Photo by MDC Staff, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation.
The Missouri Department of Conservation’s Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center will present a special program, New Mammals in Missouri: Invasive, Introduced or Interlopers, Friday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. The program is free and open to ages 12 and up. Reservations are required. (See more info below.)
Keynote speaker Dr. Chip Taylor—founder and director of Monarch Watch—and five local speakers to present. Deadline for registration is March 2, 2017. Cost of the workshop, including a breakfast buffet, is $35 per person and $20 per person for students with a valid student ID.
More details from the GROW NATIVE! press release about event, speakers, and more can be found below.
Photo: Webster-Kirkwood Times.
Consumers and environmentalists were “loaded for bear” for a public hearing at the Holiday Inn Southwest in late January before the state Public Service Commission (PSC) on planned electric rate hikes by Ameren Missouri.
Environmentalists like Andy Knott of the Beyond Coal Campaign were ready with news of a Jan. 23 court decision finding Ameren in violation of the Clean Air Act at its Rush Island coal plant in Jefferson County. That plant, and the nearby Meramec Plant in Oakville, have been sources of health concerns in South County.
Photo by MDC Staff, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation.
The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) recently received DNA results from a confirmed mountain lion in Shannon County. Those results indicated the mountain lion was a female with a probable origin in the Black Hills of Wyoming and South Dakota, and Northwest Nebraska. This is the first definitive confirmation of a female mountain lion being present in Missouri since 1994.
More from the MDC press release below:
All photos provided by Dr. Meredith Spiekerman Byers.
In 2013, Kirkwood School District’s Keysor Elementary opened the PROJECT IDEA outdoor natural learning space. The nearly one acre of space offers a natural play area and an outdoor lab for enhanced STEM learning. The area is an all-inclusive area for students, families, and the entire community.
Dr. Meredith Spiekerman Byers and husband Derek, kids Wyatt (12), Shiloh (8), and Ryder (7).
Dr. Meredith Spiekerman Byers, co-chair of Kirkwood School’s PROJECT IDEA, is the guest on Behind the Editor’s Curtain with Don Corrigan.
Byers shares the story behind PROJECT IDEA outdoor space, the community and professional partners of the project, the learning opportunities for students and the community, the STEM emphasis, and the future goals of the project.
Click “continue reading” to hear the podcast with Byers below.
Photo by MDC Staff, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation.
The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is presenting a Tree Health Update Seminar tailored for tree-care professionals and advanced enthusiasts on Wednesday, Feb. 15 from 1:30-4:00 p.m. at Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center in Kirkwood. (Registration required.)
More from the MDC press release below.
Queen of Hearts, located along the Meramec River at 731 Larkin Williams Road in Fenton. All photos by Diana Linsley, South County Times.
Queen of Hearts is one of the many casualties of the Great Flood Events of early 2016. Many folk in the Meramec River Valley credit it to extreme weather that may be caused by climate change, along with an overbuilt levee at Valley Park and too much construction in a flood plain. Here is the story on Fenton’s Queen of Hearts.
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Radon gas is a health hazard and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) wants people to learn more about the dangers of radon. The month of January has been designated as “National Radon Action Month.”
According to the EPA: “Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer deaths among nonsmokers in America, and claims the lives of about 21,000 Americans each year.”
MDC Eagle Days Flyer.
The Saturday portion of The Eagle Days at the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge Festival has been cancelled due to hazardous weather forecasts. The event is still scheduled for Sunday from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. if weather conditions allow.
Local event on Thursday, January 12, 2017, at the Keysor Gym from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. For more information about “Project IDEA”, CLICK HERE.
Environmental Echo 