover. In addition, these lakes are
important to the region’s economy as
many visitors come to the area to
experience the dune lakes’ natural
beauty.
In order to get a wider understanding of
the lakes in Florida, our crew traveled to
New South Wales, Australia to do a
comparison study with the coastal dune
lakes found there. This will be an
important part of the story as two
geologists in Australia and the United
States compare and contrast the lakes
and how they were formed.
In the Historic Selby House
Nature on deMANd continues through June 28 in
the Historic Selby House, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
daily.
Nature in deMANd showcases environmentally inspired
multimedia works by photographer Daniel R. Perales.
Images of natural Florida settings superimposed with
figures address man’s connection to the natural world.
See images of Marie and William Selby as well as
works created during an Artist in Residence program
during the summer of 2014 at Conservation Foundation
of the Gulf Coast’s Bay Preserve. Open daily from
10:00 am to 4:00 pm in the Historic Selby House
through June 28.
Swamp Hibiscus by Daniel R. Perales
In the Museum of Botany & the Arts
SELBY’S 35TH ANNUAL
JURIED PHOTOGRAPHY
EXHIBIT through June 21,
10:00 am - 4:30 pm daily in the
Mansion/Museum of Botany &
the Arts
Found in Florida takes center
stage this year with the 35th
Annual Juried Photographic
Exhibition at Selby Gardens in
Selby's Museum of Botany & the
Arts through June 21st, 10:00
am - 4:30 pm daily. 200 photos
are displayed in the exhibit with
many also available for purchase
with sale proceeds benefiting the
botanical conservation and
education mission of Selby
Gardens.
Best of Show, Sharing the Nest by
Laura Bryg
Free and Discounted Classes
Please note: To secure the special prices listed below, active volunteers must
register and pay in advance of class at the Welcome Center desk. or on our
website. http://www.selby.org/learning/classes
Gelli Plate Printing
Wednesday, May 6, 10:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Instructor: JoAnn Migliore Campisi
Special Volunteer Price: $35
Additional Materials Fee: $5 (pay instructor)
(Also see materials list on our website)
Growing Orchids in SW Florida
Friday, May 29, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Instructor: Monroe Kokin
Special Volunteer Price: $25
New! Free Brush Florals in Watercolor
Thursday, June 25, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Special Volunteer Price: $35
What’s in Bloom – by Terri Tumlin
The spring weather is perfect and many different plants are in bloom. This month I
toured the walk by the bay and up toward the northern part of the garden.
1. Along the bay walk behind the greenhouses, the
Jamaican Caper (Capparis cynophallophora) is showing
off some startling blooms in white and in purple.
2. Continue northward and over toward the eastern
wall by the wooden gate to see the lovely subtle
bluish flowers of Thunbergia grandiflora.
3. Further north on the large tree by the wall in the
garden in front of the Mansion, the Coral
Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) has some
delightful coral blossoms with yellow centers.
4. Moving along the path to the north find the lovely
lavender flower clusters of Buddleia lindleyana.
5. On the bay side of the Mansion, the Upland
Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) sports some sunny pale
yellow blooms surrounded by the mature cotton balls.
Enjoy.
“The plant is, to the landscape artist, not only a plant
– rare, unusual, ordinary, or doomed to
disappearance – but it is also a color, a shape, a
volume, or an arabesque in itself “– Roberto Burle
Marx