The Konza Prairie Biological Station (KPBS) was one of the initial six Long-Term Ecological Research sites established through the National Science Foundation in 1981 and has been supported through continuous funding ever since. Konza Prairie is located in the Flint Hills of Kansas, an area that encompasses the largest remaining tracts of native tallgrass prairie in North America. One of the most intensely studied grasslands on Earth, Konza Prairie is key to the development of a deep scientific understanding of tallgrass prairie ecosystems and to monitoring the impacts of global change. As well, it offers excellent opportunities for artistic and scholarly explorations through the humanities.
In addition to more than 120 scientists from multiple academic units at Kansas State University and other institutions around the world for whom the site’s 8600 acres constitute a field station/outdoor lab, a growing number of artists and writers have been granted research status for ongoing participation in Long-Term Ecological Reflections.
Photographers:
Brad Mangas http://www.bradmangasphotography.com/
Kevin Sink http://www.kevinsink.com/
Ed Sturr http://www.prairielight.com/
Margo Kren http://www-personal.ksu.edu/~mkren/
Judd Patterson – http://www.juddpatterson.com/index.htm
Will Baldwin
Paul Hotreot
Martin Puntney
Painters:
Lisa Grossman http://www.strecker-nelsongallery.com/Artists_nu/l_grossman.htm
Oscar Larmer
http://www.strecker-nelsongallery.com/Artists_nu/Larmer.htm
Lorin Friesen
Gary Niswonger http://garyniswongerpaintings.com/home
Writers:
Elizabeth Dodd http://www.elizabethdodd.com/
Projects and Programs
Lisa Grossman was a featured speaker at the recent international Grasslands Symposium held on the Kansas State University campus, joining researchers from Mongolia, South Africa, and throughout the Long-Term Ecological Research community.
Konza Prairie Biological Station has also begun collaboration with the Kansas State University English Department in support of the Visiting Writers Series. Authors whose work addresses the relationship between the human and more-than-human worlds may be housed in the research cottages during their stay, surrounded by the prairie hills and draws. Irish poet Moya Cannon and Nebraska essayist John T. Price have been the first such residents.
Contact Person
Elizabeth Dodd
Department of English / ECS Building 108
Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS 66506-6501
(785) 532-0384
edodd(at)ksu.edu
On-line link for research permit:
http://kpbs.konza.ksu.edu/konzapermits