NEW, EXCLUSIVE AND ONLY AT THE CENTRAL FLORIDA NATIVE PLANT SEMINAR

in partnership with Florida Gulf Coast University

NATIVE PLANT CREDENTIAL FOR HORTICULTURE & LANDSCAPE PROFESSIONALS

Designers, landscapers, retail sales professionals … Let your customers know that you know native plants. Get your Central Florida Proven Natives micro-credential at the Central Florida Native Plant Seminar. 

SIGN UP NOW – this state of the art professional credential is LIMITED to the first 65 enrollees and provided in partnership with the Florida Gulf Coast University Office of Innovative Education. 

What’s a micro-credential?

Micro-credentials indicate proficiency in a specific focused topic and often result in a digital badge, a  modern way to communicate skills and knowledge on digital media.

FANN’s Central Florida Proven Natives micro-credential demonstrates that participants have developed essential identification, selection, use and maintenance knowledge for twenty native plants, and have demonstrated the ability to apply that information professionally as well. The twenty plants in focus include six trees, six shrubs, a subshrub groundcover, a grassy groundcover, a flowering groundcover and five herbaceous wildflowers, as identified in the online study guide https://www.fannseminar.com/credential-study-guide/    

To obtain the micro-credential, applicants must:

• Attend the Central Florida Native Plant Seminar (both days), participating in classes and expert-guided plant walks
• Correctly identify 18 of the 20 plants in a timed online test
• Correctly answer 80% of the questions dealing with selection, use and maintenance in a timed online test
• Complete a planting design field module, evaluated by their peers, and obtain a 75% score on their submission. This involves a site visit at the seminar location, offline design after the event and online submittal of a completed design with plant list and explanatory narrative.

Upon successful completion of the above requirements, participants will be granted a digital badge and, at their option, a frameable paper certificate, and be highlighted on FANN’s website and social media channels. The micro-credential is a $75 add-on during seminar registration – participants must register for both Wednesday and Thursday, and must participate in two expert guided walks in the garden on one of the two mornings. Florida Gulf Coast University has set up all of the online administration and is a recognized leader in state-of-the-art continuing education opportunities and practices. Faculty from the FGCU Water School have participated to provide scientific rigor to the education and assessment processes. 

FANN has been the trusted industry source for native plants and native plant expertise since 1986. In 2023, FANN partnered with Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) Continuing Education & Skills Academy, and the FGCU Water School, to offer the first native plant credential for Florida green industry professionals. FGCU is a leader in sustainability, entrepreneurship, and innovative “right skills, right time” education options for the modern workforce. Together, FANN and FGCU offered “FANN FAVORITES SOUTH FLORIDA NATIVE PLANTS 2023” as a free but limited pilot program for attendees of the 2023 South Florida Native Plant Seminar. This pilot program gave both organizations the insight and experience needed to move forward with a series of micro-credentials that may eventually lead to a full FANN credential that compliments existing industry certifications such as the Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ certification, FNGLA certified professional certification, ISA arborist certification and others.