MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee State University biology faculty, alumni and supporters are returning to participate in the 47th Elsie Quarterman Cedar Glade Wildflower Festival, set this year for Friday-Saturday, May 2-3, at Cedars of Lebanon State Park and Sunday, May 4, at Long Hunter State Park.
The Center for Cedar Glade Studies at MTSU is co-partnering with Cedars of Lebanon State Park, located six miles south of Lebanon, and Long Hunter State Park, to hold the festival, renamed in 2008 for Vanderbilt cedar glade ecologist and professor Elsie Quarterman.
“Cedar Glades are a very unique and interesting ecosystem that we have here in Middle Tennessee that very few people know about that have lived there their entire lives,” noted Kim Cleary Sadler, MTSU professor of biology education, during a recent appearance on the WGNS Radio’s Action Line program.
Cedar glades are characterized by very thin soil and exposed, rocky patches surrounded by redcedar trees. Cedar glades, which support a variety of plant life, are found in the Midstate in Wilson, Davidson and Rutherford counties.
“This time of year in particular, it’s just a flower garden. Some of the plants are very rare, it’s just beautiful jewels,” Sadler said.
Sadler will be joined at the festival by other MTSU faculty including biology professor Jeff Walck and art professor Erin Anfinson along with alums Todd Crabtree, Tennessee state botanist, and Matt Niemiller, cave biologist, and other experts to host a wide variety of family friendly activities throughout the weekend, ranging from hikes to gardening to art to photography and more.
Most events will take place outside, weather permitting. Organizers advise attendees to keep in mind that extreme weather or excessive rain will cancel most outdoor activities. Click here for the 2025 Schedule.
Preregistration is required for some events due to space limitation, and 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.
Festival events
Highlights include:
• Friday, May 2, two expert presentations will begin at 7 p.m. at the Cedar Forest Lodge in celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the Tennessee Rare Plants legislation.
• Saturday, May 3, will start with bird-watching from 7 to 8:30 a.m. followed by a full day activities ranging from visits to cedar glade wildflower sites, hikes with botany professionals, gardening workshops, an edible plants program and more family friendly activities.
• Sunday, May 4, attendees can enjoy more cedar glade wildflowers with staff from Long Hunter State Park from 2 to 4 p.m. No pets permitted and space is limited. For specific directions, preregister at https://tnstateparks.com/parks/events/long-hunter.
The late Elsie Quarterman was a professor emerita of Vanderbilt University and pioneered cedar glade research in the early 1950s. She did much research at what is now known as the Elsie Quarterman Cedar Glade, a 185-acre natural area in Rutherford County, according to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation website.
Quarterman was an advocate for natural area protection throughout her career, and her efforts helped Tennessee in 1971 become one of the first states to pass legislation to protect natural areas in the U.S.
For more information about the festival or about the MTSU Center for Cedar Glade Studies, visit https://glade-center.mtsu.edu or contact Kim.Sadler@mtsu.edu or by phone at 615-904-8283.
— Jimmy Hart (Jimmy.Hart@mtsu.edu)
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