On the left, a healthy Xyrus grass. On the right, a fungal pseudoflower atop a hijacked plant hoping to lure in unsuspecting pollinators! 😱 This month's Best Biome brings you tales of vegetative body horror that will make your chlorophyll run cold. https://www.grasslandgroupies.org/the-best-biome/

The Evergreen Library planting was a success! Our sincere thanks to the 20 helpers that came out to put 31 different native plant species in the ground. Although this library is known to house The Very Hungry Caterpillar, we expect the garden will absolutely thrive when it blooms next spring!

In case you missed it, Nicole's celebration of rattlesnakes on Best Biome was short, sweet, and easy to digest. Just like... well, most things injected with rattler venom. 😌 Catch up now before next week's special Halloween episode drops! https://www.grasslandgroupies.org/the-best-biome/

A new Smithsonian Institute study found that prairie dog towns do the heavy lifting when it comes to improving soil nutrition.  Another reminder that essential grazers include more than bison and cattle!

On their lecture at Ninnescah Biological Field Station this week, our Friends U. students flipped a number of boards in name of scientific inquiry, finding ringnecks, ribbonsnakes, and a prairie king. Shout out to Station Manager Dexter Mardis for demonstrating proper (and fearless) herp handling!

Afraid of snakes?  On this month's Best Biome, Nicole illustrates how our lovely grassland rattlesnakes have helped humanity more than they've ever harmed it (even offering the cure to some nasty diseases). Now TICKS? Ticks you should be afraid of. https://www.grasslandgroupies.org/the-best-biome/

The GG's took their Friends University Grassland Ecology class on their first field lab this week! Sightings include: monarch cats prepping for the big trip, bees and beetles crossing paths on gumweed, a coffee-loving pyrausta moth that's maybe a bit undercaffeinated.  Reminder: go look at bugs.

Much like Maury Povich, scientists rely largely on egg testing to determine paternity in birds because they're very secretive with their extra-pair passions. The degree to which backyard birds are NOT the father of their broods is staggering.  https://www.grasslandgroupies.org/filthy-animals/ (18+)

One of the best parts about native gardening is taking the time to sit and watch nature use the space. Sometimes you get lucky enough to capture a bumblebee flying in and the perspective makes her look like a creature feature horror movie star. 🐝

Did you know "cuckold", "cuckquean", and even "bigamy" are used as legitimate scientific terms in breeding biology? On this month's Filthy Animals, Rachel explores the complexities of animal infidelity, from birds to beetles. New ep out now! (18+) https://www.grasslandgroupies.org/filthy-animals/

American canebrake habitats may have gone the way of many of our world's grasslands, but they're far from extinct. This month's Best Biome takes a look at the people fighting to bring rivercane back. Listen now! https://www.grasslandgroupies.org/the-best-biome/

Not long ago, the eastern United States was populated with ample bamboo forests, where bison and elk plowed through the brush like elephants. Nicole tells us the story of America's rivercane ecosystems on this month's Best Biome, available now! https://www.grasslandgroupies.org/the-best-biome/

"I enjoyed a sort of fairyland exultation never felt before, and the first drive amid the flowers gave me anticipation of the beauty of the prairies." - Margaret Fuller I stumbled on a used copy of "The Tallgrass Prairie Reader," whose written accounts of the prairie obviously came home with me. 🧪📗

Dear scientists: As science communicators, we love sharing your work, jargon and all.  ICYMI, be sure to catch Nicole's fantastic deep-dive on tegus. New Best Biome drops next Thursday! https://www.grasslandgroupies.org/the-best-biome/

It's crazy how much bee diversity one urban garden can see! This garden of #nativeplants our Bee City Wichita team installed a year ago exploded with bee balm recently. Let's use Xerces' Bee Monitoring Tools to meet some of them. @xercessociety.bsky.social

This month on Filthy Animals, Nicole explains the nature of sexually transmissible cancer, a disease so strange it may have given one good boy a scooch of immortality. Listen now! https://www.grasslandgroupies.org/filthy-animals/

Nature journal with us this Sunday! When we journaled last month, you said it felt nice to sit and stay a while, to notice the small things, to feel connected to nature. Experiencing wonder and creativity is a failproof way to bust burnout and recharge, and boy do we need that.  Swanson Park, 9am.

The senate’s version of the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" reintroduces provisions that enable the largest sale of national public land in history. Public backlash to the House version of this selloff worked. Our immediate action is required. Contact your senators. More: http://bit.ly/4kaQer0

Nature journal with us this Sunday for Pride Outside! Bring a journal, something to sketch with, and a friend. No skill required. We'll sit down with nature & community, and spend time observing deeply through sketches. Meet @ the Sedgwick Co. Extension Office, back corner of the parking lot, 8am.

“America was a paradise for science. Everything was flourishing. There was freedom of discourse; conferences, seminars. It was nothing like the environment I had left behind in Russia.” 🧪🦠

The Argentine Tegu. A giant lizard with a giant secret: they exhibit the only known case of thermoregulation known in the reptile world. These lizards can have a resting body temp well above ambient allowing them to feed, find mates, and expand into a nuisance pest role outside their native range. 🧪

The GG team is partnering with Audubon of Kansas to help with the Kansas Lek Treks this year. When scoping out our prairie chicken sites for tomorrow we found a rattle-tipped friend. We paused to check each other out, then went about our day. Respect goes a long way when interacting with snakes!

Our 2024 annual report is live! The staff and volunteers of Grassland Groupies bring something special to environmental education, and we are persistent in continuing to make an impact, no matter what the world throws at us. We're excited for 2025. https://substack.com/home/post/p-160430509

If you're looking for an easy wildlife conservation action to take please leave a quick comment on the federal listing of the monarch butterfly in the US: bit.ly/41DbFe2 Public comment period ends in FIVE DAYS, so help spread the word! 🔬🦋

The Design & Grow Gardening Workshop at the Sedgwick Co Extension Office in Wichita is tomorrow! Pop by and enjoy our lecture on native garden design or perhaps attend a hands-on workshop on garden tool maintenance. Sign up online or at the door: bit.ly/designandgro... See you there!

H.B. 2063 will establish a permanent conservation fund in Kansas with $60 million earmarked from the general fund every year. This will give the orgs that work to preserve Kansas grasslands the resources to protect them in perpetuity. Email template for support: preserve.nature.org/page/164939/...

Now is the time to have your voice heard. Take just a couple moments to let FWS know you care about protecting monarch butterflies. 🧪🦋 View the plans and submit a comment (top of page or 💬 button on sidebar while reading): www.federalregister.gov/documents/20...

Piling snow makes for a unique habitat: subnivean zones. These spaces are created by sublimation of snow where it meets the earth's surface. Insulated from the winds above, this microhabitat remains a stable temperature despite the cold. 🧪 Illustration by Kristen Link: www.kristinlink.com

Kick off the year and the @abcbirds.bsky.social 2025 webinar series with me (your host)! RSVP at this specific link so you get associated with my invite directly! act.abcbirds.org/a/federal-po...

Check out this great video showing how even if you may not see them, animals during extreme weather are certainly still around. These snapping turtles are hunkered down in the Mississippi River, waiting for warmer days. 🧪

January 1st is a perfect day for hiking despite the cold because Kansas State Parks will be bribing you with hot cocoa and snacks. Start your year off right by getting outside, even if it's just around your neighborhood. Learn more and find a participating park: ksoutdoors.com/State-Parks/...

There's still time to participate in the Christmas Bird Count! This annual citizen science project is a concentrated effort to find as many birds as possible within a set area. Some bird count days have passed, but some still remain: www.audubon.org/community-sc... Get out and bird!

New episode of the Filthy Animals #podcast now live! We explore the love life of bees and wasps and how sweet and strange it can be. With sensual antenna massages, blindfolds, and specially curated perfumes, bees are the true lovebirds. Listen on Podchaser or your app of choice: bit.ly/3DkWVXQ 🧪🐝

ICYMI: final episode of the season for The Best Biome #podcast is out! We lay out our concerns for environmental conservation under the incoming Trump administration and leave you with stories of hope and action items. It's our longest episode to date and a hard conversation worth having.

If you need holiday shopping ideas we recommend popping by our Bonfire store for merch. There's many styles and colors to choose from perfect for summer or winter wear! All designs by our own Rachel Roth and purchases directly supports your fav grasslands PR team. www.bonfire.com/store/grassl...

Meet our newest animal ambassador: a precious baby hognose! This little girl is only a couple months old and already so brave. Soon she'll be able to teach Wichitans young and old all about snakes on educational programs. And that snoot? Perfect for digging up toads in the prairies they call home.

It's the magical time of year where nonprofits urge you to donate: Giving Tuesday. If you would like to support your favorite grasslands PR team we urge you to visit our website for fee-free donations, merch, and even a chance to win a private guided hike: grasslandgroupies.org/giving-tuesday

We don’t need to tell you about the basics of reproduction (we hope), but we would love to tell you about how animals manage pregnancy in the wild! New Filthy Animals #podcast episode live. Listen now in your podcast app of choice or online: www.podchaser.com/podcasts/fil...

New episode of The Best Biome #podcast out today! We finally tackle a famous megafauna: the mighty elephant. 🐘 This episode focuses on conservation struggles facing elephants and their role on the ecosystem around them. Listen now wherever you catch podcasts. #scicomm 📷: Hu Chen, Unsplash

A huge thank you to everyone who came out to visit us during ICT Bee Fest at the Mid-America All-Indian Museum! It's great to see pollinator and native plant lovers come together to learn how to help insects. Learn more about Bee City Wichita here: grasslandgroupies.org/bee-city-wic...

Time to enjoy a truly horrific episode of the Filthy Animals #podcast about food stashing in the animal world. Don’t think that sounds horrific? Well when it comes to stashing prey they're sometimes kept fresh by leaving them alive. Remember: this podcast is for adults! 📷: Jon-Alexander Kay #scicomm

New episode of The Best Biome #podcast is live! Worm lizards are a special kind of strange. We can’t help but love their sharp teeth, incredibly strong jaws, and tendency to wait in ambush to attack like a Graboid. 📷: Paola Damata #scicomm