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Last month, we had the pleasure of tagging along on another TN Native Plant Society @plants_of_tn field trip in the North MS Hill Country, this time to a remnant Blackland Prairie site in Tupelo, discovered and put on Southeastern Grasslands Institute’s (@segrassland) radar by Andrew Ballard @campcreeknativeplants, who co-led the trip with Harry Babb @habitatharryms.

Witnessing the vitality and diversity of these chalk “barrens”, despite visiting during the last gasps of an oppressive and unprecedented summer, one can’t help feeling equal waves of humility and despair, knowing these scattered remnants collectively comprise < 1% of the 356,000 acres that once stretched as a 350–mile long and 30-mile wide, SE-NW trending, crescent-shaped band from south-central AL thru northeast MS, terminating just across the TN border (see accompanying NASA image with arrows added).

One of three comparable “black gold” locales on Earth, with distinct a contemporary of shallow, inland Cretaceous seas in central Texas and SW Arkansas, and a similar but much younger, Quaternary wind-blown chernozem in Ukraine, the MS Black Belt’s rich and fertile chalk subsoil is the result of millions of years of accumulating plankton, mollusk, and other diverse marine microfauna exoskeletons rich in calcium carbonate.

***We HIGHLY recommend checking out Matt White’s short and brilliant essay, “An Exaltation” online at the wonderful @constoflivingmemorials, where he unveils how Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, and Texas, in general, owe their origins and later prominence to that state’s own SW-NE trending, crescent-shaped Blackland Prairie.***
https://www.constellationoflivingmemorials.org/matt-white-exaltation
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If you’re interested in learning about/propagating local ecotypes of the north MS Hill country, register NOW for one of few remaining spots at THIS Saturday’s workshop we’re hosting with Marshall Co Extension / Master Gardeners and local partners, as the first of four workshops this fall with MS Native Plant Society.
Registration link in bio; event posted on facebook.

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Join @habitatharryms and myself on the Ghost Section of the Wolf River with the Wolf River Conservancy on November 14th! Sign up @ wolfriver.org
#wolfriverconservancy #wolfriver #ghostriver #swampboater #kayakmemphis

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Round 2 of photos from previous post.
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We had a delightful saunter on Oct. 3rd, tagging along with the TN Native Plant Society @plants_of_tn at one of their two recent field trips to the North MS Hill County, co-led by @habitatharryms at a remnant prairie within a ROW easement of the Holly Springs National Forest in southeastern Marshall Co.  A day of communal learning, awe, and gratitude, witnessing the early-fall, MS Hill Country palette of purples and yellows from myriad Liatris, Symphyotrichum, Eupatorium species of late-blooming Asteraceae family, and the deep orange of 4th generation, migrating monarchs who dependent upon these fall-blooming ‘weeds’ for completing their journey back to Michoacan.
 If you’re interested in learning more about native plant propagation, or taking home seed from some of these unique and rare north MS ecotypes, join us for the Native Plant Fall Propagation Workshop HollyWild is cohosting with the Marshall Co. Extension Service and Marshall Co. Master Gardeners Saturday, October 17th. Registration link is in our bio or visit the Facebook event on the HollyWild page. DM or email HollyWild at g mail for any questions.

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We had a delightful saunter on Oct. 3rd, tagging along with the TN Native Plant Society @plants_of_tn at one of their two recent field trips to the North MS Hill County, co-led by @habitatharryms at a remnant prairie within a ROW easement of the Holly Springs National Forest in southeastern Marshall Co.  A day of communal learning, awe, and gratitude, witnessing the early-fall, MS Hill Country palette of purples and yellows from myriad Liatris, Symphyotrichum, Eupatorium species of late-blooming Asteraceae family, and the deep orange of 4th generation, migrating monarchs who are dependent upon these fall-blooming ‘weeds’ to complete their journey to overwintering grounds in the oyamel fir forests of Michoacan.
 If you’re interested in learning more about native plant propagation, or taking home seed from some of these unique and rare north MS ecotypes, join us for the Native Plant Fall Propagation Workshop HollyWild is cohosting with the Marshall Co. Extension Service and Marshall Co. Master Gardeners Saturday, October 17th. Registration link is in our bio or visit the Facebook event on the HollyWild page (also flyer as last photo) DM or email HollyWild at g mail for any questions.

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TNPS Field Trip today was absolutely breathtaking! Such a rich diversity of plant species!

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Every FIRST SATURDAY OF THE MONTH, the Wolf River Conservancy invites you to get on the water and experience Southwest Tennessee’s greatest natural treasure. Our monthly paddle offers a safe, guided way to explore the waterway, discover its beauty, and experience the incredible wildlife, and forests that make this river so special. Come paddle, share the adventure, and see firsthand why the Wolf River is worth protecting.
#wolfriverconservancy #wolfrivergreenway #firstsaturdaypaddle #memphisadventure #kayakadventures

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Film photos from the MS Native Plant Society’s annual meeting and nature walk | Apr 2026

#nikonfe2 #nativeplants

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Had a great time again today at the 2nd annual hummingbird festival 😎

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Sunday is Family Day at the North Mississippi Hummingbird Festival!

Children can enjoy:

• Help Ruby Find Her Friends scavenger hunt from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• “Oh Look, There’s a Bird!” Kids Bird Talk and Nature Walk at noon
• Old-fashioned cake walk from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.
• Free face painting and children’s crafts from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.
• Dunking booth from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. benefiting Mississippi Wildlife Rehabilitation
• Guided tours of the June Wheeler Memorial Hummingbird Garden

Our speaker symposium will continue simultaneously inside Snowden House, with vendors and food trucks throughout the festival grounds.

Sunday, September 13
11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Snowden House in Southaven

Admission and parking are free.

Registration is required for the Kids Bird Talk and Nature Walk:
https://forms.gle/r4FqRo6RvqmRa4PG7 @habitatharryms #southavenms #desotocountyms #birdwalk #nature

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A brilliant day of sharing and conviviality at the MS Native Plant Society (MNPS) meeting amidst the upland post/blackjack/white oak and shortleaf pine hills down in Morton/Scott County. Thanks to everyone who came out to hear us share, as well as fellow speakers @segrassland, @msulaed, @habitatharryms and the welcoming managers / staff at Roosevelt State Park, a @msstateparks gem.
The MNPS, @msulaed, and @msstateparks are collaborating on biodiversity-informed native demonstration gardens to inspire and invite the public to create habitat at home with MS heritage species, beginning on a half acre at Roosevelt and expanding to other MS state parks.
Stay tuned and join the collaboration!

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Walk in the woods with the Mississippi Native Plant Society: Chionanthus virginicus, Bignonia capreolata, Asclepius syriacus, Mitchella repens, Asimina triloba (with fruit!), Rhododendron canescens, Spigelia marilandica, Creteagus.

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What a year it’s been, and what a way to end it!
As we close out 2025, we’re celebrating one of the most meaningful milestones in Wolf River Conservancy’s 40-year history: the permanent preservation and protection of our #1-ranked private conservation priority, a 768-acre tract of forested wetland along the Wolf River.
For more than 12 years, the Conservancy has used the latest science to prioritize land for protection throughout the Wolf River Watershed. Throughout that entire process, this same tract consistently rose to the top. Today, it is officially preserved, protecting over 2.7 miles of river frontage and safeguarding forestland that plays a critical role in recharging the Memphis Sand Aquifer.
This achievement was made possible through incredible partnerships, including a transformative commitment from Ducks Unlimited, along with vital support from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s Division of Natural Areas.
When our team visited the property earlier this month, signs of a thriving ecosystem were everywhere, from beaver and deer tracks to honey locust trees with their unmistakable thorns, all beneath towering swamp-chestnut oaks, water oaks, bitternut hickories, and baldcypress that create a truly mystical forest landscape.
If all continues as planned, this land will open to the public by May 2026, offering opportunities for hunting, fishing, hiking, birding, paddling, and exploration.
Join us as we toast to the protection of our top-ranked conservation priority, an essential forested wetland. Here’s to closing out 2025, our 40th anniversary year, with something truly worth celebrating.
Cheers!

#TheWonderoftheWolf #WetlandProtection
#40thAnniversary
#YearInReview

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