Exploration of Pine Meadows Park Management and Restoration with Will Overbeck

Date of trip: 05/24/2026
Time: 10AM Eastern Time
Location: Pine Meadows Park, Lexington, KY
Difficulty of hike: Easy – The hike is less than a mile with some brief stretches off-trail.

Join botanist and KNPS member Will Overbeck for a tour of Pine Meadows in Lexington, KY on Sunday, May 24th at 10AM. 

The hike is less than a mile with some brief stretches off-trail.  

Pine Meadows has many floodplains plants, including Virginia Dayflower (Commelina virginica), American Elm (Ulmus americana) and Cup Plant (Silphium perfoliatum).  

Other parts of the property contain upland species typical of the Inner Bluegrass, such as Wild Petunia (Ruellia strepens), Fragrant Sumac (Rhus aromatica) and Burr Oak (Quercus macrocarpa).  

The land management and restoration has been conducted by the Friends of Wolf Run Warershed with support from the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government. Over 100 native species have been planted and the property is a model of Bluegrass ecological restoration. 

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By Alan Abbott, KNPS Field Trip Coordinator

On Sunday, September 7th, KNPS member Alan Abbott led a hike on Mogan Ridge in Perry County, Indiana. Approximately 10 people, including members of both Kentucky Native Plant Society and Indiana Native Plant Society, walked the trail for over 3 hours.

The mixture of more northern and southern plants meant that everyone got to see something new. Those from Indiana were excited to see some Sourwood trees (Oxydendrum arboreum) at the northwestern edge of their range. Carolina Buckthorn (Frangula caroliniana) was also a big hit. It is widely-distributed In Kentucky, but rare in Indiana.

Kentucky participants were excited to see Big Tooth Aspen (Populus grandidentata), which is infrequent in Kentucky.

Other plants seen include Anglepod (Gonolobus suberosus), American Bluehearts (Buchnera americana), Silver Plumegrass (Erianthus alopecuroides), Clasping Aster (Symphyotrichum patens), Blue Waxweed (Cuphea viscosissima), and Prairie Tea (Croton monanthogynus).

By Alan Abbott, KNPS Field Trip Coordinator

The Kentucky Native Plant Society led a hike at Bullitt County’s Pine Creek Barrens Nature Preserve on June 8th. The preserve has a mixture of oak-dominated woodlands, shallow limestone glades, and grasslands and is one of the best examples of Kentucky’s limestone/dolomite barrens open to the public.

Member Alan Abbott led a group of around a dozen KNPS members for a three hour stroll along the trails. Plants identified by the group included: two species of Coneflowers (Echinacea simulata and pallida), Vase Vine (Clematis viorna), Climbing Milkvine (Matelea obliqua), Prairie Dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis), Prickly Ash (Zanthoxylum americanum), Scaly Blazing Star (Zanthoxylum americanum), and Glade Heliotrope (Heliotropium tenellum).

The group also discussed the natural history of the region, tools like iNaturalist and Floraquest, and grassland land management techniques.