Second Annual INPS Florathon to Benefit Letha’s Youth Outdoors Fund
Last year’s first-ever Florathon was a great success for the Indiana Native Plant Society, so we’re making it an annual event!
Florathon 2019 will see teams from all over the state venture out into our wild areas, state parks, and nature preserves to see how may Indiana native flowering plant species they can spot in bloom during a 24-hour period between April 13 and May 12.
Teams of two to six people will enroll sponsors to support their citizen-science effort with a donation to Letha’s Youth Outdoors Fund. Prizes will be announced for most species spotted, most counties visited, best team name, most money raised, etc.
The Indiana Native Plant Society is seeking to prepare future ambassadors for Indiana native plants and for the biodiversity that native plants sustain. Letha’s Youth Outdoors Fund pays for children to visit natural areas around Indiana with knowledgeable guides. School and youth groups apply for this funding, with preference given to children that have the least access to experiences in nature.
Records of which species bloom where and when are useful for tracking the health of our native plants and their response to climate patterns. INPS will share Florathon’s citizen-scientist data with biologists and ecologists who can plug them into their studies.
Florathon 2019 is not just for Indiana Native Plant Society members. Anyone can form a team, enlist sponsors, and visit their favorite wild area to record native species in bloom. Detailed participant information can be found on the INPS website at https://indiananativeplants.org/gatherings/florathon/.