Konza Prairie (Konza Prairie Biological Station) is a large area of tallgrass prairie jointly owned by The Nature Conservancy and Kansas State University. Konza Prairie is a field research station operated by the KSU Division of Biology and has a 3-part mission of long-term ecological research, education, and prairie conservation.
Konza is a special place in a lot of ways, and it has played an important role in my life. Konza prairie was where I started my journey into scientific research and also where I got started into nature photography.
I recently attended the Fall meeting of the Friends of Konza Prairie (FOKP) group and was treated to a beautiful evening on the prairie. FOKP is a non-profit group that supports the Konza Prairie environmental education program (KEEP). KEEP does a fantastic job working with K through 12 students that visit Konza Prairie and helps introduce the students to the ecology and beauty of the tallgrass prairie. The program allows visiting school children to experience the prairie, learn about the science and research that goes on there, and teaches them the importance of this incredible ecosystem. If you are interested in the prairie and its conservation, please consider joining FOKP to support the important, and impactful, education component of Konza Prairie.
At the end of the recent meeting, participants got to tour the prairie. It turned out to be a beautiful evening, and we got to see some of the bison that are on the prairie and some beautiful landscapes. It was also great to see large numbers of monarch butterflies visiting the goldenrod on their migration south. I’ve never seen so many monarchs at one time. I’ve included some photos from the tour below. What a fantastic evening this was!
