Volunteers planting the pollinator garden at EKU’s Science for Sustainable Living Initiative
The Kentucky Native Plant Society (KNPS) is thrilled to open applications for its 2026 Native Plant Pollinator Garden Grant. Grants of $500 will be awarded to several applicants to promote biodiversity and environmental education.
Our mission is to encourage people to establish pollinator gardens. They don’t have to be huge or even aesthetically beautiful for our purposes. They simply need to exist where humans can see them, commune with them, and learn about them.
Grant Objectives
The grant aims to foster the establishment of native plant pollinator gardens, emphasizing not only the ecological benefits but also the educational enrichment they provide. Through these gardens, KNPS seeks to nurture a deeper understanding and appreciation of native plant species and their crucial role in pollination.
Did you know that the Kentucky Native Plant Society offers small grants to help defer the costs of botanical research, inventory and native plant restoration? Beginning in 2012, the Kentucky Native Plant Society has been awarding annual grants to undergraduate and graduate students that are researching native plants and plant communities in Kentucky. Since 2012 we have awarded over $10,000 in grants.
The total number of grants awarded in any given year is based on the number of proposals received, the quality of proposals and available funding. Each year the Society offers awards of $1,000 for graduate student projects, and $500 for undergraduate projects. Awards are given for field-based botanical projects that contribute to the knowledge of Kentucky’s flora or natural communities.
We prefer that students submitting grant requests attend a Kentucky college or university, although this is not a requirement as long as the research is based in Kentucky. The grant may be used to purchase consumable supplies and materials such as herbarium paper, label stock, and topographic maps apps such as gaiagps. The grant may also be used to cover travel expenses, and lodging
The graph below shows the kinds of projects that have been funded over the years.
All Grant Proposals are due by March 15th, 2026.
If you are interested in applying for any of the KNPS grants, visit the Grants page at the KNPS website. If, after reading the grants page, you have any questions, please email them to: grants@knps.org
Richard L. Cassell (May 9, 1944-December 24, 2025) Photo courtesy of James Kiser
On December 24, 2025, one of the original members of KNPS, Richard L. Cassell, died at his home in Louisville.
Remembrances of Richard Cassell by Barry Howard
Richard was a longtime friend, outstanding naturalist and great American. I first met Richard in the spring of 1979 shortly after becoming the park naturalist at Pine Mountain State Resort Park. We spent a lot of time together throughout much of the 1980s, both in the field and with various endeavors associated with the Kentucky Society of Natural History (KSNH) in which we were both heavily involved. These were days before the Kentucky Native Plant Society (KNPS) had been formed and thus “the Society” as we used to call KSNH, attracted amateur botanists as well as other naturalists interested in all aspects of Kentucky natural history. Some of my early memories include Richard showing up at the park with a rough, hand-drawn map to a rare plant location in northeast Tennessee. After some searching and poking around we found it. Clumps of large, gorgeous orchids, Cypripedium reginae (showy ladies-slipper) A similar experience occurred when Richard arrived with notes to a Cypripedium kentuckiense site near Corbin. (I believe the former site is now protected by The Nature Conservancy, while the latter is gone.)
The KNPS Wildflower Weekend 2026 will be held at Natural Bridge State Resort Park on Friday-Sunday, April 17th & 19th, 2026. The weekend has been a KNPS tradition for over 35 years, and has always been an education focused endeavor for professionals, students, families, and naturalists of all ages.
In 2025 KNPS decided to try something new to foster a greater connection between the Society and the state’s higher education community by hosting student poster sessions to highlight the botanical (or botanically adjacent) research happening in Kentucky. The 2025 sessions were a great success, with 7 students presenting their research. View those posters here: Student Research Poster Sessions
Because of the success of the Student Research Poster Sessions in 2025, KNPS is going to host these sessions again in 2026.
Read about the poster session details and scholarship opportunities in the section below. You can download a PDF of that information here: Student Poster Sessions at KNPS WW2026
We have exciting news for all of our members and friends! KNPS is happy to announce this year’s Wildflower Weekend is scheduled for April 17th -19th, 2026, at Natural Bridge State Resort Park and the Red River Gorge Geological Area!
But wait, there is even more cause for jubilation! This year the Kentucky Native Plant Society is celebrating its 40th Anniversary! In 1986, a small group of botanists came together to form the Kentucky Native Plant Society as an organization dedicated to serving as a medium of fellowship and information exchange among botanists, both amateur and professional, to promote conservation of native plants and natural plant communities of Kentucky, to promote public education in botanical science, and to encourage botanical research in Kentucky. We are excited to celebrate four decades of KNPS with members, friends, and past board members and officers!
The event will include guided hikes Friday afternoon through Sunday, through the Red River Gorge’s beautiful natural areas, student research poster sessions, a Friday Evening Friends & Members Social, and Saturday evening presentations and KNPS Recognition ceremony.
Wildflower Weekend Volunteer Recognition
The Society has always depended on volunteers and the contributions of members and friends to accomplish our goals. Over its 40 years, hundreds of people have volunteered thousands of hours to make KNPS the outstanding organization it is. KNPS Board members serve two year terms helping to make everything the Society does, happen. At this year’s Wildflower Weekend we are going to recognize these committed volunteers. Join on Saturday evening as we recognize all of those who have generously contributed their passion, knowledge, time and labor to the society!
It takes almost 100 people to make Wildflower Weekend successful each year! If you are interested in volunteering for Wildflower Weekend 2026, please visit our Volunteer Opportunities with KNPS page.
Wildflower Weekend 2026 Logo Contest
Each year, the KNPS Board selects a native wildflower to be the focus of the Wildflower Weekend logo design. For Wildflower Weekend 2026, the Board has selected the Pink Lady’s Slipper orchid (Cypripedium acaule). Pink Lady’s Slipper is a large, showy wildflower belonging to the orchid family. It has two opposite basal leaves with conspicuous parallel veins and a large flower at the end of an erect stalk. The flower is magenta to whitish-pink; sometimes the whitish pink flowers will have darker pink venation. Pink Lady’s Slipper is widely distributed across the eastern United States and eastern to central Canada, from Alabama to the Northwest Territories. In Kentucky it is found in several counties in the eastern part of the state. It can be found in several locations in the Red River Gorge area. Submissions to the logo contest can be made here until January 16th, 2026.
Leading up to Wildflower Weekend 2026, at Natural Bridge SRP, KNPS will be holding our 6th annual Botany Blitz 2026, which will run from Saturday, April 11th, through Sunday, April 19th. The spring Botany Blitz is a group effort to document as many plant species as possible within Kentucky during the week preceding Wildflower Weekend, and will again be hosted on the community science platform iNaturalist. Participants can use the iNaturalist mobile app in the field (or use the website if your preferred camera is not a smartphone!) to document their observations of Kentucky’s flora.
As in previous years, Botany Blitz 2026 will commence with a series of Kick Off Hikes on Saturday, April 11th and Sunday, April 12th, in parks and natural areas across the Commonwealth. These easygoing wildflower walks are led by local botanizers and naturalists who are familiar with the native flora that hikers will encounter. As the Kick Off Hikes are meant to start the Botany Blitz, we are hoping that folks who plan to participate will sign up for an iNaturalist account (if they don’t already have one) and join the Botany Blitz 2026 project, although you do not need to be an iNaturalist user to enjoy these hikes.
Call for Kick Off Hike Leaders
Although we have several Kick Off Hikes in the planning process, we are seeking more hike locations and hike leaders! If you would like to lead a Kick Off Hike in your area, please fill out and submit the form below. All hike details are up to you, the hike leader, to choose, however we have a few suggestions to guide you:
Before selecting a hike location, we recommend that you visit the official website for that location or contact the owning agency/organization to check if there are any rules or guidance regarding larger groups of hikers.
Please also consider the amount of parking at the site, the typical weekend visitation levels during peak wildflower season, and the maximum number of participants you want to set. You may want to avoid choosing locations with limited parking that can fill up quickly on weekend days.
We also recommend arranging for a friend to co-lead the hike with you. A co-lead can assist you in keeping your the group together on the trail, watch the clock to help you stay on schedule (wildflower walks are notorious for running long!), and help guide any hikers that need to leave early back to the trailhead.
If you have any questions or if you need to change any hike details after you’ve submitted this form, please email us at WildflowerWeekend2026@knps.org.
If you are willing to lead a KNPS Botany Blitz Kick Off Hike on April 11th or 12th, 2026, please submit the following information.
KNPS volunteers removing invasive bush honeysuckle in Franklin County.
The Kentucky Native Plant Society (KNPS) is dedicated to serving as a medium of fellowship and information exchange among botanists, both amateur and professional, to promote conservation of native plants and natural plant communities of Kentucky, promote public education in botanical science, and encourage botanical research in Kentucky.
The Society has always depended on volunteers and the contributions of members and friends to accomplish our goals. Over its 40 years, hundreds of people have volunteered thousands of hours to make KNPS the outstanding organization it is.
Volunteering can be the best part of KNPS membership—you will meet the most interesting people and feel a sense of accomplishment as you join others to support the Society and the native plants and plant communities of Kentucky. We have volunteer activities to suit every interest and energy level that are compatible with all lifestyles, with volunteer work ranging from 2-hour shifts to 2-year officer terms. Simply put, we cannot do this without the generous donations of time by people like you!
Experience has shown that the members and friends of KNPS are always willing to step up and volunteer their time to the Society. If you’ve ever wondered how you can get more involved, now is the perfect time!
To make it easier than ever to get involved, KNPS has created a new Volunteer Opportunities page. This page highlights current needs, describes a variety of ways to help, and makes it simple to find a role that fits your interests and availability. Just click on the link below.
