Several yellow flowers bloom on the Kankakee Sands prairie. — Sunshine on a stick Now's a good time to hike the Discovery Trail to see sand coreopsis in bloom! © Donna Lucas

Indiana Nature Notes for June

By Alyssa Nyberg, Kankakee Sands Preserve Coordinator | Updated June 01, 2026

Alyssa Nyberg Kankakee Sands Preserve Coordinator

Sunshine on the Discovery Trail

Every place on the planet has a story. It’s quite likely that the place’s story started long before you set your eyes on it, put your feet upon it and gave your heart to it. Along with its story, it also has a personality that is there for you to discover.

For me, the prairie that surrounds the Grace Teninga Discovery Trail at Kankakee Sands is a special place with a lot of personality. The trail sits on the northeastern edge of what was once Indiana’s largest lake, Beaver Lake, and the land has a range of habitat types from dry sand dunes to low wetlands.

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Beaver Lake was drained in the early 1900s, and the land was converted to row crop agriculture. The Nature Conservancy purchased the land in 1990s and began planting this area with more than 100 species of native plants. These plants have flourished and in turn attracted countless birds and insects, and all this plant and animal diversity has given this place a magical personality, with a good dose of whimsy.

Close-up of bright yellow sand coreopsis flower. — Sand coreopsis Sands coreopsis blooming at Kankakee Sands in Newton County, IN. © Alyssa Nyberg/TNC

Of all those plant species, the one that captures my eye and my heart, is the striking sand coreopsis, which is in bloom right now!

Each low growing sand coreopsis plant has several daisy-like yellow flowers that are perched upon slender stalks. These stalks and flowers wave in the wind and instill in me instantaneous happiness! Four-inch long, narrow strap-like leaves are arranged at the base of the plant and stay green most of the year, providing an attractive groundcover even after the blossoms have faded.

Sand coreopsis thrives in dry sandy soils of Kankakee Sands, and so it is very happy on the sandy dunes of the Discovery Trail. I love walking the trail in June and being surrounded by millions of little “sunshines on a stick.”

I encourage you to visit the Grace Teninga Discovery Trail in June. Whether you pull into the parking area and admire the flowers from gravel lot, or walk the trail through the prairie and to the top of the sand dune, I hope you will feel a sense of admiration and connection to this prairie.

This June, we will be installing a new Grace Teninga Discovery Trail informational sign in the parking area which will tell the story of this particular prairie and hopefully facilitate people falling in love with this special place. So come visit and discover the beauty and whimsy of this sunshine flower-filled prairie!