Grassland Groupies

Only five weeks to go until the The 4th Annual ICT Bee Fest! Thanks for the shout-out, Kansas Association for Conservation & Environmental Education. We're putting together another wonderful and 100% free experience this year, so be sure to save the date for Wichita's plant and pollinator celebration on Saturday, September 5th at Mid-America All-Indian Museum!

There's been early data that monarch populations were trending in a positive direction this year, but how are they faring as migration nears? To help scientists get an update of their numbers, you can contribute your observations to the International Monarch Blitz next week from wherever you are!

🎯🦋 Save the date for the International Monarch Monitoring Blitz!

We’re excited to celebrate the 10th anniversary of this great initiative with you! The is a call to action for individuals, organizations and community scientists across North America. Join this effort and support the conservation of monarch butterflies and their habitat! 🥳🎂

Participation is easy. For 10 days, from 31 July to 9 August:
🌳 Go outside
🦋 Search for milkweed plants
🐛 Look for eggs, caterpillars, chrysalises and butterflies
🔎 Share your observations on one of the several data platforms, like iNaturalist

We want everyone to experience the fun of bugwatching and be a part of saving monarchs!

Learn more today 👉 https://www.cec.org/news/monarch-blitz-2026/

Lights, Camera, Observation! Moth Week 2026 is the perfect opportunity to appreciate the dark side of the pollinator world. Participating can be as simple as checking to see what's under the porch light or putting up a sheet in the backyard to see who stops by.

Learn more about Moth Week with The Xerces Society, and happy sky-fishing!

It’s the perfect time to get to know moths!

This year’s is July 18 - 26! Bees and butterflies get a lot of time in the spotlight, but moths are also great pollinators, and a vital part of a healthy ecosystem. So let’s celebrate these cool animals.

Thanks to Zach DuFran of National Moth Week, we have answers to many common questions about moths, including how to tell them apart from butterflies, and why they seem to really love lamps.

Learn about moths ➡️ xerces.org/blog

Ready to meet some cool moths yourself? Take part in National Moth Week! Every moth you observe is data that researchers need to help protect these animals. There are events in many places across the world, plus advice on how to make your own “mothing” setup.

Get started ➡️ nationalmothweek.org

Our Wichita Nature Journal Club is the proud to be named a 2026 Club Micro Grant Fellow by the Wild Wonder Foundation! This funding supports our club's efforts to grow, as we bring Wichitans together to find community in nature. We're excited to see new faces join this wonderful group of individuals and express their creativity outdoors!

If you're curious about nature journaling, we invite you to visit our club's page for more information and details on future meetups.
https://www.grasslandgroupies.org/nature-journal-club/

We had an awesome morning at the Emery BioBlitz last Saturday! 26 very dedicated observers arrived to compile almost 300 observations of 127 species of plant and animal. Pretty impressive for just three hours on a grassland!

This biodiversity is evidence of the great work Kathy and the crew at Emery are doing to rehabilitate the space. It's certainly a thriving Bee City Wichita habitat. :)

If you couldn't make it, or are just eager to BioBlitz again, stay tuned for similar events coming soon!

The new episode of The Best Biome is live NOW! This month, we are talking about the mysterious, meandering life of the bobolink, and why they just might be the very best grassland bird (citation needed).

Also, we put our Conservation Spotlight on the state of buffalo on public and tribal lands, and what we can do to help. Check out our Substack for links to the episode and more info!

The Best Biome: Life of a Prairie Wanderer On our new episode: Rachel's new favorite bird, and the BLM's battle against buffalo

Since it's Pollinator Week, we would be remiss if we didn't invite you to learn more about the Bee City USA initiative. This national network of 261 affiliates (and 489 college campuses) across 48 states are working hard in their communities to create, conserve, and inspire native pollinator habitat.

Want to get involved? You can start by taking the pledge at bringbackthepollinators.org and find out how you can get more involved with your local Bee City USA affiliate!