Spanning across the border of Kentucky and Tennessee, near the small town of Guthrie, KY, is a globally rare type of prairie community. Now, thanks to a generous donation by Robert and Deborah Hulse to the Southeastern Grasslands Institute (SGI), this place will be permanently protected for future generations…
APSU and SGI Celebrating 5 Years of Saving Southeastern Grasslands
New Species of Beaksedge Described by APSU Alumna and the Southeastern Grasslands Initiative
SGI Helps Host Field Trip to Inspire Conservation Advocacy in Tennessee
Austin Peay’s Southeastern Grasslands Initiative Joins National Plant Conservation Network
APSU GIS Center Joins the Southeastern Grasslands Institute to Examine Land Grant Data from the Revolutionary War
What did Clarksville – or even the entire Middle Tennessee region – look like in the late 18th century, shortly after the American Revolution? At Austin Peay State University, the Southeastern Grasslands Initiative (SGI) has spent years exploring this question in its effort conserve and restore the south’s original native grasslands…
Science on Tap to examine Southeastern Grasslands Institute’s ‘New Course for Conservation’
SGI Volunteers and Partners Helping to Make a Rare Plant More Common
BAND Foundation surpasses $800,000 in giving to APSU Southeastern Grasslands Initiative
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – The BAND Foundation of Washington, D.C., has continued its commitment to Austin Peay State University through a recent gift to the APSU Foundation to benefit the Southeastern Grasslands Initiative (SGI). This contribution brings the organization’s total giving amount to date to more than $800,000.
Dr. Dwayne Estes leads a grassland tour.
Seed Bank Sprouts at SGI's APSU Headquarters
SGI, based at Austin Peay State University and part of the Center of Excellence for Field Biology, is in the early stages of developing a seedbank to serve the broader Mid-South region, especially for grassland species.
New Videos Released on the History and Future of Prairies in the Piedmont – Important to People, Pollinators, and Wildlife
On Feb 6, 2020, the Piedmont Prairie Partnership, a group of non-profit, state, and federal agencies, released two new videos documenting the history of Piedmont Prairies and work being done in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia to bring them back. Historically, much of the Piedmont was covered by prairies – some with scattered trees and some without.
The Southeastern Grasslands Initiative and Quail Forever sign MOU to further landscape conservation of native grasslands in the Southeast
The Southeastern Grasslands Initiative and Quail Forever officially signed a 5-year Memorandum of Understanding December 6, 2019, outlining the scope of a relationship that was initiated in 2018 and has already borne fruit: the Farm Bill team for the Resource Conservation Partnership Project (RCPP), which is supervised and based out of SGI headquarters on the APSU campus, are staff members of QF!
Texas Hub of SGI to be established at Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
The Austin Peay State University Southeastern Grasslands Initiative and The University of Texas at Austin Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center will advance their missions of landscape conservation and ecological restoration through a partnership formalized last week.
Reversing Declines in Grasslands Biodiversity through Private Lands Stewardship
SGI Coordinator to Serve as Lead Botanist for Three Projects with the Cumberland Piedmont Network of the National Park Service
Recognition for an SGI iNaturalist Volunteer
We are pleased to recognize Kevin England of Alabama for outstanding volunteer commitment to SGI. Kevin, a 7-8th grade science teacher at Double Springs Middle School, got his masters degree studying botany at the University of West Alabama, and as a resident of northern Alabama, he is very active in documenting the region's vascular flora and lichens.
TVA Rights-of-Way: Ruderal Habitats or Pre-settlement Savanna Conditions?
The TN Department of Transportation awarded SGI to develop a plan to better conserve and manage the grassland and pollinator habitat found on Tennessee highway rights-of-way. A large part of the project involves finding and documenting the existing habitat along Tennessee’s highway corridors so that we can help TDOT prioritize areas in need or protection and restoration. Here’s the exciting report from our first surveys of the 2019 season.
Rubbernecking Rarities
Southeastern Grasslands Initiative Partners With Dunbar Cave State Park During State-Wide Weed Wrangle
Fifty-two volunteers from Clarksville, Nashville, and Surrounding Counties Converge at Dunbar Cave State Park to Help Bring Back Native Grasslands of the Southeast
The Southeastern Grasslands Initiative (SGI) held its inaugural volunteer workday at Dunbar Cave State Park on Sunday, January 27th, and all agreed it was a huge success.