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The Saint Louis Zoo has joined the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and other zoos and aquariums as inaugural partners of the #FramingOurFuture campaign, which supports nature-based solutions to climate change.

Framing Our Future is a partner-based campaign aimed at zoo and aquarium visitors, as well as digital audiences, about how their actions to protect nature will support our climate.

The goals of the campaign are to educate and empower the public to take action on climate by advancing nature-based solutions in U.S. foreign and domestic climate policy, including protection of intact forests and restoration of coastal ecosystems. In addition, the campaign supports doubling U.S. investments in global biodiversity conservation funding streams that support nature-based solutions to climate change over the next four years.

Full news release from WCS is below and linked here.

Quoted in the release is Sharon Deem, DVM, Ph.D., DACZM, Director of Saint Louis Zoo Institute for Conservation Medicine:

“The Saint Louis Zoo is proud to be an inaugural partner in this campaign. Human health and animal health are interdependent and bound to the health of the ecosystems where we all reside. Taking a One Health approach to bring together different disciplines—human medicine, veterinary medicine, ecology, public heath, anthropology, economics, etc.—we can achieve the best health for people, animals and the environment. Together, we can solve global health challenges, which include climate change, emerging infectious diseases like COVID-19, pollinator decline, food safety, water availability, biodiversity loss and other planetary health issues.”

Award Winner Bill Straatmann

Bill Straatmann, owner of Straatmann Toyota in Washington, Missouri, was recognized recently for his promotion of native plants.

During its virtual Grow Native! Professional Member Conference, the Grow Native! program awarded the 2021 Grow Native! Ambassador Award to Bill Straatmann, owner of Straatmann Toyota in Washington, Missouri.

Native plants play an important role in sustainable landscaping by providing a food source and habitat for pollinators and wildlife. Native plants store carbon in their roots, and also prevent erosion and protect streams by slowing and filtering stormwater runoff. Healthy, well maintained native landscapes are vital to the survival of beneficial insects, wildlife, and people, and make our communities vibrant.

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Looking for something to do with the kids or grandkids this coming holiday weekend? Check out the recently opened Oakland Avenue Playground at Forest Park. Read more about the playground from Forest Park Forever below.

The City of St. Louis Department of Parks, Recreation and Forestry and Forest Park Forever are pleased to announce the renovated Oakland Avenue Playground is now open to the public. The playground is located on Forest Park’s southern edge near the intersection of Tamm and Oakland Avenues. The $300,000 project was funded by donations to Forest Park Forever, including a lead grant from the PNC Foundation, and the City of St. Louis.

The design for the renovated Oakland Avenue Playground was based on feedback and ideas from hundreds of local children and community members who took part in online and in-person surveys and discovery sessions in 2020. The playground includes two main play areas – one designed for children ages 2-5 and the other tailored for children ages 5-12. The playground offers a variety of seating options, including picnic tables and natural benches, as well as bicycle racks. It unifies and connects to Turtle Playground, the existing restroom comfort station and the nearby neighborhood, giving the space a defined identity and welcoming atmosphere.

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Could one of these turkeys end up on your pizza? (Photo: MDC)

By Don Corrigan

The classic All-American Thanksgiving Dinner is getting a makeover. The roast bird, surrounded by hot plates of fixings, is being edged out by a new wave of holiday turkey dinner pizzas.

If you’re a doubting Tom Turkey, you need to get a load of the holiday concoctions being proposed for the 2021 table: barbecue turkey pizza, artichoke turkey pizza, turkey bacon flatbread pizza and turkey supreme pizza bake.

And now comes Happy Joe’s with a pizza featuring turkey, stuffing, gravy and cranberry sauce – all layered and piled high – on Joe’s pan-style crust. The happy man contends this culinary caper will make for special holiday memories.

After all, who will ever forget such a novel holiday pastry – a pie that combines everyone’s favorite Turkey Day flavors – stacked in a one-of-a-kind creation?

Suzanne Corbett, a St. Louis food historian and culinary critic, is an outspoken doubting Thomasina. She intends to pound the table in favor of tradition. She thinks the traditional bird is going nowhere.

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Recently Gateway Greening announced they are changing their name to Seed St. Louis! Read more from the organization below.

Gateway Greening is now Seed St. Louis! To better clarify our mission and to avoid confusion with a local trails organization, we are excited about the change to Seed St. Louis.