Even though woods are closing in as oaks and hickories are unfurling new leaves, there are still some woodland wildflowers surprises to be found, such as this showy orchid, found adjacent to an eastern Kansas creek’s rich soil.
A juggernaut unleashed by humans is grinding slowly across the Great Plains, burying some of the most threatened habitat on the planet beneath dense junipers and shrubland.
Ann Dean/Contributed Photo
Monarch Watch’s free spring open house is coming up, but until then, plenty of pollinator-friendly plants are available for purchase through the organization’s annual online fundraiser.
August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
A private investment company has approached Baker University about buying a parcel of land near the Baker Wetlands Discovery Center for the development of affordable housing.
Humans transport some non-native species on purpose. Others arrive by accident. The vast majority don’t hijack landscapes. But those that do come with high stakes.
Papaws are found in native woodlands as an understory tree, meaning that they only grow 10-20 feet tall, in the shade of the much taller trees that make up the dominant overstory canopy. Papaw’s chocolate colored blossoms can be found right now, hanging like bells on the branches.
Chloe Anderson/Lawrence Times
The 10th annual Kansas River Cleanup is coming up Saturday morning, to be followed by the Lawrence Earth Day Fair. Here’s info on those and more events to celebrate the earth.
Hoary puccoon is a sunny, yellow flower found on area prairies, emerging amongst last year’s still mostly dormant grasses to capture the light, bloom and go to seed before the warm season grasses shade out the ground.
August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
Following a nearly 10-hour meeting Saturday, Douglas County commissioners voted to approve a permit for the Kansas Sky Energy Center, a massive solar farm to be built north of Lawrence.
Opponents of a planned solar energy project have joined with Lawrence artist Stan Herd to create an earthwork ahead of the Douglas County commissioners’ special Saturday meeting where they will vote on the project permit.
