Protecting Roadside Wildflowers

Roadsides are often perfect places for Florida’s native wildflowers to flourish and can play a key role in sustaining native pollinator populations as they pass between natural and urban spaces. Marina Mertz, FWF Roadsides and North Florida Programs Coordinator, discusses the importance of roadsides as ecosystems, how the Foundation works with FDOT, cities and counties to identify and protect native wildflowers on roadsides, and how you can help. Marina Mertz is a Florida native with a passion for preserving Florida’s beauty for future generations. She joined the Foundation in 2022 as the Panhandle Wildflower Alliance Liaison, where she worked with FDOT and local advocates and governments to establish and maintain wildflower corridors on roadsides, utility easements, public gardens and schools. She brings the experience of a long-time small business owner and community volunteer to the position. Marina holds a degree in Environmental Studies and a Certificate in Urban and Regional Planning from Florida State University. She is currently pursuing her Florida Master Naturalist and Restoration Florida Master Naturalist certifications. She is an avid gardener and maintains a large vegetable garden. She is steadily converting the rest of her home landscape to native plantings, with a goal of establishing a small refuge in the heart of downtown Tallahassee. She loves to be out in the field improving her botanizing skills and removing invasives, and spends her free time hiking, camping and bike touring with her family.