When: Saturday, Sept. 12, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm CDT
Where: Kenlake SRP, 542 Kenlake Rd, Hardin, KY

Mark your calendars and plan to meet up with other KNPS members and friends as we head west to Kenlake SRP for the Society’s 2026 Fall Meeting, on Sept 12th. Kenlake SRP is located on the shores of Kentucky Lake, just outside the small town of Aurora, KY. We will meet in the Meeting Room C, in the Kenlake Lodge. 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 Central Daylight Time).

Morning Session, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon

9:00 a.m.-9:30 a.m.: Doors open. Coffee served.

9:30 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. – Welcome and KNPS Updates – KNPS Board

10:15 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. – Breakout Session for Committees

10:45 a.m.-11:00 a.m. – Open Discussion from the Group
Ask the KNPS Board questions or express thoughts and ideas you have about KNPS

11:00am – Rachel Cook, KNPS Vice President and guest speaker TBD. History of Land Between the Lakes. We will hear about the history and botanical importance of the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. 

Lunch, 12:00 noon – 1:00 p.m.

12:00 noon – Lunch is on your own. There are several nearby lunch spots including the Aurora Landing Restaurant at Kenlake SRP, Belew’s Dairy Bar (cash only), and Amazin Blaze BBQ in nearby Aurora.

Afternoon Tour – 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

1:00 p.m.- End – After lunch the group will carpool and caravan across the Eggner Ferry Bridge to the center of the 170,000 acre Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area (LBL). Join OKNP botanist Devin Rodgers on a tour of select roadside grassland sites in Land Between the Lakes NRA. The tour will highlight the available flowering plants, focusing on the sunflower family (Asteraceae) and rare grassland species. However, high diversity of many species in many families in these systems brings an endless variety of potential conversations with the group’s curiosity leading the discussion! 

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

Registration for Fall Meeting

There is no charge for the fall meeting, but we do ask that you register. Please fill out this registration form.

On Saturday, September 6, 2025, KNPS members and friends came together for a day of botanical education and exploration at the Natural Bridge State Resort Park & the Red River Gorge.

The day began in the Woodland Nature Center, located just beyond the state park lodge, with updates on the Society’s activities in 2025 and plans for 2026.

Dan and Judy Dourson shared personal experiences and read excerpts from their book Wildflowers and Ferns of Red River Gorge and the Greater Red River Basin. Afterwards, copies of the book were sold and the Doursons provided personalized messages and autographs. KNPS helped fund the 2025 reprint of Wildflowers and Ferns of RRG and GRRB and will have copies for sale at all future events while supplies last.

Following the updates the group enjoyed a talk by KNPS Vice-president and Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves Botanist, Kendall McDonald. She presented White Haired Goldenrod (Solidago albopilosa) and Sandstone Rockhouses of the Red River Gorge: Geology, Human History, Endemism and Conservation Success. Participants were also educated on the Adopt-A-Rockhouse Program, which is a program that utilitzes volunteers to monitor the previously federally listed White Haired Goldenrod (Solidago albopilosa, WHG). You can download the presentation by clicking on the image below.

Mark your calendars and plan to meet up with other KNPS members and friends as we head to the Natural Bridge SRP for the Society’s 2025 Fall Meeting, on Sept 6th. We will meet in the Woodland Center, which is a short walk from the Hemlock Lodge where you can park. 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).