SEDALIA—The public is invited to a free weekend of learning and fun at the Missouri Prairie Foundation’s 15th Annual Prairie BioBlitz and National Prairie Day at MPF’s Lordi Marker Prairie near Sedalia, Missouri on June 6 and 7, 2026.
Join fellow prairie enthusiasts of all ages for an afternoon or a weekend exploration of the biodiverse 400-acre Lordi Marker prairie tract, which includes nearly 100 acres of rare original, unplowed prairie. Activities begin at 2:00 p.m. on June 6 with a welcome from MPF leadership. Attendees are invited to explore the prairie and help biologists, volunteer naturalists, and other prairie enthusiasts inventory plants, birds, butterflies, native bees, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and more as participants in small study groups. The celebration will continue into the evening with an optional potluck dinner, an edible plants lecture by special guest Dr. Kelly Kindscher, and more facilitated breakout activities such as evening birding, night sky observations, nocturnal insect observations, and tent camping. Activities continue through 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, June 7.
Participants may enjoy an afternoon or morning of activities or stay for the whole weekend. An interest in nature is all that is required to attend, and all ages are welcome. The event is free of charge, but attendees must register for Prairie BioBlitz activities for planning purposes and to reserve a spot in field study groups, which are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
“The Missouri Prairie Foundation is very pleased to offer this weekend of learning and fun,” said Carol Davit, the Missouri Prairie Foundation’s executive director. “Temperate grasslands are the most endangered, least conserved of any major terrestrial habitat on earth—including Missouri’s tallgrass prairies, which have global conservation significance. Participants will see firsthand the incredible biodiversity present on the prairie while helping document the different kinds of plants and animals we can find.”
Find a detailed schedule of Prairie BioBlitz activities, directions to the prairie, and event registration here. The registration deadline is Thursday, June 4. Learn more about Lordi Marker Prairie here. This event is supported by a David A. Risberg Memorial Grant from the Conservation Federation of Missouri and individual MPF donors.
Looking for more ways to be involved with the Missouri Prairie Foundation? Join us in celebrating our 60th anniversary year in 2026 with a trip to one of our 35 properties here, which are open for free to the public to visit on foot, and by participating in our inaugural MPF prairie photo contest here by June 30, 2026. Find more events online at moprairie.org.
The Missouri Prairie Foundation is a 60-year-old prairie conservation organization and land trust. In addition to its prairie conservation work, the Missouri Prairie Foundation also runs Grow Native!, a 26-year-old native plant marketing and education program, and administers the Missouri Invasive Plant Council.