January 2021
Meeting Program – Nature Highlights of Scotland and Ireland by Bob Gress
From rugged coastlines to Caledonian forests to mountain highlands, the Scottish islands maintain some of the most pristine wilderness in the United Kingdom. Wildlife thrives in much of this country of castles, lochs, moors, heaths, glens and firths. The Emerald Isle’s physical appeal endures, but by no means is entirely green. The gray limestone Burrens in County Clare and the black peat bogs of the Midlands accent this beautiful landscape. This program highlights Scotland and Ireland’s traditional culture, landscapes, rural…
Find out more »February 2021
Meeting Program – CRP is the Bees’ Knees: Native Bee Communities By Alex Morphew
Native bees are important pollinators currently experiencing population declines expected to be most severe in agricultural landscapes such as those found in Kansas and across the Great Plains. These declines are largely linked to habitat fragmentation due to agricultural intensification and pose a serious threat to pollination stability in grassland ecosystems. Restoration efforts aiming to mitigate these losses include the federally supported Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), which aims to create wildlife and pollinator habitat on marginally productive agricultural land. From…
Find out more »March 2021
Meeting Program – Life History and Current Status of Prairie Chicken in Kansas by Vickie Cikanek
Greater and Lesser Prairie chicken are an iconic symbol of the Kansas prairie. Their mating habits alone make them a must see when visiting the great plains, but there is so much more to their lives than what goes on in the spring. They have been coined by some as umbrella species of the central plains, and it is because of that, there has been a lot of concern over their population statuses across their range over the last 10…
Find out more »April 2021
Meeting Program – GO NATIVE! Restoring the Ecology of Your Backyard for Birds by Brad Guhr
Restoring the ecology of our own backyards starts with the plants that we nurture. Basic ecological food chain principles teach us that if we plant a greater diversity of native plants in our landscapes, we will be able to host greater wildlife diversity including birds. Brad will discuss how native plant landscaping and giving thoughtful consideration to your property conditions, the plants you can grow, and best management practices to get them established all contribute to the level of success you…
Find out more »May 2021
Meeting Program – Shorebirds in the Tall Grass Prairie; seriously? by Dr. Robert Penner
Dr. Robert Penner, Avian Conservation Manager at The Nature Conservancy in Kansas, will talk about the importance of the midcontinent, Kansas, and specifically the Flint Hills to shorebird conservation. We will look at what we have learned from past shorebird surveys in the Flint Hills along with what we are learning from some of the Flint Hills Shorebird Conservation Initiative projects and how does this all relates to managing the tallgrass ecosystem for shorebirds and other wildlife. This program will…
Find out more »July 2021
Picnic
Join us at the Great Plains Nature Center for our annual pot-luck dinner. Dinner will be followed by a short, fun program. Bring a dish to share and your own service.
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