Cuba: land of cigars and rum, ghost orchids and bats! Last fall, Dr. Zettler, whose students NOS has supported with internships for six years, generously invited me to go to Cuba on a research trip as a representative of the Naples Orchid Society and Naples Botanical Garden (if no one from there could go.) Of course, we said ‘Absolutely YES!”) So, on New Year’s Day 2017, La Raw and I traveled with students, professors and … Continue reading →

Most Midwestern students come to Florida at Christmas or Spring Break when the weather is pleasant or, if they come in the summer, they go to the beaches to enjoy cool breezes and the water. Interns with the Orchid Recovery Program (ORP) from Illinois College in Jacksonville, IL, brave the heat, humidity, bugs, reptiles and other beasts in the “orchid capital of North America” located in the wilds of Southwest Florida. They come to do … Continue reading →