Through the growing season, Audubon Nebraska will have a “Native Plant of the Week” Facebook post every Thursday at 3 pm to feature different native plants in Nebraska. This series is to promote Audubon’s Plants for Birds program, a key focus for this year’s Marian Langan Young Leaders.

The Marian Langan Memorial Young Leaders Program creates career pathways for young people interested in education or conservation. Audubon recently hired two young leaders to work at Spring Creek Prairie and Rowe Sanctuary for one year.

The young leader working primarily at Audubon’s Rowe Sanctuary is Amanda Hegg, a graduate from the University of South Dakota with a B.S. in Conservation Biology and Sustainability and an M.S. in Biology.

The Spring Creek Prairie-based young leader is Cacey Wilken, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln graduate with a B.S. in Fisheries and Wildlife with an emphasis in conservation biology and has been accepted to graduate school for natural resource management.

These leaders focus primarily on Audubon’s Plants for Birds program, an initiative to promote bird-friendly, native plants that are beneficial for birds and the environment. To better understand the best native plants for your area, Audubon created a native plant database as part of this program.

Amanda and Cacey emphasized their excitement to work with community members and hope people will reach out to them. If you are interested in learning more about the Plants for Birds program and potentially setting up an event, e-mail Audubon Nebraska.

View the Native Plant of the Week every Thursday at 3 pm by following Audubon Nebraska’s Facebook page.