Grassland Groupies

June 1st through 7th is International Nature Journaling Week (INJW), a chance for us to connect with nature and other nature journalers the world over! This event is about honoring what's at the core of nature journaling: presence, gratitude, hope, and curiosity.

We invite you to check out the INJW website for resources on how to participate, like this incredibly helpful page for the "reluctant artists" among us. If you do take a beat and journal this week, we'd love for you to share it with us!

For the reluctant artist — Nature Journaling Week Nature journaling is not about making art, it is about connecting with nature. This page is for those nervous about sketching, and will help you change your mindset.

We're glad to hear the KCC call for the Buffalo Flats Transmission Line project to find a route of lower impact instead of cutting through unbroken Flint Hills grassland! Damaging our highly-endangered tallgrass prairies just to meet a power demand is essentially setting fire to the house to keep ourselves warm.

Kansas utility regulators stop transmission line path through endangered grasslands • Kansas Reflector Kansas utility regulators handed a win Tuesday to landowners concerned about a transmission line bisecting large swaths of prairie grassland.

Writers, illustrators, investigators... We saw many unique approaches to nature journaling the beauty of the Tallgrass Prairie at the Flint Hills Discovery Center's Festival on Saturday. And that's our favorite thing about journaling: there's no wrong way to do it!

It was wonderful connecting with so many nature nerds in Manhattan. We look forward to being in that neck of the woods again soon!

Get out to the Spring Garden Fair at K-State Extension - Sedgwick County tomorrow morning, a great learning opportunity for gardeners of all ages and experience levels!

The Sedgwick County Extension Master Gardeners invite you to the 2026 Spring Garden Fair on Saturday, May 2, from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 4-H Hall (7001 W. 21st St. N., Wichita). Admission is free, and free vegetable seeds will be available while supplies last.

This year’s theme, “Lettuce Help You Grow: Vegetables, Fruits, Flowers & More!”, features practical, research-based tips for gardeners of all levels. Explore educational booths, hands-on activities, plant and food sales, composting demos, a youth microgreens activity, and more. Master Gardeners will also be available to answer your gardening questions.

Come learn, connect, and get inspired for the growing season!

For more infomation visit: sedgwick.ksu.edu/events

Caught this tiny furrow bee chilling on a dandelion this morning, a reminder that emerging native bees might be hard-pressed to find resources in our lawns at this time of year. Of course, that's all the more reason to participate in to give these bees a better start!

Check out this article from The Xerces Society to learn more about No Mow May, and how to push your yard beyond dandelions and clover toward even better bee habitat!

https://www.xerces.org/blog/no-mow-may-easy-start-for-nature-friendly-yard-but-not-finish-line

About two weeks left for Wichitans until the Kansas Forest Service's Callery Pear Buyback at K-State Extension - Sedgwick County on May 12th, 2026 . Remove a member of this invasive species from your property and sign up to receive a native tree to replace it! Beautify your space (and give your allergies a break) for next Spring!

2026 Callery Pear Buyback There will be three Callery pear buyback events across Kansas in May 2026. These programs will offer replacement trees to folks who sign up and can show proof that they have removed a Callery pear tree from their property.