Non-profit Funding
About the Award
KNPS attempts to commit at least $1000 each year to fund one or more projects carried out by Kansas non-profit organizations to advance education about, stewardship of, or research on native plants of Kansas. Availability of funds is dependent on the organization’s budget and is announced in the KNPS newsletter and on our web site. Completed applications are due by July 1. Announcement of successful applications is in the fall.
Nomination
2011 Recipient #1
Adult Range Schools
Kansas Grazing Lands Coalition
$300
The Kansas Grazing Lands Coalition holds two adult range schools for ranchers, land managers, college students, agency personnel, and others interested in grassland ecology. The school for eastern Kansas is set for August 16-18 at Camp Wood YMCA at Elmdale and focuses on the tallgrass prairie. The western school is August 23-25 at Camp Lakeside, Lake Scott County Lake, and The Nature Conservancy's Smoky Valley Ranch in Logan County targeting the mid-/short-grass portions of the state.
We have averaged a total of 50-60 students each year (15-20 at the western school and 30-40 at the eastern school). We design the agenda to include a diverse set of topics and speakers relative to the theme - this year it is Looking Past the Fence - rangeland watersheds from top to bottom. Two main foci are plant identification and measuring and monitoring plant health. KNPS has provided two presenters at these schools previously - Jeff Hansen and Iralee Barnard. The agenda will include one or both of them this year. These two are in addition to ranchers, NRCS, Extension, and other featured speakers/experts. We spend a good chunk of the time on plant identification, botany, and educating people about the plants they manage for a living. This portion of the agenda always receives high marks in our evaluations.
As in 2010, each student will receive a plant field guide (underwritten by US FWS Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program) ad a three-ring binder full of materials to take with them for reference and use. KGLC has hosted these schools since 2005 and KNPS has provided money for scholarships since 2009 for two ranchers. We appreciate the assistance and financial support provided by KNPS in this educational effort.
2011 Recipient #2
Heritage Tree Walk
Sterling College
$250
This project is designed to provide educational and conservation benefits by establishing a native tree walk on the campus of Sterling College. The tree walk will consist of a self-guided walking tour highlighting the diversity of native trees on campus. There will be a natural history guide and native tree map created as part of the project that will be available online and as a brochure. The tree walk will serve as a living classroom for students at the college and surrounding public schools and will also provide educational opportunities for individuals visiting the region. Once established, it will be possible to host guided tree walks and educational workshops focused on native tree species in Kansas.
The project will be expedited by the relatively diverse collection of mature native trees on the college campus that have already been identified, inventoried, and marked with GPS. Funds will be used to purchase and plant 5 additional native tree species that are not currently represented on campus, purchase identification markers for individual trees, and print promotional brochures used for the self-guided tour. The brochures for the self-guided tour and information about native trees in Kansas will also be posted online in a featured section of the Sterling College website. The project will effectively promote the conservation of existing native trees, enhance the diversity of tree species, and provide an important educational opportunity for both students and residents of the region.
2010 Recipient #1
Earth Partnership for Schools
Dyck Arboretum of the Plains
$500
In June, the Dyck Arboretum of the Plains holds a week-long summer institute, training 20 -30 teachers from 10 south-central Kansas schools on the Earth Partnership for Schools curriculum, using curriculum materials developed by the University of Wisconsin, Madison Arboretum. All curricular activities have been coordinated with the Kansas Education Standards. During the school year following the summer institute, teacher teams begin to integrate the Earth Partnership for Schools program into the school curriculum. With support from arboretum staff, EPS schools conduct in-service training, classroom EPS activities, take students on field trips to study the "prairie model" and plant prairie gardens on their own school grounds. Most of the 30 EPS schools participating thus far have conducted plantings of hundreds of native plants in the spring and fall of their schools year as part of their EPS implementation plan, involving teachers, students, parents, and community members. These native prairie plantings add beauty and diversity to schoolyards. They also serve as outdoor learning laboratories for kids where they can study varied topics such as how prairies were important to our cultural and natural history. In January, the teachers reconvene for a one-day follow-up winter institute. Each EPS school team shares the progress of their prairie plantings, strides made with EPS curriculum implementation, and the successes and challenges encountered along the way. To date, arboretum staff have worked with 30 schools and103 teachers, and more than 5,000 students. Brad Guhr calls this the "ecological pyramid scheme" to teach children and adults about the native plants of Kansas. Each teacher trained will continue to educate students for years to come. The arboretum is seeking funding to help underwrite the fourth year of the Earth Partnership for Schools Program administered by Brad Guhr, arboretum education coordinator.
2010 Recipient #2
The Botanical Prairie
Konza Environmental Education Program
$500
Teachers (grades 3-12) from across the state bring their classes to Konza Prairie to study the native plant community. In summer workshops, the teachers learn how to identify, collect, dry, press and mount plant specimens. Some teachers keep specimens from prairie sites near their schools for use in the classroom. Their students learn the same information during their field trip to Konza Prairie and more about botany, botanists and ecologists. While they are here students also mount a small herbarium specimen to take home. We provide field guides and materials for both teachers and students. The materials include plant presses, cardboard and blotter inserts, straps, archival mounting paper and backing, labels, glue, clear plastic contact paper, field guides and field notebooks. Teachers from our summer workshop 2010 have requested materials for the next school year. In addition, we expect about 10 new teachers for 2011 workshops and about 150-200 students for the 2010-2011 school year will use this program.
2010 Recipient #3
Adult Range Schools
Kansas Grazing Lands Coalition
$300
The Kansas Grazing Lands Coalition holds two adult range schools for ranchers, college students, agency staffs, and others interested in grassland ecology. One school is set for July 6-8 at Camp Lakeside, Lake Scott and the The Nature Conservancy Smoky Valley Ranch for the mid- and short-grass portion of Kansas and the second is August 17-19 at Camp White Memorial on Council Grove Reservoir for the tallgrass area.
We average 50-60 students and we provide a diverse set of speakers covering selected topics through an intense agenda. Two main focus areas are plant identification and measuring and monitoring plant health.KNPS has two presenters at these schools this year, Jeff Hansen and Iralee Barnard, in addition to ranchers, NRCS, Extension, and other featured speakers. We spend considerable time on plant identification, botany, and educating people on the plants they manage for a living. This year's theme is Shaping Public Perceptions and we hope to provide students with knowledge, technical skills, and means to better manage their grazing lands and to better communicate that to a variety of the public.
Each student will receive a plant field guide (underwritten by US FWS) and a three-ring binder full of materials to take home for use. KGLC has hosted these schools since 2005 and prior to that the Society for Range Management, KS Section, and other professional societies hosted the schools from about 2000. In 2009, KNPS provided $300 for scholarships to two ranchers. We very much appreciate the help and financial support that KNPS has provided KGLC.
