Missouri Prairie Foundation to Offer Three, Free Guided Hikes in September

Deer Lake Savanna courtesy Forest Park.

Make plans to see the fall splendor of blooming native plants around the state while learning from an expert with a guided hike in September, organized by MPF in partnership with colleagues from the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and Forest Park.

The hikes are free, but registration is required. See details on each event and registration links below.

Union Ridge Conservation Area courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation.

September 16: Register here for a guided hike with MPF Technical Advisor and MDC Ecologist Mike Leahy of the tallgrass savanna within the Union Ridge Conservation Area and Natural Area near Kirksville. Union Ridge Conservation Area consists of 8,263 acres located in Sullivan, Adair, and Putnam counties, and can be found just 30 minutes northwest of Kirksville. It is the largest savanna landscape of its type in Missouri.

September 18: Register here for a guided hike, led by Forest Park Ecologist Amy Witt, of Deer Lake Savanna in Forest Park, St. Louis. Deer Lake Savanna is a 24-acre complex of reconstructed natural communities. Prior to the native plantings, this area consisted only of mowed grass and a scattering of planted landscape trees. Today the area consists of prairie, savanna, woodland and wetland plantings and is one of the most biologically diverse habitats in Forest Park, harboring hundreds of native plant and wildlife species.

The Missouri Prairie Foundation is a 57-year-old prairie conservation organization and land trust. In addition to its prairie conservation work, the Missouri Prairie Foundation also runs Grow Native!, a 23-year-old native plant marketing and education program, and administers the Missouri Invasive Plant Council. To learn more, visit www.moprairie.org or www.grownative.org, or call 636-303-7418.