When: Tuesday, June 27th, 2023 Time: 9am-5pm Central Time Where: John James Audubon State Park, Henderson, KY. Meet at the Museum parking lot. Cost: $25 Bring your own lunch. This is a field course, so please wear appropriate clothing and shoes and bring water.
Instructor: Nathanael J. Pilla*
Intermediate Wetland Plant ID
When: Wednesday & Thursday, June 28th & 29th, 2023 Time: 9am-5pm Central Time Where: John James Audubon State Park, Henderson, KY. Meet at the Museum parking lot. Cost: $75 Bring your own lunch. This is a field course, so please wear appropriate clothing and shoes and bring water.
Instructor: Nathanael J. Pilla*
KNPS is delighted to offer two new workshops this summer. We will be offering both a beginner level and an intermediate level, Wetland Plant Identification workshop at John James Audubon State Park in Henderson, KY! The workshops are conducted in sequence and interested parties can sign up for just the Beginner course, just the Intermediate course, or both.
The Beginner Wetland Plant ID workshop will be one day long, on June 27th, focusing on learning botanical lingo and key features of common wetland plants in Kentucky. There is a $25 registration fee.
The Intermediate Wetland Plant ID workshop will be held over two days, June 28-29th. This workshop is aimed towards individuals with some prior experience in field identification of wetland plants and will cover more challenging taxa with an emphasis on grasses, rushes, and sedges. In addition to Audubon State Park, there may be a visit to other close natural areas. There is a $75 registration fee for this course.
Courses will take place from 9am-5pm CDT each day and have a 1-hour break for lunch (bring your own lunch). You will need to bring a notebook, loupe or hand-lens, phone or camera, pencils, and preferred reference book if you’d like. Remember that these are field courses, so please wear appropriate clothing and bring water.
*About the Instructor
Nathanael J. Pilla is a botanist for Midwest Biological Survey, LLC. He also is an adjunct professor at University of Notre Dame, hosts the YouTube series, Botany and Beer, and is part of the Chicago Wilderness Alliance Steering Committee. Nathanael is well versed in the terrestrial and aquatic flora of the Midwest bringing his knowledge and charisma with him in and outside the workplace. He has experience in botanical research and identification, hands-on resource management, project management and plant identification, and his written work has appeared in peer-reviewed journals. He recently co-authored the book, Wildflowers of the Indiana Dunes National Park, which was published through Indiana University Press. When he is not botanizing, he spends his time writing and singing ridiculous songs.
Registration Form for Workshops
This form is used to register for either or both of the workshops. You can sign up for either one of the two courses (Beginner on June 27th or Intermediate on June 28th-29th) or you can sign up for both.
On April 14th & 15th, over 150 KNPS members and friends came together at Cumberland Falls SRP for the Society’s 34th Annual Wildflower Weekend. For the first time since Wildflower Weekend began in 1989, the event was held in a different location from Natural Bridge SRP. This change from years past gave us the opportunity to discover botanically, ecologically, and geologically unique areas of Kentucky as we explored Cumberland Falls, Natural Arch Scenic Area, & the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area.
Rest assured, we are not abandoning our friends at Natural Bridge SRP, who have hosted Wildflower Weekend for over 30 years. KNPS plans to now alternate Wildflower Weekend locations between Natural Bridge SRP in even numbered years, and other Kentucky parks in odd numbered years. Planning has already begun for next year’s Wildflower Weekend 2024 and to pique your interest for April 2024, enjoy the following images and discussion of Wildflower Weekend 2023.
Wildflower Walks
Wildflower walks and hikes are the defining activities of every Wildflower Week. This year, beginning at noon on Friday and running through the end of the day on Saturday, we enjoyed a record number 19 wildflower walks, led by 30 of the best botanists and naturalists in the country. Exploring the amazing diversity of the plant communities in Cumberland Falls state park, Natural Arch Scenic Area, & the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area, participants learned about and enjoyed dozens of native plant species, the fauna associated with them, and the amazing geology and hydrology that surrounds them.
Friday Night Members & Friends Campfire Social
Friday night was our campfire social. Dozens of KNPS members and friends came together for an evening of fun, fellowship, and s’mores around the campfire next to the Cumberland River.
During the social, James Kiser, naturalist, hike leader, and Sat. night speaker, took several groups out to search the cliff face for salamanders. The searches were great fun and successful as the groups made multiple observations of several different species of these shy, nocturnal amphibians.
Green salamander (Aneides aeneus)
Red salamander (Pseudotriton ruber)
Long-tailed salamander(Eurycea longicauda)
Saturday Night Presentation & Raffle
On Saturday evening we came together for a KNPS update, evening talks, and our annual raffle. An overflow crowd filled the Moonbow Room at the Cumberland Falls DuPont Lodge.
James Kiser
James Kiser gave a fascinating presentation on “Southern Kentucky Landscape Features and Associated Rare Species“. The number and diversity of rare species in McCreary and nearby counties is much higher than in many other parts of Kentucky and James explained how the variety of landscape features likely leads to this. James is a senior biologist with Stantec Consulting Services. He grew up along the base of Pine Mountain in Letcher County, Kentucky, received a B.S. degree from Morehead State University and completed courses toward a Master’s Science Degree at Eastern Kentucky University. James moved to the Big South Fork area in McCreary County in 2003 when he took a biologist position with the Daniel Boone National Forest. He is an old fashioned Naturalist spending the last 32 years studying the flora and fauna of Kentucky.
Chris Benda
After a short break the group came back together to listen to an informative and fun talk by Chris Benda, the Illinois Botanizer. Chris’s talk was “Botanical Humor: You Never Knew Plants Were So Funny“. Chris kept the group laughing, while at the same time presenting a wealth of interesting botanical observations. Chris is a botanist and past president of the Illinois Native Plant Society (2015-2016). Currently, he works as a Researcher at Southern Illinois University, where he coordinates the Plants of Concern Southern Illinois Program and teaches The Flora of Southern Illinois. Besides working at SIU, he conducts botanical fieldwork around the world, teaches a variety of classes at The Morton Arboretum and leads nature tours for Camp Ondessonk. He has research appointments with the University of Illinois and Argonne National Laboratory, and is an accomplished photographer and author of several publications about natural areas in Illinois. He is also known as Illinois Botanizer and can be reached by email at botanizer@gmail.com.
The Bidwell’s with Bob Van Hoff’s carving.
The evening ended with the annual raffle. The grand prize of the raffle, as has been the case for many years, was a beautiful carving by KNPS member, Bob Van Hoff. This was a hand-carved, hand-painted depiction of a flowering pink lady-slipper orchid (Cypripedium acaule) at three stages of inflorescence development. The winners of the carving were Mary Alice and Chris Bidwell, long time members of KNPS. Besides the carving, we also raffled off over 30 native plants. The plants were generously given to KNPS by our partners Ironweed Nursery in Waddy, KY, Dropseed Native Plant Nursery, in Goshen, KY, and The Arboretum at the State Botanical Garden of Kentucky, at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY.
Discussions about next year’s Wildflower Weekend 2024 are already happening. Dates are not set yet, but be thinking about the first half of April as the general time-frame. If you have any thoughts about how the event could be made better, we would love to hear from you. If you would like to lead or co-lead a walk next year, let us know. KYPlants@knps.org.
I was seven years old when my aunt and uncle took my sister and me bird watching in the woods of wild, wonderful West Virginia. While vacationing with them at a very nice state park, they decided to give my parents a break from us for the morning. To them, we were “city kids,” having lived all our lives in a house that was built in an old farm field along with 150 identical units about 20 miles from downtown Philadelphia. I have construction photos of the property from 1950 and there isn’t a tree to be seen anywhere.
On the other hand, my uncle had lived his whole life in the Mountain State and was an avid hunter, fisherman and nature lover. My mother said that her brother would never live anywhere else in the world other than West Virginia. Years later, I finally understood the spell the mountains had placed on him and why he could never leave.
My sister and I were doing what kids our ages would normally do, running ahead of our caretakers by a good 20 or 30 yards at least. I don’t know exactly what we were looking at or listening to. Maybe we were “watching for birds” because we were on a “bird watching” trip, right?
“Kids, come back! I have something to show you!”
After repeating himself a few times (maybe several times), we finally turned around and trudged back down the trail, reluctantly retracing our steps. When he came into view we could see him bending down looking at something on the ground in the middle of the trail.
Eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina). The reddish eye indicates that this is a male.
“It’s a box turtle and you guys ran right past it. I’m glad you didn’t step on it. Have you ever seen one of these before?”
The answer to his question was a resounding no, because we were city kids and box turtles usually don’t hang around in old farm fields surrounded by 150 houses. He went on to explain to us, very gently as I remember, that there are a lot of things to see in the woods, but you have to slow down and take your time, or you might miss some of the amazing things that are out there.
There was a character named Ferris Bueller in a movie several years back about this one day he took off from school. He went joy riding in a sports car, took in a Major League Baseball game and sang on a float in a parade. At one point in the movie, he turns and speaks directly into the camera.
“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
If Ferris and my uncle had ever met, I feel like they would have gotten along just fine.
So that’s what it’s all about. Go slow, take your time, and look all around…. rocket science, huh?
Of course, there are plenty of folks who go into the woods and completely ignore this advice. The current world record for completing the Appalachian Trail in the shortest time is held by the Belgian ultrarunner Karel Sabbe who traversed the 2,173-mile trail in 41 days, 7 hours and 39 minutes, which means he averaged 53 miles per day! He accomplished this feat, which is equivalent to running 20 miles more than a marathon every day for 41 days straight, during July and August of 2018. Can you imagine how many box turtles he missed on this trip?
Actually, I don’t begrudge Mr. Sabbe too much because he accomplished a truly amazing feat of athleticism, and he did something no one else in the world has done. And maybe he turned around in Maine and leisurely retraced his steps back to Georgia at a 5-6 mile per day pace so he could see everything that he missed. No, probably not…
I have a few other rules/guidelines I follow every time I head to the woods. Obviously, I always take precautions against biting insects and the burning rays of the sun. I have an old smartphone and the GPS app I use to navigate to avoid getting lost drains the battery quickly, so I take a couple of power sticks along. I carry a roll of orange flagging tape to mark the locations of interesting plants so I can find them again. I wonder what the occasional deer or squirrel hunter thinks when they see my orange flags tied to random tree branches out in the middle of nowhere?
The most valuable implement to take into the woods, however, is the hiking stick. I use a wooden one that was hand-crafted (paw-crafted?) for me by a beaver. While it is useful for maintaining one’s balance climbing over downed trees or scampering up and down creek banks, I find it indispensable for removing spider webs. While bushwhacking through the woods, I wave my stick around in circles or just swing it up and down in front of me. Alternatively, If you are trapsing through the woods with another person or group, always hang back in second or third place, never lead. This will ensure that the other person gets a face full of spider web, not you.
I recently discovered another reason to use a hiking stick. A few weeks ago, I was crossing a field on my way back to my vehicle after an enjoyable walk in the woods. The field had been subjected to a controlled burn a few months earlier and I was concentrating on the wide variety of plants that were popping up all over the place. Suddenly, I heard a clunk as my stick hit something solid, which was unusual for western Kentucky (we don’t have many rocks here). I looked down and sure enough, my stick had landed on top of a box turtle who had sealed itself up tight in its shell. As I was taught when I was seven years old, I picked it up and checked the shell for damage (there was none) and waited for a while, hoping it would decide to check me out also. Unfortunately, it declined to make an appearance, so I returned it to the ground and continued across the field.
And as I made my way back to my car, all I thought about was my uncle and all the other things he taught me besides how to take a walk in the woods.
Robert Dunlap is an amateur naturalist living near Paducah who owns every Peterson Field Guide that has ever published.
The Pollinator Garden Grant Partnership provides financial and support resources to Kentucky schools and nonprofit organizations wanting to establish or expand native plantings to attract and sustain pollinators. The primary mission is the garden, but the secondary mission is education regarding native plantings for pollinators in Kentucky.
The partnership includes three parties:
The Kentucky Native Plant Society as grantor will provide funds to purchase native plants and seeds. In lieu of funds, KNPS may choose to supply the plants and seeds to be chosen and delivered with the grantee’s knowledge and cooperation.
The grantee will be the owner or caretaker of the garden. The site should have education as part of its mission and offer public access, within reason.
An educational agency or organization will provide education and continued support for at least two years. KNPS can help you find such an organization in your area if necessary.
Each grant recipient will receive $500 to purchase native plants and/or seeds.
The plants must be true natives, no nativars, and be native to your region. KNPS and the educational partner of your choice will help you choose the best plants for your garden.
We encourage grant participants to follow these management practices:
Manage the density of plants, keeping them close, though not crowded, to provide shelter and protection for caterpillars and chrysalises.
Completely eliminate the use of insecticides.
Remove old growth from the previous year before the growing season begins, preferably in early to mid-spring. Keep in mind that many native pollinators overwinter in the garden as eggs, caterpillars, or chrysalises. Fall clean-up may destroy next year’s pollinators.
A pollinator garden should be approximately 100 square feet or more, although we encourage you to start small unless you have a good volunteer base to support a larger garden.
During the two years following the grant, KNPS requires before, during, and after progress reports and pictures to help us assist you in maintaining your garden. The number one failure of new pollinator gardens is a lack of central and continued support during this crucial time. We encourage grantees to choose someone in their organization who is willing to take on this two-year responsibility.
If you have received this grant previously, you are still eligible to apply, with evidence of prior success and commitment.
Kentucky Native Plant Society Pollinator Garden Grant Application [Note: This is a pilot project and not open to the public at this time]
Click on the image to view and download the PDF of the proclamation.
Governor Andy Beshear has proclaimed April 2023 as “Native Plant Month in Kentucky.” In his proclamation the Governor said:
“Now, therefore, I, Andy Beshear, Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, do hereby proclaim April, 2023, as Native Plant Month in Kentucky and encourage Kentucky citizens to observe this occasion by removing non-native invasive plants in our yards and communities, planting native trees, shrubs, and flowers, and educating our citizens about the many benefits of native plants.“
In the fall of 2022, The Garden Club of America launched an initiative to request proclamations from all 50 Governors to make April 2023 Native Plant Month in every state! As of April 4, 2023, 42 of the 50 states have issued such a proclamation. You can see all of the state proclamations here: Native Plant Laws and Proclamations by State.
In addition to the state proclamations, The Garden Club of America, beginning in 2021 has worked with Senators Rob Portman (R-OH retired), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), and Mike Braun (R-IN) to introduce and pass resolutions in the US Senate to declare April as National Native Plant Month. Resolutions were passed in 2021 and 2022. Senators Hirono and Braun introduced the resolution for 2023 in March and the expectation is that the Senate will pass the proclamation as soon as it returns from the Easter recess. You can read the press release from Senator Hirono’s office here: Hirono, Braun Introduce Resolution Designating April 2023 as National Native Plant Month.
There are over 150 organizations in 49 states supporting the Senate resolution, including the Kentucky Native Plant Society. In our supporting email, the Society said “The Kentucky Native Plant Society is in full support of the Senate resolution to designate the month of April as National Native Plant Month! Native plants are essential to both the well-being of our natural ecosystems and the public enjoyment of these native ecosystems. This resolution is in full alignment with our organizational purpose to promote conservation of native plants and natural plant communities and to promote public education in botanical science.”
Among the bald cypress knees at Metropolis Lake SNP
Like many of you, I love early spring and exploring the woods for the first native plants to appear and blossom. Here, on our place in McCracken county, we have spring beauties (Claytonia virginica), yellow corydalis (Corydalis flavula), common violet (Viola soria), downy serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea), and pawpaw (Asimina triloba) all in bloom. Lots of natives are just now popping out of the ground everywhere I look. After the severe drought we experienced last summer all the signs are that this will be a good year for our native plants. I hope you all are having the opportunity to get out into Kentucky’s native plant communities and are enjoying the spring rebirth.
Tomorrow, Saturday, April 8 begins KNPS’s Wildflower Week 2023. The week will begin with a series of First Day Hikes at locations around the commonwealth. From Metropolis Lake in McCracken county to St. Anne Woods and Wetlands in Campbell county, and several locations in between, these easy nature walks will be led by local botanizers who know the native plant species that will be encountered in each area. If you would like to learn more about these hikes and join one, just visit this page: Kick-off BotanyBlitz 2023 with a First Day Hike on April 8.
The First Day Hikes begin our week long BotanyBlitz 2023, which will run from Saturday, April 8, through Saturday, April 15. This is the third year for our BotanyBlitz, which is an effort to document as many plant species as possible within Kentucky during the week preceding Wildflower Weekend 2023. The BotanyBlitz will be again hosted on the community science website iNaturalist, and participants will be using the iNaturalist mobile app (or website, if your preferred camera is not a smartphone!) to upload photos of budding and blooming plants they observe in local parks, state parks, wildlife sanctuaries, and nature preserves. Last year’s BotanyBlitz 2022 had over 100 participants in more than 70 counties in Kentucky make 4,456 observations of 536 different species of plants, including 6 species that are rare in Kentucky. I encourage everyone reading this message to join in this exciting and valuable community science project. Learn how to participate here: Become Part of BotanyBlitz 2023! April 8 – April 15.
Last, but certainly by no means least, Wildflower Week 2023 comes to its conclusion with Wildflower Weekend 2023 at Cumberland Falls State Resort Park on Friday, April 14th & Saturday, April 15th, 2023. This is the 34th year that the Kentucky Native Plant Society has organized and held this amazing spring event and the first year that it has been held in a location other than Natural Bridge SRP. For fans of Natural Bridge and the Red River Gorge (and who cannot be a fan of that amazing region of Kentucky?) don’t worry, we will be back at Natural Bridge in April of 2024. The KNPS Board that we will have future Wildflower Weekends in even numbered years at Natural Bridge and in odd numbered years we will be moving the event around the state to other parks and natural areas.
Wildflower Weekend 2023 is shaping up to be among the best events KNPS has put on. There are 19 different hikes, led by some of the best botanists in Kentucky, exploring native plant communities in Cumberland Falls and the surrounding area. Several of the hikes are full, but there are still spots open in all of the time slots (Friday afternoon, Saturday morning, and Saturday afternoon.) The weekend’s events will culminate with the Saturday evening talks in the Moonbow Conference Room. Scheduled talks are Trilliums of Kentucky Update, by Tara Littlefield, Southern Kentucky Landscape Features and Associated Rare Species, by James Kiser, and Botanical Humor: You Never Knew Plants Were So Funny, by Chris Benda. Read all about Wildflower Weekend 2023 and register here: Wildflower Weekend 2023 – Registration is Now Open!
Kentucky Native Plant Society’s Wildflower Weekend 2023 Cumberland Falls State Resort Park Friday, April 14th & Saturday, April 15th, 2023
The schedule is set and registration is now open for Wildflower Weekend 2023, April 14th-15th, at Cumberland Falls State Resort Park. Join nature lovers, families, community scientists, amateur naturalists, and professional botanists from across the commonwealth, as we explore the beauty and diversity of Kentucky’s natural history. Wildflower Weekend is open to the public and family-friendly. Pre-registration is required using the form at the bottom of this page (click here to go to the form). Admission is $10 for adults, $3 for ages 13-17, and free for ages 12 & under. The agenda for the weekend is listed below. Saturday night includes a raffle featuring a woodcarving by Bob VanHoff.
KNPS will have staffed tables in the lobby and the Great Hall of the Dupont Lodge where you can ask questions, meet old and new native plant friends, see the items that will be raffled off on Saturday night, purchase raffle tickets, and purchase some other native plant related items.
All walks are limited as to the number of people who can sign up. This is done so that everyone will have a rich and positive experience. Last year walks filled up fairly quickly, so register as soon as possible to get the best choice of walks.
Schedule of Events
For Friday afternoon, Saturday morning, and Saturday afternoon, walks listed below are organized into three geographical areas: Big South Fork Area, Natural Arch Scenic Area, and the Cumberland Falls State Resort Park (SRP) Area. Attendees will meet walk leaders in the Great Hall to get directions, and to coordinate carpooling & caravanning to trailheads. The Great Hall is located behind the lobby of the historic Dupont Lodge of Cumberland Falls SRP.
Friday, April 14th – Afternoon Walks
Click here to download the full schedule in PDF format.
Big South Fork Area
SORRY, THIS HIKE IS FULL – 1:00 PM Natural History Walk, Yahoo Falls: moderately difficult walk. Explore the area around the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River with Senior Biologist James Kiser of Stantec. This walk will focus on the natural history of the Big South Fork region, along with its associated plants, animals, and ecological communities. Aside from the beautiful waterfall along the trail, attendees can expect to see the only known Kentucky population of lesser rattlesnake plantain, the rare filmy fern, and box huckleberry. Attendees can meet at the lodge at 1PM to carpool and/or caravan to the site. Alternatively, attendees can meet at the Yahoo Falls trailhead at 1:45PM.
Natural Arch Scenic Area
1:30 PM Bryophyte Walk, Natural Arch: easy walk. Join U.S. Forest Service botanist David Taylor for a hike along this ridgetop trail to learn about the diversity and ecology of the non-vascular plants in the area, including mosses, liverworts, and hornworts. If you have a hand lens (a.k.a. jewelers loupe) or magnifying lens available, bring it along for better viewing of these small organisms.
Cumberland Falls SRP Area
SORRY, THIS HIKE IS FULL – 2:00 PM Woody Plants and their Enemies, Dog Slaughter Falls Trail: moderately difficult walk. Hike with Kentucky Division of Forestry’s Forest Health Program Coordinator Alexandra Blevins along this scenic trail beneath towering hemlocks and learn about our woody plants and threats to the forest health of Kentucky. Attendees will have the chance to spot sweet pinesap alongside this trail!
SORRY, THIS HIKE IS FULL – 2:30 PM Woody Plants and Wildflowers Walk, Blue Bend Loop Trail: moderately difficult walk. Join Copperhead Consulting botanist Nate Parrish and UK-LFUCG Arboretum Curator Jess Slade for a hike along a section of the Sheltowee Trace, which follows the Cumberland River. Hike leaders will place special emphasis on the diversity of woody plants in the area and how the communities shift with changes in elevation. Expect to see a wide variety of wildflowers in bloom!
SORRY, THIS HIKE IS FULL – 3:00 PM Wildflowers and Ferns Walk, Sheltowee Trace to Anvil Branch Trail: moderately difficult to strenuous walk. Join Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves botanist Rachel Cook and UK-LFUCG Arboretum native plants assistant Judson Collins for a hike on this botanically diverse trail. This hike will focus on a wide array of ferns and an even more diverse cast of wildflowers. Some plants we hope to find include Trilliums, showy orchid, climbing fern, spleenwort ferns, and more! This trail has lots of hills, so bring plenty of water.
Friday, April 14 – Members & Friends Campfire Social
7:30pm Members & Friends Social, Cumberland Falls SRP Picnic Shelter Join us at the picnic shelter on the Cumberland River to gather around a firepit with fellow wildflower enthusiasts. S’mores fixings will be provided (you might want to bring a stick for roasting the marshmallows)! Bring your own camp chairs and flashlights. No alcohol allowed per state park. Directions for driving or walking to the Picnic Shelter are below.
Directions to the Members & Friends Social, Picnic Shelter along the Cumberland River:
Directions to the picnic shelter by car: See yellow dotted line on map below. Take Hwy 90 west from the Dupont Lodge parking lot. Just before you cross the river, take the driveway to the left, across from the Cumberland Falls Visitor Center parking lot. Continue about 0.2 mile down the road and the shelter will be on the left. Parking is available at the end of the road.
Directions to picnic shelter by foot: See yellow dotted line on map below. Take the trail behind the Dupont Lodge down the slope to the river. Turn left onto the road or trail going northeast. The picnic shelter will be on the left hand side of the road. Caution: the trail is steep and you will need a headlamp or flashlight to safely get back up the trail to the lodge in the dark after the social.
Saturday, April 15th – Morning Walks
Big South Fork Area
8:00 AM Ecology of the Big South Fork Walk, Blue Heron Trail: moderately difficult walk, 3-4 hours. Join botanist Rob Paratley and ecologist Dr. Mary Arthur as they explore the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River. Hike leaders will be highlighting plants that are restricted to southern Kentucky counties and therefore unique to this part of Appalachia. The impacts of climate change on Kentucky’s ecosystems will also be discussed.
8:15 AM Natural History Walk, Princess Falls: moderately difficult walk. Explore the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River with senior biologist James Kiser of Stantec. This walk will focus on the natural history of the area and its associated plants, animals, and natural communities. In addition to Princess Falls, there is a diverse mix of spring wildflowers growing along the trail and river.
Natural Arch Scenic Area
9:30 AM Natural Formations, Waterfalls, and Associated Plants, Buffalo Canyon Trail: moderately difficult walk. Admire the stunning natural formations and waterfalls of this scenic area while learning about the associated plant communities from hike leaders Nate Parrish, botanist of Copperhead Consulting, and Tyler Adams, a KNPS member and waterfalls enthusiast.
Cumberland Falls SRP Area
SORRY, THIS HIKE IS FULL – 7:45 AM Birds and Wildflowers Walk, Sheltowee Trace to Dog Slaughter Falls: easy to moderately difficult walk. Join Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves Rod Botkins and Heidi Braunreiter for this morning bird & wildflower walk along the Sheltowee Trace. Attendees should expect to see a variety of migratory birds in their showy mating plumage, in addition to wildflowers blooming along the trail. If you have a pair of binoculars handy, we recommend bringing them along for this walk. The destination for the walk will be the Dog Slaughter Falls. Topography is generally flat along the river and gets hillier into the forest to see the waterfall.
SORRY, THIS HIKE IS FULL – 8:30 AM Wildflower Walk, Trail #2 to Bunches Creek Tributary: easy to moderately difficult walk. Join botanist Julian Campbell to hike 1.5 miles along the Cumberland River to the mouth of Bunches Creek through mature mesic and subxeric forests. The cobble bar at the mouth of Bunches Creek is a remarkably unique river scour plant community, with several rare plants. These include the rare Balsam Ragweed (Packera paupercula var. paupercula) and dragonhead (Physostegia virginiana), plus several graminoids.
9:00 AM Ecology, Biodiversity, and Endemism Walk, Anvil Branch Trail to Sheltowee Trace Trail: 4-5 miles, strenuous walk with 600’ elevation gain. Hike with Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves botanist Devin Rodgers to explore a cross-section of southern Cumberland Plateau natural communities and learn how their density in this region leads to not only high biodiversity, but also endemism. Special emphasis will be given to xeric pine-heath woodlands, Appalachian mesophytic forest, sandstone cliff/rockhouse, and sandstone riverscour communities.
SORRY, THIS HIKE IS FULL – 10:00 AM Wildflowers and Woody Plants Walk, Blue Bend Loop: easy to moderately difficult walk. Join Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves biologists Rachel Cook and Ted Brancheau to hike along the botanically rich Blue Bend section of the Sheltowee Trace and see a dazzling display of spring ephemerals. Hike leaders will also emphasize the diversity and identification characteristics of woody plants along this trail.
SORRY, THIS HIKE IS FULL – 10:30AM Wildflower Walk, Pinnacle Knob Lookout trail: easy to moderately difficult walk. See a diverse mix of blooms along with spectacular views along this short out and back trail. U.S. Forest Service botanist David Taylor will lead this hike with a special focus on wildflowers in the area. The trail ends at a restored fire tower that is one of only 13 remaining historic look-outs in Kentucky.
Saturday, April 15th – Afternoon Walks
Big South Fork Area
SORRY THIS HIKE IS FULL –1:15 PM Wildflower Walk, Yahoo Falls: moderately difficult walk. Join KNPS member and plant photographer Alan Abbott and Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves botanist and iNaturalist aficionado Vanessa Voelker on this hike to a beautiful waterfall with lots of wildflowers in bloom along the way. Expect to see the usual suspects including Trillium and bellflowers as well as a rare plant, the lesser rattlesnake plantain (Goodyera repens).
Natural Arch Scenic Area
SORRY, THIS HIKE IS FULL – 2:30PM Woody Plants Walk, Panoramic Trail: easy walk. Join U.S. Forest Service botanist David Taylor to learn about the trees and shrubs growing on this ridgetop trail and take in some scenic views of the area.
Cumberland Falls SRP Area
SORRY, THIS WORKSHOP IS FULL – 1:00 PM WORKSHOP: Frondly Endeavors: Identifying the ferns of Kentucky, Cumberland Falls Lodge: easy, accessible walk. Ferns are the second most diverse group of vascular land plants, but identification is often difficult for many botanical enthusiasts. In this workshop, you will learn about the morphological features that are important for fern identification. You will also learn about some unique and cool ferns found in Kentucky! Dr. Sally Chambers, Assistant Professor and Herbarium Curator at Eastern Kentucky University, will lead this workshop followed by an outdoor walk to identify some ferns in their natural habitat.
SORRY, THIS HIKE IS FULL -1:30 PM Vascular Plants and Geology Walk, Blue Bend trail along the Cumberland River: generally easy walk. Join Professor Emeritus of Eastern Kentucky University, Dr. Ron Jones, and retired president of Shield Environmental Associates, Mark Sweet, for an out-and-back walk on the Blue Bend trail along the Cumberland River to learn about vascular plants, including the primitive and advanced features, as well as a lesson in geology and natural history of the Cumberland Falls area.
2:00 PM Wake up, Woods! A spring pollinator walk, Wildflower Trail (Trail 12): easy to moderately difficult walk. Come take a bilingual (Spanish and English) walk in the woods to learn about spring wildflowers and their pollinators as the forest wakes up from its winter slumber. Families and people of all ages are welcome. Join two Eastern Kentucky University professors along the Eagle Falls trail. Dr. Valerie Peters, who studies pollinators in Kentucky and Costa Rica, will lead the walk in Spanish, while Dr. Jennifer Koslow, a plant ecologist who works in Kentucky, will assist in Spanglish.
¡Despierta, bosque!: caminata fácil a moderadamente difícil. Venga al bosque para una caminata bilingüe en español y ingles para aprender sobre las flores de la primavera y sus polinizadores, durante el tiempo del año cuando el bosque esta despertando del invierno. Las familias y la gente de todas las edades están bienvenidos. La Dra. Valerie Peters, quien estudia las polinizadores de KY y en Costa Rica, seria encargada de dirigir la caminata en español. La Dra. Jennifer Koslow, una ecóloga que estudia plantas en KY, estaría co-líder de la caminata, en Spanglish.
SORRY THIS HIKE IS FULL – 3:00 PM Birds and Wildflowers Walk, Pinnacle Knob Lookout trail: easy walk. Join Shaker Village preserve managers Ben Leffew and Laura Baird to search for birds in the canopy and wildflowers beneath your feet on this short forested trail that ends at a historic fire tower with spectacular views of the area. Since this walk will occur during spring migration, we are sure to see some migratory birds in their showy mating plumage. If you have a pair of binoculars available, we recommend bringing those along for this hike.
Saturday Evening Talks in the Moonbow Conference Room, Dupont Lodge at Cumberland Falls State Resort Park
6:00 Welcome/Introductions, Heidi Braunreiter
6:05 KNPS Membership Business Meeting, Jeff Nelson & David Taylor
6:30 Trilliums of Kentucky Update, Tara Littlefield (see bio below)
6:50 Southern Kentucky Landscape Features and Associated Rare Species, James Kiser (see bio below)
7:20 Ten-minute break
7:30 Botanical Humor: You Never Knew Plants Were So Funny, Chris Benda (see bio below)
8:15 Q&A time (& raffle set-up)
8:30 Raffle Drawing, featuring KNPS gear, wildflowers, and a wood carving by Bob VanHoff
Speakers:
Heidi Braunreiter, KNPS Vice President & Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves Fire Program Manager
Jeff Nelson, Kentucky Native Plant Society President
David Taylor, USFS Botanist for Daniel Boone National Forest
Vanessa Voelker, Botanist for Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves
Presentation Speaker Biographies
Tara Littlefield is the state botanist and manager of the Biological Assessment Branch at the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves. She has over 17 years’ experience as a heritage botanist and ecologist and natural area conservation leadership. She coordinates the state’s Plant Conservation Alliance, a public private partnership working on rare plant and community conservation, and is the past president of the KNPS (2016-2022). Tara has a B.S. in Biochemistry from University of Louisville, M.S. in Forestry/Plant Ecology from the University of Kentucky and is currently pursuing a PhD at the University of Kentucky in Forest/Natural Resource Conservation. Much of her work involves rare species surveys, general floristic inventories, natural areas inventory, biological research, acquisition/protection of natural areas, rare plant/community restoration and recovery, and biological/conservation program development and management.
James Kiser is a senior biologist with Stantec Consulting Services. He grew up along the base of Pine Mountain in Letcher County, Kentucky, received a B.S. degree from Morehead State University and completed courses toward a Master’s Science Degree at Eastern Kentucky University. James moved to the Big South Fork area in McCreary County in 2003 when he took a biologist position with the Daniel Boone National Forest. He is an old fashioned Naturalist spending the last 32 years studying the flora and fauna of Kentucky. He has traveled throughout the eastern and Midwestern United States conducting rare plant, reptile, amphibian, bat and mussel surveys.
Chris Benda is a botanist and past president of the Illinois Native Plant Society (2015-2016). Currently, he works as a Researcher at Southern Illinois University, where he coordinates the Plants of Concern Southern Illinois Program and teaches The Flora of Southern Illinois. Besides working at SIU, he conducts botanical fieldwork around the world, teaches a variety of classes at The Morton Arboretum and leads nature tours for Camp Ondessonk. He has research appointments with the University of Illinois and Argonne National Laboratory, and is an accomplished photographer and author of several publications about natural areas in Illinois. He is also known as Illinois Botanizer and can be reached by email at botanizer@gmail.com.
Wildflower Weekend 2023 Registration Form
Thank you for your interest in Wildflower Weekend 2023. We have shut down online registration, but you can register onsite at the registration desk on either Friday afternoon, or all day Saturday.
