February 4: Kansas Native Plant Society Winter Board Meeting and Outing. The location and time have not been finalized.  Our backup date in case of inclement weather is February 11.
Please contact KNPS for more information. email@KSNPS.org or (785) 864-3453

February 7 @ 7pm: Workshop - Seed Collection and Preparation
Manhattan Church of Christ • 2510 Dickens Avenue • Manhattan, KS
Joc Baker, KNPS Board member, former science teacher, and “professional” seed collector will guide the group through the process. Sample dried-seed-heads of common Flint Hill native plants will be available, and at the end of the session, participants may take home the seeds they have worked with. It is recommended that, if possible, attendees bring a hand lens or magnifying glass to use for separating very small seeds from insects and other particles.
The meeting will be in the lower level of the Manhattan Church of Christ, located at 2510 Dickens Avenue (a few blocks south and west of K-State basketball and football facilities). Snacks will be available. All members in the counties of the Manhattan Region, friends and guests, and anyone interested in learning more about native plants are welcome to join us.
For more information contact Nancy Goulden at 785-776-2115
Sponsor: Manhattan Region of the KNPS

February 11: Kaw Valley Seeds Project Second Annual Fair, Lawrence, KS, 10am-3pm. The Seed Fair will include a seed exchange, exhibits, local producers, speakers throughout the day and a children's activity center. Admission is free. The first year's fair drew more than 300 visitors, and this year's is expected to more than double in size. The Kaw Valley Seeds Project is a nonprofit whose mission is to create a Local Living Seed Reserve by fostering a network of people committed to growing and eating, sharing and bartering, buying and selling primary seed varieties of the Kansas River Valley. In addition, our goal is to educate the general public on the pleasures of growing their own food by teaching them how to save, store and plant seeds from their own gardens, and where to obtain organic and local seed lines. Sponsor: Kaw Valley Seeds Project. Location: Douglas County Fairgrounds, Building 21, 2110 Harper Street in Lawrence.
Contact: Daniel Bentley at dan66044@yahoo.com or (785) 842-4418

February 18: Volunteers are needed for prairie maintenance and preservation projects. The Grassland Heritage Foundation Groundhogs meet on the third Saturday of every month except December.  Wear appropriate clothing. No special skills or tools needed.
For details, please contact Frank Norman, Kansas Native Plant Society Board Member fjnorman@sunflower.com or (785) 887-6775 (home) or (785) 691-9748 (cell).

March 10 @ 10am: Feel the Love: Pollinators and Flowering Plants
Overland Park Arboretum • 8909 W. 179th. St. • Overland Park, KS
The Kansas City Region of the KNPS invites you to a special presentation. Betsy Betros will speak and give a presentation “Feel the Love: Pollinators and Flowering Plants” Betsy has had a life-long love of nature, with bugs in particular which led her to a degree in entomology at Colorado State University. Her interest in butterflies led to writing the first book to provide an in-depth guide to butterflies of the Kansas City region: “A Photographic Field Guide to the Butterflies in the Kansas City Region”
Professionally, Betsy has been with the Johnson County’s Environmental Department for over 30 years and is currently the Pollution Control Director. Betsy's book will be available at the meeting. Members and visitors are welcome.
For more info, contact: Ken O'Dell 913 837-5112

March 10 @ 1-4pm: Plant and Nature Photography Workshop
Sedgwick County Extension Education Center • 7001 West 21st Street North • Wichita
Join professional photographer and native plant lover Jolene Grabill for an afternoon workshop and learn to improve your native plant and nature photography skills in 2012. Almost everyone has a fully automatic camera – what are the possibilities when we switch out of automatic mode? How can images be edited once they are downloaded to your computer? Strategies to enhance your images both as you capture them and once they are in the camera will be shared. Bring your camera, laptop, and card readers. We will plan to take outdoor photos during the workshop with your new knowledge and will then edit them. Class size will be limited to 20 - please make your reservation and payment by March 3. Contact Krista Dahlinger with any questions. Use the Workshop Registration link to pay your registration fee.
See Jolene's work at www.jolenegrabill.zenfolio.com and www.jolenegrabill.photoshelter.com
Contact: Krista Dahlinger 316-258-6341
More Info: Workshop Registration

March 17: Volunteers are needed for prairie maintenance and preservation projects. The Grassland Heritage Foundation Groundhogs meet on the third Saturday of every month except December. Wear appropriate clothing. No special skills or tools needed.
For details, please contact Frank Norman, Kansas Native Plant Society Board Member fjnorman@sunflower.com or (785) 887-6775 (home) or (785) 691-9748 (cell).

March 24 @ 10am to noon: Workshop: Growing Wildflowers from Seed
Overland Park Arboretum • 8909 W. 179th. St. • Overland Park
Ken O’Dell will show you how he gathers, cleans and stores some of his wildflower seeds. Ken will provide seeds he gathered for you to use in this class. You will learn what kind of soil to use, how much to water the pots, and how much light the seedlings need during and after germination. You will plant different wildflower seeds with a label for each pot. You may then take the flat of pots home and watch your wildflowers grow! Each of you will get 15 to 18 pots. Ken O’Dell grows all of the native plants for the Friends of the Arboretum spring plant sale each year. He is a long-time volunteer at the Overland Park Arboretum and serves on the Board of the Kansas Native Plant Society. Class is limited to 12 people, so register early. We will take the first 12 that respond via email to Ken O'Dell and say they want the class. This is a free class to members of the Kansas Native Plant Society only. Contact Ken O’Dell to register at 913 837-5112.

April 14: Kansas Native Plant Society Spring Board Meeting and Outing. The location and time have not been finalized.
Please contact KNPS for more information. email@KSNPS.org or (785) 864-3453

April 15: Overland Park Arboretum Wildflower Tour, 1pm-3pm., at 8909 W. 179th. St. in southern Overland Park. Google Map Link
Lynda Ochs and Ken O'Dell will lead the Kansas City Region of The Kansas Native Plant Society on a tour of the woodlands at the Overland Park Arboretum. A large wooded area is ripe with millions of spring woodland plants. Meet at the Visitors Center and we will leave at 1pm sharp. Both dirt and mulched path ways, some hills to climb. Plants we will see include Yellow Buckeye, Wild Ginger, Jack-in-the-Pulpit, Pawpaws, Bittersweet vines, Wild Geraniums, Bluebells, Mayapples, Jacob's Ladder, Solomon Seal, False Solomon Seal, Elderberry, Bloodroot, several varieties of wild violets in yellow, blue and purple. Sponsor: Kansas Native Plant Society.
Contact: Ken O'Dell at ken@springvalleynursery.com or (913) 837-5112

April 21: Volunteers are needed for prairie maintenance and preservation projects. The Grassland Heritage Foundation Groundhogs meet on the third Saturday of every month except December. Wear appropriate clothing. No special skills or tools needed.
For details, please contact Frank Norman, Kansas Native Plant Society Board Member fjnorman@sunflower.com or (785) 887-6775 (home) or (785) 691-9748 (cell).

May 11-14: FloraKansas Great Plains Plant Bazaar. Sponsored by Dyck Arboretum of the Plains, Hesston, KS.
Contact: arboretum@Hesston.edu or (620) 327-8127

May 12: Barber County Wildflower Tour. Meet at the Medicine Lodge High School, 8:30am. Enjoy continental breakfast and slides of flowers we expect to see. Buses will provide transportation. Morning participants will return to the school at noon. Full-day participants will enjoy a delicious lunch and entertainment at a tree-shaded country park. Ride through the beautiful gyp hills to a second site. Refreshments will be served before we return to the school around 3:30pm. Barber Co. Conservation District and Kansas Native Plant Society are co-sponsors. Pre-paid reservations should be sent before May 9th, $8 half-day, $15 full-day. Barber Co Conservation, 800 W. 3rd Ave. Medicine Lodge, KS 67104-8002, phone (620) 886-3721, ext. 3.

May 19: Volunteers are needed for prairie maintenance and preservation projects. The Grassland Heritage Foundation Groundhogs meet on the third Saturday of every month except December. Wear appropriate clothing. No special skills or tools needed.
For details, please contact Frank Norman, Kansas Native Plant Society Board Member fjnorman@sunflower.com or (785) 887-6775 (home) or (785) 691-9748 (cell).

June 1-30: June is Kansas Native Plant Appreciation Month!
Each year Kansas Native Plant Society makes a formal appeal to the Governor for June to be proclaimed as Kansas Native Plant Appreciation Month. This opportunity promotes greater appreciation for the diversity, value, and beauty of Kansas native plants and their habitats.

June 2: Spring Wildflower Tour at Maxwell Wildlife Refuge, McPherson County, KS. Board the tram for a tour of the prairie with wildflowers and buffalo, 10am. There is also a self guided walking tour with flowers flagged. The Refuge is located 6 miles north of Canton, KS./
For more info call: (620)-628-4455

June 9: 7th Annual Symphony in the Flint Hills will be held in the heart of the Flint Hills of Kansas. Get ready for one of the most beautiful sites on the planet and the adventure of getting there. Enjoy this unique pairing of music and prairie! The vision of this concert is to heighten appreciation and knowledge of the Flint Hills as the last major intact tallgrass prairie on the North American continent and will help focus attention on the Flint Hills of Kansas as a national treasure belonging to all Kansans and as a destination for people beyond our borders. Featured is an outdoor concert performed by the Kansas City Symphony.
For more information see the Symphony in the Flint Hills website or call (620) 273-8955

June 10: Friends of Konza Prairie Annual Wildflower Walk, 6:30pm - sunset. Join us for a 2-mile guided hike of Butterfly Hill Trail, generally not open to the public. At the peak of wildflower season, visitors often view more than 50 species of native tallgrass prairie plants blooming along the trail. The walk will be co-led by Dr. Valerie Wright, Kansas Native Plant Society Board Member, and Konza Docents. Free to Friends of Konza Prairie members, $7 for others.  RSVP required; telephone reservations will be taken beginning May 1, (785) 587-0441.
For more info see the Friends of the Konza website

June 16: Volunteers are needed for prairie maintenance and preservation projects. The Grassland Heritage Foundation Groundhogs meet on the third Saturday of every month except December. Wear appropriate clothing. No special skills or tools needed.
For details, please contact Frank Norman, Kansas Native Plant Society Board Member fjnorman@sunflower.com or (785) 887-6775 (home) or (785) 691-9748 (cell).

July 14: Kansas Native Plant Society Summer Board Meeting and Outing. The location and time have not been finalized.
Please contact KNPS for more information. email@KSNPS.org or (785) 864-3453

July 21: Volunteers are needed for prairie maintenance and preservation projects. The Grassland Heritage Foundation Groundhogs meet on the third Saturday of every month except December. Wear appropriate clothing. No special skills or tools needed.
For details, please contact Frank Norman, Kansas Native Plant Society Board Member fjnorman@sunflower.com or (785) 887-6775 (home) or (785) 691-9748 (cell).

August 18: Volunteers are needed for prairie maintenance and preservation projects. The Grassland Heritage Foundation Groundhogs meet on the third Saturday of every month except December. Wear appropriate clothing. No special skills or tools needed.
For details, please contact Frank Norman, Kansas Native Plant Society Board Member fjnorman@sunflower.com or (785) 887-6775 (home) or (785) 691-9748 (cell).

September 7-10: FloraKansas Great Plains Plant Bazaar. Sponsored by Dyck Arboretum of the Plains, Hesston, KS. 
Contact: arboretum@Hesston.edu or (620) 327-8127

September 15: Volunteers are needed for prairie maintenance and preservation projects. The Grassland Heritage Foundation Groundhogs meet on the third Saturday of every month except December. Wear appropriate clothing. No special skills or tools needed.
For details, please contact Frank Norman, Kansas Native Plant Society Board Member fjnorman@sunflower.com or (785) 887-6775 (home) or (785) 691-9748 (cell).

October 20: Volunteers are needed for prairie maintenance and preservation projects. The Grassland Heritage Foundation Groundhogs meet on the third Saturday of every month except December. Wear appropriate clothing. No special skills or tools needed.
For details, please contact Frank Norman, Kansas Native Plant Society Board Member fjnorman@sunflower.com or (785) 887-6775 (home) or (785) 691-9748 (cell).

Funded by the Chickadee Checkoff Program

Click here for a brochure!

Re-publication of site content in any form other than for personal use requires written permission.  If you are a Kansas resident, please assist with this and other wildlife viewing and conservation programs by contributing to the Chickadee Checkoff on your state tax form.