Monthly Archives: April 2026

Dr. Peter Raven. Photo by Michael Jacob, Missouri Botanical Garden.

Dr. Peter Hamilton Raven, a botanist of global stature who transformed the Missouri Botanical Garden into one of the world’s leading centers for botany and became one of the most influential voices for biodiversity and conservation, passed away on April 25, 2026. He was 89 years old.

For nearly four decades, Dr. Raven served as President and Director of the Garden while also holding the George Engelmann Professorship of Botany at Washington University in St. Louis. When he assumed leadership of the Garden in 1971 at age 35, the institution was modest in scope. By the time he retired in 2010, he had transformed the organization into a global hub for research, education, horticultural display, and sustainability, with far-reaching scientific partnerships and conservation programs.

Dr. Raven’s vast and varied list of accomplishments at the Garden includes opening the Japanese Garden (Seiwa-en), the Margaret Grigg Nanjing Friendship Garden, the William T. Kemper Center for Home Gardening, and the Doris I. Schnuck Children’s Garden. He tripled the size of the Garden’s Herbarium, helping make it one of the largest botanical collections in the world, and greatly expanded its library, now among the world’s most comprehensive botanical libraries and since named in his honor. Dr. Raven’s many global scientific contributions in this role include founding the Garden’s William L. Brown Center and the Center for Conservation and Sustainable Development, as well as launching numerous research projects, conservation programs, and partnerships across North America and in China, Madagascar, Peru, Bolivia, and Tanzania. The 150-person staff at the start of his tenure, which included just a handful of scientists, had grown to nearly 500, including close to 50 PhD-level research scientists undertaking pioneering work on the St. Louis campus and around the world.

“Peter Raven didn’t simply lead the Garden; he redefined what it could be,” said June McAllister Fowler, chair of the Garden’s Board of Trustees. “His vision elevated it to a world-class institution while deepening its roots in St. Louis. He believed the Garden should serve its community as much as the scientific world, and that legacy is visible across our city today.”

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The Missouri Department of Natural Resources is now accepting entries for its 2026 MoDNR Photo Contest. The department will feature winning entries on its website, social media platforms and at various public events. The deadline to submit photos is Sept. 1.

Entries can include images from anywhere in Missouri. Contestants can submit entries in the following categories:

Natural Resources: Photographs of Missouri’s air, landscapes and waterways
Unique Places: Photographs taken within one of Missouri’s state parks and historic sites. (For a list of all parks and sites, visit mostateparks.com.)
People Enjoying Missouri’s Outdoors: Photographs of people having fun and exploring Missouri’s great outdoors.

Department judges will choose first, second, third and honorable mention winners for each category. For more information or to submit photos, visit dnr.mo.gov/photo-contest. Please send questions about the photo contest to socialmedia@dnr.mo.gov.

Earth Day 2026 – CLICK HERE for more information.