Fall Prairie Harvest Day 2026

The public is invited to participate in a community service day for nature! Collect seeds from native prairie wildflowers and grasses. Learn how to identify these plants in their dormant stage and best practices for collecting seeds. The seeds will be used by NLI for...

Creating a Bird and Pollinator Friendly Habitat at Home

Kim Johnsen, Natural Land Institute (NLI), and Jennifer Kuroda, Sinnissippi Audubon Society (SAS), will present a program called, Creating a Bird and Pollinator Friendly Habitat at Home, on Wed., May 27, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. The presentation is free and open to the...

Enthusiasm for Native Landscaping Contagious

A Conservation@Home Story By Mark Luthin, NLI President As Dan Schandelmeier greeted me in his driveway in northwest Rockford, his enthusiasm for the work that he’s been doing on the 2-acre property where he lives was quite apparent. He couldn’t wait to show me what...

Alan Branhagen Receives 2025 Native Plant Pioneer Award

Congratulations to our Executive Director! Natural Land Institute’s Executive Director, Alan Branhagen, received the Grow Native! 2025 Native Plant Pioneer Award on August 16, 2025 in Columbia, Missouri while attending the annual dinner for the Missouri Prairie...

What Is the Big Deal About Invasive Plants?

By Alan Branhagen Note: The 2025 National Invasive Species Awareness Week is Feb. 24-28. Read about it here. The term “invasive plants” refers to those plants that are not native to a particular region AND that also spread by whatever means in a manner that inhibits...