By Rachel Cook, EEC

On June 27-29, 2023, the Kentucky Native Plant Society hosted two Wetland Plant ID Workshops at John James Audubon State Park in Henderson, KY. June 27 was a one day workshop for beginners and June 28-29 was a two day workshop for intermediate level participants. The workshops were well attended with 26 participants combined between both workshops, despite some challenging weather.

Participants visited several areas of John James Audubon State Park and nearby Sloughs Wildlife Management area. The workshop instructor, Nathanael Pilla of Midwest Biological Surveys, focused on more difficult taxa such as graminoids and aquatic species. He took students through overarching characteristics of wetland plants, such as unique adaptations for seed dispersal by water and drought tolerance.

Henderson County, where the workshop was located, has been understudied botanically, leading to several new county records being discovered over the course of the three days. These new county records include multiple species of duckweed (Lemna sp.), watermeal (Wolffia sp.), broad waterweed (Elodea canadensis, S3), and joint paspalum (Paspalum distichum). Some other highlights of the workshop were seeing multiple state watch-listed species (S3/S4), including hemlock water-parsnip (Sium suave) and white-nymph (Trepocarpus aethusae).

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Workshops are one of the ways the Society fulfills its mission of education about our native plants and native plant communities. Workshops generally are narrowly focused, usually with a single instructor. Most workshops involve a mix of classroom instruction and field work, with an emphasis on hands-on experience for all of the participants. We are already talking about workshops that KNPS might offer in 2024. If there are native plant-related topics that you think would make a good workshop or if you would be interested in presenting a workshop (or know of someone who is), please send us an email at KYPlants@knps.org.

Rachel Cook is a botanist at the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves.

[THESE WORKSHOPS HAVE COMPLETED]
Some spaces are still available in both of the upcoming KNPS workshops. There will be both a beginner level and an intermediate level, Wetland Plant Identification workshop at John James Audubon State Park in Henderson, KY on June 27th for the Beginner class and June 28th-29th for the Intermediate class! The workshops are field courses, exploring the Ohio River wetlands and learning how to ID the plants that are found there. The workshops are conducted in sequence and interested parties can sign up for just the Beginner workshop, just the Intermediate workshop, or both. To register for the workshops, use the form at the bottom of this page.

The Beginner Wetland Plant ID workshop will be one day long, on June 27^th, from 9AM CDT – 5PM CDT. The Beginner workshop will cover basic flower structure, leaf arrangement, etc. while highlighting plants as we go. It will be less technical with a focus on demystifying the nomenclature so as to be able to start keying plants out. The instructor will introduce C-values, wetland indicator status, and the basics on how to see the landscape in a broader, phytological way. There is a $25 registration fee for this workshop.

The Intermediate Wetland Plant ID workshop will be held over two days, June 28-29^th, from 9AM CDT – 5PM CDT each day. This workshop is aimed towards individuals with some prior experience in field identification of wetland plants and will focus on how to identify more complicated genera and groups (i.e. graminoids and asters). An understanding of basic floral morphology (petals, sepals, tepals, stamens, etc.) is more or less expected. We will be looking at keys and getting a bit deeper in the descriptive elements of the flora.In addition to Audubon State Park, there may be a visit to other close natural areas. There is a $75 registration fee for this course.

Courses will take place from 9am-5pm CDT each day and have a 1-hour break for lunch (bring your own lunch). You will need to bring a notebook, loupe or hand-lens, phone or camera, pencils, and preferred reference book if you’d like. Remember that these are field courses and may get into wet areas, so please wear appropriate clothing and bring water.

If you have any questions, email us at KYPlants@knps.org

*About the Instructor

Nathanael J. Pilla is a botanist for Midwest Biological Survey, LLC. He also is an adjunct professor at University of Notre Dame, hosts the YouTube series, Botany and Beer, and is part of the Chicago Wilderness Alliance Steering Committee. Nathanael is well versed in the terrestrial and aquatic flora of the Midwest bringing his knowledge and charisma with him in and outside the workplace. He has experience in botanical research and identification, hands-on resource management, project management and plant identification, and his written work has appeared in peer-reviewed journals. He recently co-authored the book, Wildflowers of the Indiana Dunes National Park, which was published through Indiana University Press. When he is not botanizing, he spends his time writing and singing ridiculous songs.

Registration Form for Workshops

Use this form to register for the workshop. The Intermediate workshop is now full, You can still sign up for the Beginner workshop on June 27th .

Beginner Wetland Plant ID

When: Tuesday, June 27th, 2023
Time:  9am-5pm Central Time
Where:  John James Audubon State Park, Henderson, KY. Meet at the Museum parking lot.
Cost:  $25
Bring your own lunch. This is a field course, so please wear appropriate clothing and shoes and bring water.

Instructor: Nathanael J. Pilla*

Intermediate Wetland Plant ID

When: Wednesday & Thursday, June 28th & 29th, 2023
Time:  9am-5pm Central Time
Where:  John James Audubon State Park, Henderson, KY. Meet at the Museum parking lot.
Cost:  $75
Bring your own lunch. This is a field course, so please wear appropriate clothing and shoes and bring water.

Instructor: Nathanael J. Pilla*

KNPS is delighted to offer two new workshops this summer. We will be offering both a beginner level and an intermediate level, Wetland Plant Identification workshop at John James Audubon State Park in Henderson, KY! The workshops are conducted in sequence and interested parties can sign up for just the Beginner course, just the Intermediate course, or both.

The Beginner Wetland Plant ID workshop will be one day long, on June 27^th, focusing on learning botanical lingo and key features of common wetland plants in Kentucky. There is a $25 registration fee.

The Intermediate Wetland Plant ID workshop will be held over two days, June 28-29^th. This workshop is aimed towards individuals with some prior experience in field identification of wetland plants and will cover more challenging taxa with an emphasis on grasses, rushes, and sedges. In addition to Audubon State Park, there may be a visit to other close natural areas. There is a $75 registration fee for this course.

Courses will take place from 9am-5pm CDT each day and have a 1-hour break for lunch (bring your own lunch). You will need to bring a notebook, loupe or hand-lens, phone or camera, pencils, and preferred reference book if you’d like. Remember that these are field courses, so please wear appropriate clothing and bring water.

*About the Instructor

Nathanael J. Pilla is a botanist for Midwest Biological Survey, LLC. He also is an adjunct professor at University of Notre Dame, hosts the YouTube series, Botany and Beer, and is part of the Chicago Wilderness Alliance Steering Committee. Nathanael is well versed in the terrestrial and aquatic flora of the Midwest bringing his knowledge and charisma with him in and outside the workplace. He has experience in botanical research and identification, hands-on resource management, project management and plant identification, and his written work has appeared in peer-reviewed journals. He recently co-authored the book, Wildflowers of the Indiana Dunes National Park, which was published through Indiana University Press. When he is not botanizing, he spends his time writing and singing ridiculous songs.

Registration Form for Workshops

This form is used to register for either or both of the workshops. You can sign up for either one of the two courses (Beginner on June 27th or Intermediate on June 28th-29th) or you can sign up for both.

Plant Family Identification Motifs: patterns for simplifying the complexity

Instructor: Dr. Richard Abbott*

When: Saturday, July 30, 2022 Workshop has finished
Time:  9am-4pm Eastern Time
Where:  Bernheim Arboretum & Forest, meet at the Garden Pavilion
Cost:  $25 /$10 for students
Bring your own lunch, and wear hiking shoes

Using minimal basic vocabulary, approximately 30 plant families, and half a dozen artificial motifs, we will focus on plant identification patterns.  Learning Kentucky plants within a global framework not only empowers confidence in knowing what you know, but enables identifying more than 130,000 plants to family globally and provides a solid foundation for incorporating other family patterns.  Essentially, this workshop is an introduction to a way of thinking about how to organize botanical knowledge in a practical, applied way.

*About the Instructor

Dr. J. Richard Abbott, Assistant Professor of Biology, is the current Curator of the University of Arkansas Monticello Herbarium. At UAM, he teaches General Botany, Ecology, Medical Terminology, Regional Flora, and Plants in Our World and conducts floristic, systematic, and taxonomic research, especially with the milkwort family (Polygalaceae). He received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Biology and German from Berea College in Kentucky and both M.S. degree and Ph.D. in Botany from the University of Florida in Gainesville. His primary passion is teaching plant identification, using the local flora to understand global patterns. To that end, he is currently working to establish a living teaching collection on the UAM campus, with the ultimate goal of cultivating as many families and genera as possible.

Registration Form

Please fill out the form below to register for the workshop. The workshop is limited to 20 participants.