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CHIMPANZEE BORN AT THE SAINT LOUIS ZOO: Important addition to the population of this critically endangered species

Photo and video: Helen Boostrom and Kim Emerson, Saint Louis Zoo

Utamu (pronounced oo-TAH-moo), an 18-year-old chimpanzee at the Saint Louis Zoo, gave birth to a yet-to-be-named female baby around 3:30 a.m. on Wednesday, October 28, 2020, at Jungle of the Apes.

“We are all very happy to have a new baby in the troop and it is so great to see Utamu become a mother,” said Heidi Hellmuth, Curator of Primates, Saint Louis Zoo.

The baby appears to be healthy and is clinging to mom well, according to the Zoo’s primate care team and veterinarians. The team will watch the mother and infant closely during the coming days and weeks, monitoring for nursing and observing the behavior of Utamu and the baby.

“We are hopeful that everything will continue to go well for both mom and baby. The next couple of months are critical,” said Helen Boostrom, Zoological Manager of Primates, Saint Louis Zoo. “Our highly skilled, experienced primate care team has built strong, trusting relationships with the chimpanzees, which are integral to providing the high level of care and training involved in preparing Utamu for birth and rearing her infant.”

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Posted on October 29, 2020 in Home

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St. Louis Garners Green Energy Recognition

Photo by Diana Linsley.

By Don Corrigan

The St. Louis region has had its environmental woes from dioxin to lead to radioactive waste contamination. The city did recently get some good news with its inclusion in the Top 100 Major Cities for clean energy initiatives. The listing was  released this month by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE).

“St. Louis made impressive strides this past year by adopting a policy requiring many major buildings to improve their energy efficiency,” said ACEEE Local Policy Director David Ribeiro. “Only two other cities have passed bills like it, so St. Louis is in elite company.”

Among key findings in the ACEEE report are the top 15 cities, the two fastest-rising cities, and five laggards at the bottom of the ranking for clean energy efforts. The report analyzes the efforts of 100 major U.S. cities — home to 19 percent of the nation’s population — to make buildings and transportation more energy efficient and scale up the use of renewable energy such as solar and wind power.

“St. Louis took other innovative steps too to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, like ensuring that new large buildings are built in a manner where solar panels can easily be added,” said Ribeiro. “The city has been bold, and will need to continue taking bold policy action to achieve a clean energy future.”

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Posted on October 29, 2020 in Environment, Home

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Preparing Students For Extraordinary Challenges at The College School in Webster Groves

All photos courtesy The College School.

by Don Corrigan

Most people agree we live in critical times and young people must be prepared for extraordinary challenges. Educators at The College School in Webster Groves say they are preparing students for those challenges – and they are putting money where it counts to make that preparation happen.

The school has invested several million dollars in a 28-acre LaBarque Campus in Pacific, Missouri. The project includes the 3,000-square-foot Jan Phillips Learning Center, which contains classroom, workshop, outdoor and community spaces. The project reflects concern for the environment, sustainability and entrepreneurship.

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Posted on October 26, 2020 in Environment, Home, Outdoor/Nature

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Spring 2021 Anticipated Opening of the Anne O’C. Albrecht Nature Playscape In Forest Park

Forest Park Forever recently published an update on the construction of Anne O’C. Albrecht Nature Playscape  in Forest Park. Please continue below for the full announcement.

To the Forest Park community:

Forest Park Forever and our City of St. Louis partners are thrilled to share a special update about the 17-acre Anne O’C. Albrecht Nature Playscape under construction in Forest Park.

Since spring 2019, the site has transformed from just mowed grass into natural landscapes with native and diverse plant species, water-based activity areas and more. The destination features nine distinct activity areas — including Mounds, a Spring, a Meadow, a Wetland and more — and a series of accessible paths and boardwalks between them. Visitors, especially children, will connect with nature and engage their senses as they explore, discover and learn.

Forest Park Forever and our City partners are anticipating a late spring 2021 opening of this remarkable new destination. Our teams will work together to ensure that the site opens to visitors with the proper health and safety protocols and guidelines in place.

Continue reading below for more details included in the project.

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Posted on October 23, 2020 in Home, Local Events, Outdoor/Nature

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Corrigan Comments On Recent Induction Into The St. Louis Media Hall of Fame

The St. Louis Media Hall of Fame Foundation recently posted on YouTube all of this year’s inductees, including Environmental Echo’s Don Corrigan.  A professor of journalism and long-time newspaper editor, Corrigan is introduced here by the Webster University School of Communications Dean Eric Rothenbuhler.

In his acceptance speech, Corrigan recalls his early years of journalism in grade school with his neighborhood newspaper. He ends his remarks with his interest in covering outdoor and environmental issues, from Times Beach to TMI radioactive rail shipments, to the radioactive waste problems such as those at West Lake and Coldwater Creek in the St. Louis region.

Corrigan also thanks the many inspirational women who have helped with his journalism projects over four decades.

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Posted on October 22, 2020 in Environment, Home, Local Events, Outdoor/Nature

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Grand Opening For Bridge at Bayless Avenue Celebrated at “2020 Life Outside Challenge”

Photo courtesy Great Rivers Greenway.

by Don Corrigan

Saturday, Oct. 10, was a big day for  Great Rivers Greenway. In Kirkwood, a “2020  Life Outside Challenge” was underway.  About 10 miles east on the trail network, a grand opening for a bridge at Bayless Avenue was celebrated.
 
“We had 20 challenge activities at the Kirkwood Trailhead in the categories of nature creativity and healthy play,” said Anne Milford, communications coordinator for the GRG. “The parking lot was filled with cars the whole time and there was a lot of buzz about heading east to the new bridge.”
 
Indeed, a sizable number of hikers, bikers and in-line skaters made the trip from Kirkwood to a new connector bridge over the River Des Peres. The new bridge connects the Gravois Greenway and the River Des Peres Greenway.

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Posted on October 17, 2020 in Home, Local Events, Outdoor/Nature

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NOW OPEN: MDC’s Powder Valley Nature Center in Kirkwood!

Photo courtesy MDC.

Building admittance is currently limited to the front desk, but trails and grounds remain fully accessible to the public.

The Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC) Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center is now open for limited public access, following a COVID-19-related closure. The building’s operating hours will be Tuesday through Saturday, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., until further notice.

Powder Valley’s front desk is available to the public for information or gift shop and permit sales. Due to ongoing public health and safety concerns, the rest of the building, including the exhibit galleries and classrooms, are currently not accessible. To help minimize person-to-person contact, one person or family will be allowed into the building at a time.

The nature center’s outdoor spaces, including all trails, remain open and fully accessible to the public.

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Posted on October 16, 2020 in Home, Outdoor/Nature

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Boo at the Zoo!

2019 Boo at The Zoo.
Photo By Micah Usher, courtesy Saint Louis Zoo.

What: Boo at the Zoo presented by SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital

When: 5 to 8:30 p.m. nightly, Oct. 16-30, 2020
Where: Saint Louis Zoo
Tickets: Members: $7.95 (ages 2-12) and $8.95 (ages 13+); Non-members: $8.95 (ages 2-12) and $9.95 (ages 13+). Children under age 2 are free.
Families can enjoy festive decorations, strolling entertainers, special food and drink menus, and more at the Saint Louis Zoo’s nighttime, non-scary Halloween experience, Boo at the Zoo presented by SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital. The event runs from 5 to 8:30 p.m. every night Oct. 16 to 30. Please note, this is not a trick-or-treating event.
Find more information about Boo at the Zoo below.

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Posted on October 12, 2020 in Home, Local Events

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PANDEMIC CAN’T STOP HELLBENDER CONSERVATIONISTS FROM SAVING AN ENDANGERED SPECIES

Over 1,000 hellbenders from Saint Louis Zoo released into native Ozark rivers by Missouri Department of Conservation this summer

Hellbender at the Saint Louis Zoo. Photo by Ray Meibaum, Saint Louis Zoo

Over 1,000 Ozark and eastern hellbenders raised from eggs at the Saint Louis Zoo were released into their native Missouri Ozark rivers this summer by Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) State Herpetologist Jeff Briggler, Ph.D., in cooperation with the Zoo and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS). Since 2008, more than 8,600 Saint Louis Zoo-raised endangered hellbenders (664 eastern and 7,977 Ozark) have been reintroduced to the wild in Missouri.

The successful 2020 reintroductions almost didn’t happen, though, due to COVID-19. The team of scientists from MDC and the Zoo collaborated on a detailed plan that focused on personal safety of team members, while also providing the best care for the hellbenders and conservation of this species.

“The process was quite a bit different this year, with a lot of careful coordination on everyone’s part,” said Briggler. Due to COVID-19 concerns, the restoration team’s priority was to reduce contact and maintain social distancing among individuals. To achieve this, animal transfers from the Zoo staff to the state herpetologist occurred in open air parking lots. Crews releasing hellbenders also were reduced and limited to two individuals per boat. “Even with these safety precautions, release quotas of hellbenders were achieved and successfully conducted,” said Briggler.

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Posted on October 4, 2020 in Environment, Outdoor/Nature

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Missouri Women Cited for Environmental Work

Women have always been in the forefront of the fight to protect the outdoors and the environment in St. Louis and nationally. That was part of the message that Environmental Echo Editor Don Corrigan emphasized in a prepared statement for his induction into the St. Louis Media Hall of Fame on Oct. 3.

“It  seems fitting that in this ‘Century Year of the Suffragettes’ and strong women, that there should be mention the many good women who helped the Webster-Kirkwood Times as advocates and, indeed, as mentors and sources,” declared Corrigan, who also has served as editor-in-chief for Times Newspapers. “These women put hours of energy into protecting the outdoors and for environmental safety.”

 

Dwight Bitikofer and Don Corrigan of Webster-Kirkwood Times, Inc., will be inducted into the St. Louis Media Hall of Fame on Oct. 3 to honor more than 40 years of community journalism. In his prepared remarks, Corrigan will cite the many women who have supported local journalism on the environment and the outdoors.

Click continue reading below to see the rest of the article.

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Posted on September 28, 2020 in Home, Opinion