Center for Cedar Glade Studies

The Elsie Quarterman Wildflower Festival dates are, April 30 and May 1 – 3, 2026! The Center for Cedar Glade Studies will copartner with Cedars of Lebanon State Park and the Nature Education Society of Tennessee (N.E.S.T.) for the 48th Cedar Glade Wildflower Festival, renamed in 2008 for Vanderbilt cedar glade ecologist and professor, Dr. Elsie Quarterman.

Please join us in 2026 for the Elsie Quarterman Cedar Glade Wildflower Festival, all-day April 30 for two special nature journaling workshops, May 1 a research roundtable the afternoon and evening speaker, all-day May 2 at Cedars of Lebanon State Park, and May 3 in the morning at Mt. View State Natural Area and the evening at Vesta Cedar Glade with Jason & LA Allen with N.E.S.T. (Nature Education Society of Tennessee). Most events will take place outside, weather permitting. Keep in mind extreme weather or excessive rain will cancel most outdoor activities.  The 2026 schedule is in final review and will be posted March 15. The 2025 schedule is very similar, click here for the 2025 Schedule.

Please NOTE: Preregistration is required for some events due to space limitation. Some events require a small fee for materials. Most events are free (although the State Parks registration system will ask for a donation that is optional). Click here to see events on the Cedars of Lebanon website. 

Read below, here’s what Happened in 2025!

Friday Evening Program, May 2, 2025

We gathered at 7pm at the Cedar Forest Lodge for two great presentations! We celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the TN Rare Plants legislation and heard from two experts. We heard from Paul Somers, the TN State botanist who was instrumental in the passing of the legislation, and Todd Crabtree, the current TN State botanist who shared about rare plants, particularly those found in Cedar Glades. Light refreshments were served, compliments of the Center for Cedar Glade Studies, and Friends of Cedars of Lebanon. For a rainy night, we had a wonderful group of people join us!

Saturday, May 3 – these are events from 2025, similar events will occur in 2026

Bird-watching in the morning (7am to 8:30am) with Melissa Turrentive and Dr. Jeffrey Walck, Professor of Biology at MTSU.

• Join Todd Crabtree, TN State Botanist, from 8am to noon, and cycle (gravel road, wide tires are needed) to some prime cedar glade wildflower sites at Cedars of Lebanon. Registration for Todd’s event is on the Division of Natural areas events page: https://tnstateparks.com/parks/event_details/division-of-natural-areas/#/?event=cycling-to-the-cedar-glades
• Dr. Matt Niemiller, herpetologist/cave biologist, will unleash the kid in you as he leads a hike to search for slimy and dry scaled animals (9am to 11:30am)
• There are 3-hour morning and afternoon hikes with botany professionals: the morning hike is 9am to noon with a special dedication to MTSU botany professor Kurt Blum, and the afternoon hike is 1pm to 4pm with Holly Taylor, Associate State Naturalist, and Milo Pyne, NaturServ, retired. 
• Native plant specialist Rosemary Marshall will lead a program (9am to 10am) about gardening with our beautiful native plants, showcasing the native plant garden at the Nature Center.
• There are family-friendly activities from Ranger Shauna Bridges throughout the day that teach cool things about cedar glades.
• You will learn more about the geology of the glades from 10am to 11am and a discussion about fossils from 3pm to 4pm with Ron Zurawaski, TN Department of Geology, retired. 
• The very popular session, ‘Sketch a Cedar Glade Flower’ will let you explore your creative side and will be 10am to noon with professional artist and MTSU professor, Erin Anfinson. Limited space, preregistration required.
• Sharen Bracy will lead a native edible plants program (noon to 1pm) and provides samples of her delicious jellies, juices, and dips.
• If you are interested in photography, come learn and share techniques with David Pineros from noon to 2:00pm.
• Dr. Matt Niemiller, will lead a cave program to discover “Karst and Kreepy Krawlers” in Jackson Cave. Preregister, space is limited. Must be 18 or older. Waivers must be signed, and bring a change of clothes…you WILL get muddy! (3:30pm to 5pm).
• Grab dinner in Lebanon or grill hotdogs at the park on your own. Plan to stay Saturday evening for the evening program (7pm to 8:30pm) Owl Prowl led by Cedars of Lebanon park rangers.

Sunday, May 4, 2025 – similar events will occur but new locations

The fun continued with staff from Long Hunter State Park! We met Ranger Leslie Anne Allen at the Jones Mill parking lot off Barnett Rd to enjoy more cedar glade wildflowers from 2pm to 4pm. We saw multiple glade species. To visit on your own and for specific directions, visit at https://tnstateparks.com/parks/events/long-hunter

A large group gathered at dusk to learn more about the elusive nightjars in cedar glades from Jason Allen. They met at Couchville Cedar Glade parking lot off South Mt. Juliet Road. For more information about how to access this glade, visit https://tnstateparks.com/parks/events/long-hunter

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If you have questions, contact Kim.Sadler@mtsu.edu, or contact Ranger Shauna Bridgers at  Shauna.Bridgers@tn.gov or call the Cedars of Lebanon park office which is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. PH:  615.443.2769.

Limestone cedar glades are globally unique and fragile habitats found primarily in Middle Tennessee. Viewed historically as wastelands, they support a plant community of highly specialized species, many of which are found nowhere else in the world.  (Gattinger’s Prairie Clover, Photograph by Darel Hess.) 

• What is a Cedar Glade
• What are the Zones within a Glade?
• What Plants are Found in the Glades?
• What is Center for Cedar Glade Studies?
• Research on the cedar glades
• Teaching from the cedar glades
• Preserving the cedar glades
• Video and Media