The Illinois Native Plant Society is pleased to announce four awards from the 2019 Research Grant Program. Awards are made after a successful review of the projects by a panel of scientists and conservation professionals. All four awardees are graduate students at their institutions. The Research Grant Program was developed to support the study of…
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Reports from the eight 2018 research grant awardees have been received and each awardee has submitted newsletter-type articles describing their project results. These articles will appear in The Harbinger, or in newsletters of INPS Chapters or other conservation organizations and will be linked to this website. In-depth research articles based on these projects are also…
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Crunchy brown leaves, drab gray skies, and a lot of snow didn’t stop Illinois plant enthusiasts from botanizing this past winter. The Illinois Native Plant Society has run the Illinois Botanists Big Year competition each year since 2016, using the iNaturalist.org platform. Anyone may participate, from professional botanists to plant identification novices, by uploading photographic…
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Spring ephemeral flowers are an important food resource for early-season pollinators such as flies and native bees. Without ephemerals, these early foragers would go hungry because nothing else is in bloom. In return for their pollen and nectar, pollinators move pollen from flower to flower—an important step in plant reproduction that allows plants to produce…
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Downy paintbrush (Castilleja sessiliflora) is a wildflower native to dry prairies in the central United States. Though considered secure throughout most of its range, downy paintbrush is endangered in Illinois. Troublingly, recent research has indicated that downy paintbrush experiences low fruit set in Illinois, meaning it may be struggling to produce healthy seeds. While this…
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…at the Field Museum herbarium, that is! On March 17th, instead of watching the Chicago River being colored green and enjoying green carbonated beverages, a group of local botany enthusiasts from the Northeast Chapter of the Illinois Native Plant Society visited the Field Museum herbarium to look at rare plant collections, including the exclusive and…
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The Illinois Native Plant Society Research Fund promotes the study and conservation of Illinois native plants and ecosystems through scientific research. This program supports projects by graduate students, faculty, land managers, and community scientists. Grant awards range from $500 to $1500 and are intended for one-year projects. The INPS Central Chapter may provide additional funding for…
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The ‘Naturalist at Large’ by the retired biology professor Bernd Heinrich is a feature in the Natural History Magazine; always a favorite of mine. In the last issue of the magazine he writes about ‘The Lives of Trees in the Forest [Growing up in a tough neighborhood]’. Last year in his northern New England woods…
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Due Date: March 31, 2019 The final reports for the 2018 Research Grants are due no later then March 31, 2019. Grant recipients should review the Final Report Requirements on the 2018 Research Grants page. Once you have reviewed the requirements and gotten the necessary files prepared, you can submit your final report by following…
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April 5-7, 2019 John A. Logan College, Carterville, IL Understanding the Research Behind Local Conservation Southern Illinois is known to be one of the most biologically diverse places in the Midwest, and the Shawnee National Forest, the related state and federal lands, and our large private holdings contain the most magnificent examples of that diversity.…
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