Save the Date! KNPS Wildflower Weekend 2025 – April 11-13, 2025

We have exciting news for all of our members and friends! KNPS is happy to announce this year’s Wildflower Weekend has been scheduled for April 11th -13th, 2025, at Carter Caves State Resort Park in Carter County! Beginning in 2023, the KNPS Board decided that we would alternate Wildflower Weekend between the longtime host site, Natural Bridge SRP, in even numbered years, and then a different state park in odd numbered years. This year, our annual Wildflower Weekend will be held at Carter Caves SRP.

The event will include guided hikes through beautiful natural areas throughout the weekend, a Friday Evening Friends & Members Social, and Saturday evening presentations.

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Calling all Kentucky research students! KNPS will have a Student Poster Session at Wildflower Weekend 2025!

KNPS is happy to announce that we will be hosting our first student poster session at Wildflower Weekend 2025! Wildflower Weekend is a 35+ year tradition that focuses on providing high quality botanical and biodiversity educational and fellowship experiences to professionals, naturalists, and nature lovers of all ages. Wildflower Weekend will be held at Carter Caves State Resort Park in Grayson, KY from April 11th-12th, 2025.

We are looking for undergraduate, graduate and PhD students at Kentucky colleges and universities doing research in botany, biology, and other related fields in the spring of 2025!

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KNPS 2024 Fall Meeting at Bernheim Arboretum & Pine Creek Barrens

On Saturday, October 19, 2024, over 30 KNPS members and friends came together for a day of botanical education and exploration at the Bernheim Forest and Arboretum & Pine Creek Barrens Nature Preserve.

The day began in the the Sassafras Room, located in the Bernheim Arboretum Visitor Center, with updates from KNPS leadership on the Society’s activities in 2024 and plans for 2025. Following the updates the group enjoyed two talks. The first talk was Boo! Botany that goes Bump in the Night by KNPS Vice-president and Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves Botanist, Kendall McDonald. In a nod to the season, Kendall gave a fun and interesting presentation on poisonous, carnivorous, and parasitic plants found in Kentucky. Following Kendall, Tyson Gregory, KNPS member and Director of Programs for Trees Lexington, presented Ethical Seed Collection. His presentation was chock full of tips and information on collecting native plant seeds ethically and responsibly. You can download both of these presentations by clicking on the images below.

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2024 KNPS Fall Meeting, Oct 19, Bernheim Arboretum

When: Saturday, Oct. 19, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm EDT
Where: The Sasafrass Room in the Bernheim Arboretum Visitor Center, Clermont, KY

Mark your calendars and plan to meet up with other KNPS members and friends as we head to the Bernheim Arboretum for the Society’s 2024 Fall Meeting, on Oct 19th. We will meet in the Bernheim Arboretum Visitor Center in the Sassafras Room. If you want to learn more about KNPS, meet other Kentucky native plant enthusiasts, and learn more about the native plants of Kentucky, then the KNPS Fall Meeting is for you!

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2024 KNPS Fall Meeting at Bernheim Arboretum, October 19

Mark your calendars and plan to meet up with other KNPS members and friends as we head to the Bernheim Arboretum for the Society’s 2024 Fall Meeting, on Oct 19th. We will meet in the Bernheim Arboretum Visitor Center in the Sassafras Room. If you want to learn more about KNPS, meet other Kentucky native plant enthusiasts, and learn more about the native plants of Kentucky, then the KNPS Fall Meeting is for you!

We are still finalizing details of the Fall Meeting, but here is the schedule for the day (all times are Eastern Daylight Time).

  • Morning session: 10am, in the Sassafras Room in the Visitor Center at the Bernheim Arboretum 2075 Clermont Road, Clermont, KY
    • 10am – Welcome and KNPS Updates – KNPS Board
    • 10:45am – One or more talks on plants native to the area and the special plant communities they are part of.
  • 12noon – Lunch on your own. You can get lunch at Issac’s Cafe in the Visitor Center or bring your own lunch.
  • 1pm – 4:00pm – Afternoon Walks – We are still finalizing our walk schedules.

There is no fee to attend the meeting, but we are requesting that folks pre-register for the meeting using the form below.

If you have any questions, send an email to KYPlants@knps.org

Please use this form to indicate that you are currently planning to attend the Fall Meeting.

Wildflower Weekend 2024 in Review

On Friday, April 12th and Saturday, April 13, nearly 200 members and friends enjoyed KNPS’s 35th Wildflower Weekend, at Natural Bridge SRP! With more hikes, workshops, and kid’s activities than we have ever had and with many of the best botanists in Kentucky in attendance, Wildflower Weekend 2024 was an unqualified success.

Wildflower Walks

Wildflower walks and hikes are the defining activities of every Wildflower Week, but this year we also included hikes about fire ecology, geology, birds, herps, butterflies, pollinators, reptiles and more! Beginning at noon on Friday and running through the end of the day on Saturday, we enjoyed a record number 25 flora and fauna walks, led by over 30 of the best botanists, zoologists and naturalists in the country. Exploring the amazing diversity of the plant communities in Natural Bridge SRP and the Red River Gorge Geological 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.

In addition to our usual “all things botanical” hikes, we had hikes concentrating on birds, reptiles and amphibians, geology, fire ecology, and pollinators and butterflies. There were also a couple of workshops, “Non-Native Invasive Species Management” and an art workshop, “Reflecting on Nature through Artmaking.” These new additions to Wildflower Weekend were enjoyed by all who participated and brought in several new faces to our annual gathering.

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Join Us At Natural Bridge This Weekend for Wildflower Weekend 2024!

Everything is set for KNPS’s 35th Wildflower Weekend, on Friday, April 12th and Saturday, April 13, at Natural Bridge SRP! With more hikes, workshops and kid’s activities than we have ever had, many of the best botanists in Kentucky in attendance, and with beautiful weather forecast, Wildflower Weekend 2024 would be a great destination for everyone this weekend.

In addition to our usual “all things botanical” hikes, we have a hikes concentrating on birds, reptiles and amphibians, geology, fire ecology, pollinators and butterflies. There will also be a couple of workshops, “Non-Native Invasive Species Management” and an art workshop, “Reflecting on Nature through Artmaking”.

We have always tried to make Wildflower Weekend a family friendly event (kids 12 and under attend free). This year we are offering two kid centered activities, a “Junior Botanist Adventure for Kids!” on Saturday morning and then, on Saturday afternoon, the “Kids Activities Table“, a drop-in activity (no registration required), with fun botanical and nature activities designed for the young naturalist. See details in the schedule below.

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