BY FIONA MORGAN

fiona@amnews.com

Perryville Battlefield State Park is hosting Springfest on Saturday, May 13 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Throughout the day, people can learn from experts on wildflowers, native grasses, butterflies, bees, birds and native wildlife. People can walk on the park’s 19 miles of trails, which has over 600 acres of native plants and grasses.

Through scheduled talks, people can learn how to set up a monarch butterfly station, how to care for our endangered bees, or how to set up wildflower gardens. There will be two bird walks, and a nature walk.

Park Manager Bryan Bush said this is a new event. Its first year was canceled due to Covid restrictions, and the second year they had bad weather. This is the third year, and Bush said he expects a good turnout if the weather is good.

There will also be seed vendors and handmade crafts for sale, such as honey and wood crafts. Bush said he expects that the bird walks and nature walks will be the bigger events.

“I would say that the two bird walks with Robert Myers, the Kentucky State Naturalist, and Gary Sprandel with the Frankfort Audubon Society will be great events,” Bush said. “We will also have a nature walk discussing nature and fauna at the Perryville Battlefield with Maddie Heredia of the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves.”

The event will have two food vendors. One will serve pork tenderloin, burgers, and philly steaks by Mama T’s, and the other vendor will sell desserts with Chocomania.

Prices for the day are $5 for adults, $3 for children, and $4.50 for veterans.

Schedule

• 9 a.m. – How to Set Up Your Own Wildflower Field (Charlie Logsdon with Roundstone Seed Co.).

• 10 a.m. – Bird Walk with Gary Sprandel (Frankfort Audubon Society).

• 11 a.m. – Creating & Maintaining Monarch Waystations with Native Plants (Joanna Kirby w/ The Garden Club of Kentucky).

• Noon – Saving the Bees, Beekeeping, and Local Honey (Phil Craft with Certified Kentucky Honey Producers).

• Noon – Grassland Restoration Hike: Managing Perryville’s Native Flora & Fauna (Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves).

• 1 p.m. – How to Create a Pollinator Habitat on Your Farm (Jim Embry with The Pollinator Working group of Madison County).

• 2 p.m. – Gardening for Native Bees (Busy Bee Nursery and Consulting, Shannon Trimboli).

• 3 p.m. – Kentucky State Naturalist, Robert Myers leads a Bird Walk.

• 3:30 p.m. – Karen Michul with North American Butterfly Association.

v4 p.m. – Kentucky Wild: The Monarch Butterfly Spring Migration and Conservation in Kentucky (Michaela Rogers with Kentucky Dept. of Fish and Wildlife Resources).

All speakers will present in Civil War Hall across from the Museum.

Springfest Exhibitors

• Bernheim Forest

• Kentucky State Bee Keepers

• Garden Club of Kentucky

• Roundstone Seeds

• Kentucky State Parks

• Bluegrass Green Source

• Kentucky State Fish and Wildlife Resources/Kentucky Wild

• Kentuckians for the Conservation Committee

• North American Butterfly Association

• University of Kentucky Horticultural Club

• Frankfort Audubon Society

• Bluegrass Conversation Group

• Bluebirds of Central Kentucky

• Sustainable Communities Network/Atrus Ballew Farm

• Certified Kentucky Honey Producers

• Shannon Trimboli w/Backyard Ecology and Busy Bee Nursery and Consulting

• Main Street Perryville

• Kentucky Native Plant Society

Springfest vendors

• Locust Hill Farms

• Bluegrass Eco Design

• Gobey Grove Furnishings

• Chocomania