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Meramec College Event: Area Tree Celebrations Blossom In Month of April Showers

STLCCM Arbor Day, Carrie Coyne with Horticulture students. Photos by Robert Weaver.

by Don Corrigan

April showers may bring May flowers, but April 2024 has brought an abundance of events honoring trees in the St. Louis area. Missouri is celebrating both a state and a national Arbor Day on the April calendar.

On the state-designated Arbor Day of April 5, a crowd at the Meramec campus of St. Louis Community College in Kirkwood enjoyed the addition of a new oak species to the campus oak collection.

The Missouri native swamp chestnut oak was the gift of Bill Ruppert, who is with the school’s Horticulture Program Advisory Committee. Horticultural student Abigail Andrews expressed appreciation for the tree addition.

“This ceremony today means so much to us, because trees are so important,” said Andrews, an Oakville resident. “To plant a tree is to do something for posterity.

“Trees are all about future generations,” added Andrews. “We don’t plant them just for us, but more for the coming generations who will enjoy them.”

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Posted on April 13, 2024 in Home, Outdoor/Nature

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The Wild and Scenic Film Festival, April 10

The Wild & Scenic Film Festival shares an urgent call to action, encouraging all of us to learn more about what we can do to save our threatened planet. Showcasing films from directors across the country, the Festival inspires environmental activism and a love for nature through film.

Join Great Rivers Environmental Law Center as we premiere a selection of environmental short films designed to inspire and educate. The event is free and open to the public with tickets first available to existing donors. The event will be held at Chase Park Plaza Cinemas, 212 Kingshighway Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63108.

Attendees will have the opportunity to meet representatives from Great Rivers to learn more about how we ensure compliance with the environmental laws that protect us.

We support and value the work that the Great Rivers Environmental Law Center does to protect Missouri’s natural resources. We’ve partnered with them to present a series of short films at the Chase Park Plaza Cinema in St. Louis.

Click HERE for all the information you’ll need. The code to register is, of course, Magnificent.

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Posted on April 5, 2024 in Home, Local Events

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Brews & Blooms Event with Grow Native! and Civil Life Brewing Company

The Grow Native! program of the Missouri Prairie Foundation will host its first Brews and Blooms native plant education event in partnership with Civil Life Brewing Co. at their South City brewery on Saturday, April 6 from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m.

Grow Native! will be offering a free native plant giveaway (one per household, while supplies last), a container gardening demonstration, and gardening advice from St. Louis native plant and landscaping experts. Grow Native! merchandise will also be for sale, including native plant garden signs manufactured in Washington, Missouri.

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Posted on April 3, 2024 in Home, Local Events

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Learn About Naturescaping Your Yard for Blooms, Bugs, and Birds with MDC Webcast April 10 at Noon

Join MDC to learn about Naturescaping Your Yard for Blooms, Bugs, and Birds through the MDC Wild Webcast on April 10 at noon. Register in advance at mdc.webex.com/weblink/register/r9350abfe19cf8e5c13de93d5820f7b8f.

Spring is the time when many gardeners are digging in the dirt to prepare their landscapes for the coming growing season. Whether you have a big yard or just a bit of a porch or patio, you can attract butterflies and other good bugs along with birds through naturescaping with native blooms.

Planting native plants can help the garden grow by attracting native bees, birds, and butterflies as pollinators. And many fruit and vegetable plants produce better from pollination by some of Missouri’s hundreds of species of native bees and butterflies.

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) invites anyone interested in gardening, landscaping, native plants, and native pollinators to join its free, online Wild Webcast on “Naturescaping Your Yard for Blooms, Bugs, and Birds” on Wednesday, April 10, from noon to 1 p.m.

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Posted on April 2, 2024 in Home, Local Events

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Gentle Barn: Haven For Rescued Cows & Cuddling Turkeys

By Jess Holmes

The magic of the Gentle Barn became known in the St. Louis area after the rescue of the “St. Louis Six”— six cows who broke free from a slaughterhouse in north St. Louis in 2017. While the allure of the cow rescue tale will never fade, Christine Seacrist, manager of the Missouri location, emphasized that The Gentle Barn is a many-faceted, regional asset.

“One thing that makes our sanctuary really unique is that we invite people in. We have our weekly visitors on open Sundays who can come learn about the animals’ stories of resilience, find comfort with the animals, and experience joy,” she said. “During the week, we have private tours, field trips, and animal therapy programs – cow hugs, equine and barnyard therapy.”

In classic sanctuary fashion, conversations with Seacrist are held in the barn yard. Seacrist holds a partially-blind turkey in her lap, a rooster crows in the background, and a cow eavesdrops on conversations. It’s clear the animals are not only comfortable, but enjoy the company.

Seacrist has a history of animal advocacy. Upon learning some facts about the food she was eating, she made the decision, at the age of 10, to become a vegetarian. Her passion for animals continued to grow, inspiring her to go vegan. In college, Seacrist majored in non-profit management, so she could dedicate her life to animal rescue.

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Posted on March 29, 2024 in Environment, Home

SEED STL Event: Beans & Greens!

Posted on March 27, 2024 | Leave a comment

Event information from SEED STL March newsletter.

Join Our Young Friends Board for Beans & Greens!
Saturday, March 30, 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Maypop Coffee & Garden Shop
803 Marshall Ave., Webster Groves, MO 63119

Whether you’re a coffee aficionado, a plant enthusiast, or someone looking to make a positive impact in your community, this event is the perfect opportunity to mingle, learn, and grow. During this relaxed, happy hour-style gathering, you’ll have a chance to:

– Learn about joining our Young Friends board.
– Savor specially crafted coffee beverages in a vibrant garden setting.
– Engage with passionate members of Seed St. Louis and the Young Friends board to discover the inspiring work we do across over 250 community gardens and urban orchards.
– Explore how you can contribute to fostering green spaces and food education in the St. Louis region.
– Network with like-minded individuals who are dedicated to connecting people to the land, their food, and each other.

Don’t miss this chance to deepen your roots in the community and learn how you can be part of a movement that’s cultivating change and growth, one garden at a time. We look forward to sharing our passion for plants with you at Beans & Greens!

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Farmers’ Table Wine Trail, April 6

The Missouri Department of Agriculture:  Enjoy the best of what Missouri has to offer. Meet the local farmers behind the food as you taste your way through six delectable wine and food pairings along the Hermann Wine Trail.

The event is Saturday, April 6 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets are $35 per person.

Ticket price includes a souvenir wine glass. Price does not include transportation to wineries or additional wine tasting.

There are limited tickets are available. Advance purchase required.

2024 Farmers’ Table Wine Trail Tasting Menu:

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Posted on March 26, 2024 in Home, Local Events

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Missouri’s Deforestation: A Threat To “Healthy Environments and Cohesive Communities”

Forest ReLeaf reminds us that trees not only provide us with incredible beauty, but they are an essential part of the earth’s ecosystem. Photo courtesy of Forrest Keeling Nursery.

by Jack Fraish

Trees are under attack in Missouri. On the edge of the once-great eastern woodland, many of these living antiques have been lost to sprawling urban development and devastating pests and diseases. Meridith Perkins can count the ways that deforestation impacts St. Louis. She is the executive director for Forest ReLeaf, an organization dedicated to planting trees and sustaining a tree canopy across Missouri.

Perkins grew up in downtown St. Louis. She didn’t spend a lot of time outdoors growing up. She said that where she lived there were “sirens and concrete,” so she spent a lot of time inside.”

Perkins expresses fond memories of the time she did spend outdoors as a kid — finding respite from the hustle and bustle of the city in parks and among the trees.

“A lot of environmentalists grew up playing in creeks and forests and such,” said Perkins. “Now I think that more of us are starting to care about environmental issues because we missed out on a natural outlet. I remember the calm of spending time in a nice green space, but for the most part, I stayed indoors growing up.”

In search of a natural outlet, Perkins decided to study forestry at the University of Missouri in Columbia. For Perkins, studying forestry was a way to better understand the green spaces that brought peace in her childhood – the natural outlet that she felt was lacking. But she felt that the forestry program at Mizzou at the time was geared toward understanding how to turn trees into profit.

“When I first started forestry school it was heavily geared toward industrial forestry which wasn’t exactly what I wanted to be doing.”

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Posted on March 22, 2024 in Environment, Home

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Mark Your Calendars: St. Louis Earth Day, April 20 – 21

The St. Louis Earth Day festival returns on April 20-21, 2024, located at the Muny Grounds in Forest Park. The event runs from 11 am – 5 pm both days.

From the Earth Day 365 website:

Whether you are coming for the food, the music, the activities, or the people watching, we PROMISE you will leave a little more inspired about real progress being made to preserve our planet and a little more connected to those on the front lines!

The St. Louis Earth Day Festival is a community tradition to learn about sustainable products and services offered by local businesses and organizations, meet local area non-profits that share Earth Day values, as well as showcasing local entertainment and local Green Dining Alliance restaurants.

For more information, visit https://earthday-365.org/festival/

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Posted on March 20, 2024 in Home, Local Events

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Jamin Bray of MEEA: Working For Real Change, One Conversation At A Time

Jamin Bray, co-director of the Missouri Environmental Education Association (MEEA), enjoys strumming in the Ozarks. Photo courtesy of MEEA

By Zoe DeYoung

Jamin Bray, co-director of the Missouri Environmental Education Association (MEEA), knows where change starts. She confidently insists: “right here.”

A lifelong educator with a soft spot for empathy, Bray said she believes that a conversation is the first step in any real change making. And for MEEA, an organization dedicated to providing environmental education for a more sustainable future, change is the problem and the solution.

“When I talk about climate, I’m always trying to help people understand,” Bray said. “If I talk to somebody who doesn’t ‘believe’ in climate change, I’m like, ‘Talk to me. Let’s have a conversation,’ and then I can see their point of view.

“Wouldn’t the world be better if everybody would have conversations like that?” Bray asked.

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Posted on March 18, 2024 in Environment, Home