Fred and Susan Burk of Kirkwood with some of the native plants they plan to give visitors at the June 12 Sustainable Backyard Tour. photo by Diana Linsley, Webster-Kirkwood Times.
The 2016 Sustainable Backyard Tour is all set for 11 a.m., this Sunday, June 12. Find out what fun you can expect this year by reading this overview!
The 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.
Something about Don fits right in with the 100th Anniversary Celebration of the NPS.
Above: A scene from last year’s Backyard Sustainability Tour. Photo provided by Terry Winkelmann.
Ever drive by a neighbor’s yard or see a backyard garden in your local area that makes you think – “I wonder how much work it takes to maintain a backyard garden or I wonder what type of grass is in that yard because they only mow a couple times each summer?”
Well, here is your chance to find out the answer to those questions and much more during the 2016 Sustainable Backyard Tour coming up June 12.
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.
A screening of the award-winning documentary “Jens Jensen The Living Green,” will be held at the Nine Network in the Public Media Commons on June 18.
The screening about the ground-breaking landscape designer Jens Jensen is in celebration of the Missouri Prairie Foundation’s 50th Anniversary. The event is FREE and open to the public.
Westlake Landfill
by Don Corrigan (Article from the Gateway Journalism Review May 2016 )
When Dawn Chapman and other members of Just Moms St. Louis read a front-page story in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch titled, “Misplaced Fear,” they immediately went to social media to express their upset with the piece.
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.
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?
Pictured above: Dawn Chapman (Left) and Karen Nickel, co-founders of Just Moms STL.
Dawn Chapman, from the Just Moms STL group, is the guest on this Environmental Echo podcast edition with Don Corrigan.
Chapman shares her thoughts and opinions about several recent issues, including the recent St. Louis Post-Dispatch article, which details expert opinions saying that “fear may be overblown and even misplaced” about the radiation risks in West Lake and Coldwater Creek areas. Also, the online threats to the EPA and other authorities on the Facebook page administered by Chapman and others, which caused the EPA to cancel an appearance at a public meeting.
Corrigan also asks about the outcome of the group’s trip to Washington D.C. visit to the White House, the United Nations, and members of Congress about the West Lake Landfill issues, and what it is like to try and balance family, being a mother, and being thrust into the advocate spotlight.
Environmental Echo 