The schedule is set and registration is now open for our first, in-person Wildflower Weekend since 2019. Wildflower Weekend, April 8th-10th, at Natural Bridge State Resort Park, will be a hybrid of in-person and online activities. Throughout the week prior to Wildflower Weekend, we will be hosting an online, week-long BotanyBlitz on iNaturalist from April 2nd-9th. To kick off the BotanyBlitz week there will be several iNaturalist Tutorial Hikes around the state on April 1st & 2nd.
It will be great to return to our roots at Natural Bridge State Resort Park with an in-person Wildflower Weekend. However, with COVID-19 still a concern and to reduce the crowds of people in the lobby of the Hemlock Lodge, registration for the weekend and the walks will be done online.
KNPS will still have staffed tables in the lobby of the Hemlock Lodge where you can 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.
This event is open to the public and kid-friendly. Pre-registration is required for the event and the pre-registration form can be found on our website: Wildflower Weekend 2022 Registration. Admission is $10 for adults, $3 for ages 13-17, and free for ages 12 & under. All walks will meet at the entrance to the Hemlock lodge at Natural Bridge State Resort Park. State parks require masks when indoors.
Schedule of Events
Friday, April 8th – Afternoon Walks
1:00 PM Wildflower & Ecology Walk, Rock Bridge Loop Trail: 1.25 mile loop, moderately difficult walk. Join KY Nature Preserves botanists Heidi Braunreiter & Tony Romano on a trail that descends into a deep ravine with towering old-growth hemlock trees and a dense rhododendron understory. Scenic views of Creation Falls and Rock Bridge.
1:00 PM Woody Plants Walk, Boardwalk: easy, accessible walk. Join U.S. Forest Service botanist David Taylor and EKU graduate Ted Brancheau around the Hemlock Lodge and Woodland Center to learn about trees and shrubs.
2:30 PM Wildflower Walk, Original Trail:1-2 miles, moderately difficult walk.Walk with state park naturalist Samantha Evans and KY Nature Preserves botanist Rachel Cook to see what is blooming along the Original Trail, which leads up to the Natural Bridge Arch.
2:30 PM Lichen Walk, Rush Ridge Trail: 1-2 miles, easy walk. Join KY Nature Preserves lichenologist Kendall McDonald and botanist Devin Rodgers to learn about the anatomy, ecology, and reproduction of lichens along this flat ridgetop in the Red River Gorge. If you have a hands lens (aka jewelers loup) or magnifying lens handy, bring along for better viewing of these small organisms.
Friday, April 8th – Members & Friends Campfire Social
7:30pm Members & Friends Social, Natural Bridge SRP Group Campsite
Join us around the fire pit to gather with fellow wildflower enthusiasts. Meet the KNPS board members & officers. Bring your own camp chairs. No alcohol allowed per state park. S’mores fixings will be provided!
Saturday, April 9th – Morning Walks
8:30 AM Bryophyte Walk, Boardwalk: easy, accessible walk. Walk with U.S. Forest Service botanist David Taylor around the Hemlock Lodge to learn about these interesting seedless plants including mosses, liverworts, and hornworts that have considerable diversity in form and ecology.
8:30 AM Wildflowers & Salamanders Walk, Suspension Bridge Trail: 1-2 miles, easy to moderately difficult walk. Join KY Nature Preserves ecologist Martina Hines, UK-LFUCG Arboretum curator Jess Slade, and botanist Steele McFadden to learn about wildflowers along this botanically diverse trail. Also, take a stop at the creek to look for salamanders!
9:00 AM Natural History Walk, Rock Bridge Trail: 1.25 mile loop, moderately difficult walk. Walk with David Kuehner, senior biologist James Kiser from Stantec Consulting, and KY Nature Preserves botanist Vanessa Voelker to learn about wildflowers, ferns, herps, and mosses on a trail that descends into a deep ravine with towering old-growth hemlock trees and a dense rhododendron understory. Scenic views of Creation Falls and Rock Bridge.
10:00 AM Naturalist Walk with a Focus on Wildflowers, The Wilds Trail: 1-2 miles, easy to moderately difficult walk. Join authors Dan & Judy Dourson on a walk through Punkin Hollow to look at all things nature. For a great plant guide of the area, check out their book “Wildflowers and Ferns of Red River Gorge and the Greater Red River Basin.”
10:00 AM Search for Sweet Pinesap, Gray’s Arch Trail: 1-2 miles, easy to moderately difficult walk.Join KY Nature Preserves Botanist Tara Littlefield and her daughter Estella on a search for the rare and elusive sweet pinesap, aka pygmy pipes (Monotropsis odorata). Wildflowers, shrubs, trees, and general ecology will also be discussed.
Saturday, April 9th – Afternoon Walks
1:00 PM ¡Despierta, Bosque! Un paseo primavera de polinizadores; 1-2 millas, 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.
Wake up, Woods! A spring pollinator walk, Rock Garden Trail; 1-2 miles, 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 welcome. 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.
1:30 PM Wildflower Walk, Whittleton Branch Trail: 1-2 miles, easy walk. Join U.S. Forest Service botanist David Taylor, KY Nature Preserves botanist Rachel Cook, and David Kuehner along this botanically diverse trail north of Whittleton Campground to see a dazzling display of spring ephemerals!
2:00 PM Natural History Walk, Rock Garden Trail: 1-2 miles, easy to moderately difficult walk. Walk with retired Indiana heritage botanist Mike Homoya, senior biologist James Kiser from Stantec Consulting, and KY Nature Preserves botanist Heidi Braunreiter to learn about wildflowers, ferns, herps, and mosses on the forested slope above the Hemlock Lodge.
2:30 PM Plant Identification 101 & Intro to iNaturalist Workshop, Woodland Center & Boardwalk: easy, accessible. Join University of Cambridge graduate student Nick Koenig to learn how to use the smartphone app iNaturalist to identify unknown plants, as well as how to identify plants using a key. Please bring a copy of Plant Life of Kentucky (if possible) and have iNaturalist downloaded onto your phone prior to this workshop. However, neither are mandatory to join, teaming up on a key and/or phone is encouraged!
Saturday Evening Talks at the Woodland Center
Masks are required indoors per state park guidelines. Chairs will be spaced out as a Covid-19 precaution. Books by author Mike Homoya will be available for purchase during this event.
6:00 Welcome/Introductions, Tara Littlefield & Heidi Braunreiter
6:15 Membership Business Meeting, Jeff Nelson
6:30 Announcement of 2022 KNPS Grant Recipients, David Taylor
6:45 iNaturalist BotanyBlitz Results, Rachel Cook
6:55 Lilley Cornett Woods Revisited: A Half-Century of Overstory Change in an Old Growth Forest, Ted Brancheau, former EKU graduate student.
7:15 An Exploration into the Funky Fern World, Nick Koenig, graduate student at The University of Cambridge. The naming of fern species is a complicated process that has interesting histories. Nick will explore the ways in which taxonomists have gone about naming fern species, ongoing research investigating triplets of ferns, and how hybridization has led to interesting morphological relationships.
7:35 Rare Plants and Natural Communities along the Ohio River, from Cincinnati to the Mississippi River, Mike Homoya is a recently retired botanist and plant ecologist who worked for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Natural Heritage Program since 1982. He discovered, inventoried, and assessed natural communities and surveyed for rare species. He shared his knowledge, experience, and enthusiasm about plants by authoring several books, teaching at the collegiate level, and serving as president of professional science associations.
8:35 Raffle Drawing
9:00 PM Nighttime Salamander Walk to Natural Bridge Cave. Join Senior Biologist James Kiser from Stantec Consulting to search for salamanders at the Natural Bridge Cave. Bring a headlamp or flashlight