Category Archives: Outdoor/Nature

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GROW – Bridging The Gap Between Farm and Fork

Pamela Braasch, SLSC education director and the GROW exhibit operations manager. All photos by Holly Shanks.

Pamela Braasch, SLSC education director and the GROW exhibit operations manager. All photos by Holly Shanks.

By Holly Shanks

Pass by the front lobby, the ticket lines and concession stands, and the watchful predatory eye of the T-Rex, and you’ll find a different kind of exhibit at the Saint Louis Science Center. It’s an exhibit, complete with chickens, vegetable gardens and tractors, and it tells the modern-day story of how our food makes it from a farmer’s hands all the way to our dinner table.

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Celebrating Our National Parks: 11 Lesser-Known Hikes In Popular National Parks

Photo credit: NPS

Photo credit: NPS

The National Park Service celebrates its centennial this year! Here is another look at some interesting facts inside our National Parks.

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Let’s GROW! Sights From New Exhibit At The Saint Louis Science Center

GROW, the newest exhibit at the Saint Louis Science Center. The exhibit opened June 18, 2016. Photos by Holly Shanks.

GROW, the newest exhibit at the Saint Louis Science Center. The exhibit opened June 18, 2016. Photos by Holly Shanks.

Here is a look at the sights you’ll find at GROW, the newest exhibit at theSaint Louis Science Center. The exhibit opened June 18, 2016.

Check back soon for Environmental Echo’s latest article that will have insights about the exhibit, what it took to bring the exhibit to life, and the collaboration between scientist and local farmers that brought accuracy and truth to the story of local agriculture.

See more photos from the GROW exhibit by visiting Environmental Echo’s new Facebook page HERE. Be sure to “like” our new Facebook page! 

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Gov. Nixon announces Echo Bluff State Park to open July 30

Crop Environmental Echo TopperA new state park is about to open. Echo Bluffs State Park, located in Eminence, Missouri, opens July 30. The Park will host a campground and lodging choices, which are now accepting reservations. Find more information from Gov. Nixon’s press release outlining the park’s features below.

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Meramec Caverns To Reopen Upper Level Of Caverns For Tours

UPDATEThe EPA announced that Meramec Caverns is approved to open tours in the upper level of the caverns as of June 10, 2016.

Find the EPA Region 7 announcement that includes a list of controls that have been implemented in the caverns HERE.

The show cave closed on March 10, 2016, because of unsafe levels of TCE fumes. TCE is an unsafe solvent used in manufacturing of metals, like vehicle parts. The contamination most likely originates from Sullivan, Mo, four miles away from a landfill and the former TRW/Ramsey facility, according to the EPA.

Learn more about the contamination from an earlier Environmental Echo podcast report that can be found below.

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Don Corrigan Tackles The Rocky Mountains

Something about Don fits right in with the 100th Anniversary Celebration of the NPS.

Something about Don fits right in with the 100th Anniversary Celebration of the NPS.

 Don Corrigan recently packed up and headed west! He has put pen to paper and chronicled his outdoor adventures in the Rockies.

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Celebrating Our National Parks: The Eleven Parks With Geologic Wonders

Photo: National Parks Service. Shown is Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Photo: National Parks Service. Shown is Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

The National Park Service celebrates its centennial this year! Here is another interesting look inside our National Parks.

Let’s Rock: If you like rocks or rock formations there are 11 National Parks you might like to know more about. Here is a listing from the NPS detailing the “11 Lesser-Known Geologic Wonders in National Parks.”  CLICK HERE.

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Discovering Our National Parks

Pictured: Brian Ettling, park ranger, teaches visitors about National Parks.

Pictured: Park Ranger Brian Ettling teaches visitors about Crater Lake National Park.

 

 It’s the lovely month of May, as they say in “Camelot.” Summer unofficially begins on Memorial Day and it’s time to plan that big summer vacation. This year, the focus may be on visiting our national parks, which are in the midst of a century celebration.

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What’s Up With Meramec Cavern’s Closure And The Continuing Environmental Contamination Issues?

Pictured above: Jo Schaper. All photos courtesy Jo Schaper.

Pictured above: Jo Schaper. All photos courtesy Jo Schaper.

Meramec Caverns is closed due to environmental contamination of a substance called TCE, a chemical used in automotive parts manufacturing and cleaning. But how did the popular Missouri show cave become contaminated with TCE in the first place?

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National Park Service Celebrates Centennial: The Nine Parks In Peril

Turret Arch and North Window are two of the massive stone arches at the Windows Section in Arches National Park. Photo Credit: NPS/Jacob W. Frank.

Turret Arch and North Window are two of the massive stone arches at the Windows Section in Arches National Park. Photo Credit: NPS/Jacob W. Frank.

The National Parks Service celebrates its centennial this year! 

Watch for Don Corrigan’s story this month on the National Park Service (NPS) and their 100th Anniversary, and why more and more people are planning summer trips to the parks to celebrate and to take advantage of some deals, both locally and nationally.

The NPS has many opportunities to learn and experience the country’s National Parks during this centennial year. One way to learn is to see what issues the NPS is currently focused on, like the nine parks the NPS says are in peril.

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