On the weekend of April 17th to April 19th, over 200 members and friends enjoyed KNPS’s Wildflower Weekend at Natural Bridge SRP! KNPS was proud to host 31 hikes/workshops for all ages, our second annual Student Research Poster Sessions, a celebration of KNPS’s 40th anniversary, and have two excellent speakers Saturday evening. Many of the best botanists in Kentucky were in attendance, along with previous KNPS officers and board members, devoted members and new friends, making Wildflower Weekend 2026 an unqualified success.
Wildflower Weekend 2026 Logo Contest
This is the fourth consecutive year that KNPS offered merchandise with a unique logo developed specifically for Wildflower Weekend via the Wildflower Weekend 2026 Logo Design Contest. This was an open design contest to come up with a logo for Wildflower Weekend 2026. The winning design (featured at the top left of this post) is a collection of pink Lady slippers (Cypripedium acaule). The winning design was submitted by Alexandra Taylor of Fayette County, KY.
Wildflower Weekend Hikes and Workshops
Hike leaders and co-leaders highlighted the botanical diversity of Natural Bridge SRP with many hikes covering the weekend’s classic subjects: woody plants, wildflowers, bryophytes and ferns. Additionally, the weekend offered a variety of more beginner and advanced botanical hikes, featuring subjects such as the wildflowers and geology, evolutionary relationships of wildflowers and ferns, hemlock ecology and treatment, spring wildflowers and their bug friends, and lichens.
As participants attended their hikes, they were also able to see the beautiful natural features Natural Bridge has to offer due to its sandstone geology. The weekend featured Natural Bridge arch, Nada Tunnel, and several other notable arches: Rock Bridge, Whittleton, Gray’s.
The hikes of wildflower weekend are one of the most important parts of this KNPS tradition. KNPS could not do this without the donations of time, experience, knowledge and expertise of all of our hike, workshop and lecture leaders. KNPS would like to extend our thanks to the following hike leaders:
- Alan Abbott
- Ted Brancheau
- Heidi Braunreiter
- Alexandra Blevins
- Isabel Cochran
- Judson Collins
- Rachel Cook
- Sandra Elliott
- Dr. Ron Jones
- Megan Buland
- Meaghan Petix
- Dr. Allen Risk
- Mark Sweet
- David Taylor
- Kendall McDonald
- Jess Slade
- Bob Van Hoff
- Quinn Towery
- Dr. Nick Koenig
- Samantha Evans
- Tina Brouwer
- Tyson Gregory
- Rob Paratley
- Devin Rodgers
- Dan Dourson
- Judy Dourson
- Katie Cody
- Megan Buland
- Rod Botkins
Kid’s Activities
We have always tried to make Wildflower Weekend a family friendly event (kids 12 and under attend free). This year we offered two kid-centered activities: “Rainbows and Besties,” a wildflower and pollinator hike on Friday with Tina Brouwer (director of Red Oaks Forest School), and “Kid’s Nature Activity” wildflower hike on Saturday afternoon with Isabel Cochran, which featured fun botanical and nature activities designed for the young naturalist.
We also provided a table filled with art supplies, a scavenger hunt and magnifying glasses from Trees Lexington, and a naturalist book for children from Kentucky State Parks to utilize throughout the weekend.
Student Research Poster Sessions
For the second time at Wildflower Weekend, KNPS hosted a Student Research Poster Session! Students from the University of Kentucky, Morehead State University, Eastern Kentucky University, and Campbellsville University presented on their botanically related research. Saturday morning and afternoon, 12 students presented their research to attendees. KNPS would like to thank all the students who participated in this year’s poster session
- Alexander Boyken, UK
- Will Gibson, UK
- Isabella Gilliam, MSU
- Zach Hackworth, UK
- Ira Hager, EKU
- Savannah Merriman, MSU
- Makayla Brashares, UK
- Emily Campbell, UK
- Patricia Leake, UK
- Zoe McComas, UK
- Allison Neltner, UK
- Alexandra Taylor, UK
View or download the Wildflower Weekend 2026 Student Research Poster Session Abstract Booklet below.
Friday Night Members & Friends Campfire Social
The picnic tables were filled during the Members & Friends Campfire Social. Old and new friends enjoyed smores and good conversation while enjoying the unseasonably warm weather. The fellowship went well into the evening, with all matter of botanical topics discussed.
Saturday Night Presentations
The first talk of the evening focused on the history of KNPS and botany in KY given by Dr. Ron Jones, professor emeritus of Eastern Kentucky University, as part of the 40th anniversary of the organization. He spoke about how KNPS was conceived and changed throughout time. Dr. Jones included many fascinating details about many members of Kentucky’s botanical community. The presentation included a beautiful tribute to those founding members who have since passed away.
This led into the recognition ceremony for previous officers and board members of KNPS. Thanks to the KNPS planning committee and Dr. Jones, a yearbook of the former officers and board members was created (see pdf below). These, along with a native plant (donated by Judson Collins of ExtraFlora, Tyson Gregory of UK Arboretum, and Jess Slade of Kentucky Natural Lands Trust) and thank you note drawn by KNPS president Kendall McDonald, were given to each person as their name and positions served were announced.
The keynote presentation of the evening was “How to Love a Forest” given by author, forester and digital storyteller, Ethan Tapper. This presentation delved into how to utilize our knowledge of native plants to create positive change in the environment around us. He talked about how to reframe our mindsets from anger at habitat loss and degradation to encourage new interest and investment into the environment. Ethan highlighted his journey in restoring his land in Vermont and shared quotes from his books: How To Love A Forest: The Bittersweet Work of Tending a Changing World and The Forest Year: Finding Hope in a World Worth Saving. Learn more about Ethan Tappers works at ethantapper.com.
Book Signings
KNPS was able to host book signings for two books at Wildflower Weekend, by authors Ethan Tapper, and Dan and Judy Dourson.
We would like to thank these authors for providing our participants with the chance to own a signed copy of these great written works.
Raffle
Thanks to many generous donors, the raffle was full of wonderful prizes this year! KNPS is very grateful to the following people for aiding us in our fundraising efforts:
- Ellery Flynn, Wildflower Stained Glass
- ExtraFlora, Native Plants
- University of Kentucky, Native Plants
- Jess Slade, Native Plants
- David Taylor, Prickly Pears
- Richard Cassell Naturalist Library, 5 Naturalist Book Bundles
- Kentucky Natural Lands Trust, Water Bottle
- Among the Oaks Herb Farm, Tea using native plants, shirt
- Alexandra Taylor, Framed native plant photos
- East Kentucky Power Cooperative, Native Monarch Seed packets
- Penina Goldstein, Pottery Jack-In-The-Pulpit Sponge Dish
- Plant Life of Kentucky signed by Dr. Ron Jones
- KY for KY, tea towel and native flora print
Special Thanks to Volunteers, Donors and Our Host
Kentucky Native Plant Society and the events it hosts, such as Wildflower Weekend, are almost completely volunteer based. KNPS relies on many partners, professionals, and members of the public to be able to continue to host Wildflower Weekend for over 35+ years. At Wildflower Weekend 2026, KNPS had over 30 volunteers contribute hundreds of hours on the planning committee, advertising the event, handling registration, working the weekend, or leading hikes, workshops or giving presentations. We would like to thank everyone, no matter how small their contribution, for helping us make this wonderful event possible.
A HUGE thank you to our Wildflower Weekend planning committee leads for all of their hard work. These dedicated members volunteered hundreds of hours for half a year to make Wildflower Weekend 2026 possible. For every great experience you had at Wildflower Weekend, you can thank these generous volunteers:
- Kendall McDonald, Wildflower Weekend Lead
- Rachel Cook, Wildflower Weekend Lead
- Jeff Nelson, Registration
- Quinn Towery, Registration & BotanyBlitz
- Meaghan Petix, Volunteer Coordination
- Alan Abbott, Hike Coordinator & BotanyBlitz
- Heidi Braunreiter, Raffle
- Tyson Gregory, BotanyBlitz
Wildflower Weekend has turned into a massive event and we could not pull it off without the help of our in-person volunteers. We are very appreciative of the generous donations of time and labor from the following people:
- Alan Abbott
- Heidi Braunreiter
- Selina Britton
- Isabel Cochran
- Ellery Flynn
- Tyson Gregory
- Al Lake
- Sue Lake
- Kendall McDonald
- Annette Mestas
- Rachel Miller
- Meaghan Petix
- Sarah Pritchett
- Jess Slade
- Katie Taliaferro
- Alexandra Taylor
- Lori Bell
- JJ Bradley
- Ted Brancheau
- Sandy Duff
- Stephanie Friddle
- Kelly Hames
- Hannah Helm
- Meg Riestenberg
- Ron Riestenberg
- Margie Stelzer
- Robert Wade
- Tricia Watts
- Deborah White
- Makaya Brashares
- Emily Campbell
- Ira Hager
Kentucky Native Plant Society would like to thank the following:
- Natural Bridge State Resort Park, for being wonderful hosts
- Kentucky Wild, for donating Monarch Native Seed Packets
- East Kentucky Power Cooperative, for donating orchid and wildflower posters
- Alexandra Taylor, for providing photography services
- Viktor Halmos, for donating coffee for volunteers