If you missed the fall window to plant native plants, spring is still a great time to participate in native restoration. 

Native restoration is the process of protecting and replanting native ecosystems. The process is happening slowly but surely in several local areas with the help of ecologists and organizations.  

“We’re very quickly becoming removed from our native landscapes, but for thousands of years, they provided us everything that we need to survive,” said Courtney Masterson, executive director and ecologist at Native Lands Restoration Collaborative in Lawrence.

“So, every time we put a native plant in our yard or at our businesses, even in a pot on our back porch, we’re supporting the animals who rely on those species to survive, but also improving soil quality, water quality, air quality through that work,” Masterson continued.

Lawrence folks can engage in native restoration at home or within the community.

For those looking to install native plants in their yards, Masterson recommends first assessing the ecosystem of where you live. 

“Depending on where you are in Lawrence, if you’re in East Lawrence or North Lawrence, you may be living on land that used to hug the Kansas River really closely. So you’re looking at maybe adding species back to your yard that would have been present on the banks of the Kansas River or the creeks historically,” Masterson said.

“But a lot of West Lawrence is open and full sun, and used to be prairie, and so returning prairie species to those yards is ideal,” she said.

If you’re unsure how to assess the ecosystem of your yard, Masterson recommends seeking out resources online, such as Deep Roots KC. 

Some of Masterson’s favorite native plants include rose verbena, a ground cover plant that blooms from April to October, or any plants from the Aster family, which attract butterflies and moths. Native Lands Restoration Collaborative can provide seeds, but Masteron also recommends attending native plant sales.

Monarch Watch will host a spring open house and plant fundraiser from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 9 at Monarch Waystation No. 1 on KU’s West Campus, 2021 Constant Ave.

Grassland Heritage Foundation will have its native plant sale the following week, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, May 16 at Trinity Episcopal Church, 1011 Vermont St.

If you’re interested in participating in native restoration but don’t have the land to do so, Masterson recommends potting native prairie plants like rose verbena, lanceleaf coreopsis and native short grasses like side-oats grama.

People can also pot woodland plants like native sedges, wild geranium and golden groundsel, or wetland plants such as duck potato and horsetail. Wetland sedges like Frank’s sedge is another option.

Courtney King, Peoria and Miami, is the program and land stewardship manager for the USDA Tribal Colleges Education Equity Grant at Haskell Indian Nations University. She spoke about the importance of native restoration not only to the ecosystem but also to the Native American community. 

“A lot of those knowledges regarding stewarding the land have been lost due to assimilation, extermination, erasure,” King said. “It instills a sense of purpose that you can do something to help change, to help shift the trajectory of where these lands are going and what they will look like for future generations.”

As the manager of Haskell greenhouse, King works with Haskell students pursuing restoration initiatives and projects.

King recommends that Lawrence folks get hands-on experience through community efforts, listed on both Haskell Greenhouse’s website and Native Lands Restoration Collaborative’s website. Several opportunities are coming up in April.

Hannah Loub (she/her), reporting intern with The Lawrence Times since January 2026, is a journalism and global and international studies major at the University of Kansas. She is currently the lead digital producer for KUJH and worked as a beat reporter for the University Daily Kansan. Read her work for the Times here.

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