Blog Archives

Image

They’re Still Cool! Roof Gardens Got A Work Out In Summer 2023

All photos provided by SWT Design.

By Don Corrigan

Roof gardens, designed to increase green space and energy efficiency, got a work out in our red hot summer of 2023. Summer temperatures soared above 100 degrees in St. Louis and beyond. So, how did these roofs do?

“They did well. They did what they are supposed to do,” declared Ted Spaid, the green force behind SWT Design near the northeast corner of the intersection of Big Bend and Laclede Station roads.

Spaid knows what he is talking about. He’s been designing the green, environmental-friendly roofs for several decades. He puts his money where his mouth. The Shrewsbury company has built its own green roof.

Spaid loves it. He hits the roof whenever he can. He and his SWT Design team use it to show off their work to clients. They use it for lunch and coffee breaks. They take pride in how it keeps down energy costs on site.

“This was an exceptionally hot summer around the country, and with climate change, it’s going to get worse,” said Spaid. “This presents a challenge in looking at new materials and new plants for roof designs.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted on October 22, 2023 in Environment, Home

Image

St. Louis: Atomic City: Radioactive Legacy Continues To Haunt North County Moms Group

By Don Corrigan

There’s a scene in “Oppenheimer,” a recent movie about the making of the atomic bomb, when a woman hanging up laundry outside is warned to take in the sheets. The laundry outside might get contaminated with the impending explosion of the first atomic bomb.

Karen Nichol of North St. Louis County notes that the mothers and residents downwind of the Nevada atomic test site at least got warned about dangerous radioactivity from the atomic bomb development. Not so in St. Louis.

“St. Louis moms did not get any kind of warning about uranium waste processing for the bomb,” said Karen Nichol of Just Moms St. Louis.   “They knew nothing about the careless, reckless, disregard to human life from the federal government that went into the making of the bomb here.

“So many moms to this day still aren’t getting the warning,” added Nichol. “There are people that have gone to great lengths to make sure St. Louis had no warning. There are also still no signs warning kids to stay out of the radioactive Coldwater Creek.”

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted on October 15, 2023 in Environment, Home

Image

2023 MoIP Invasive Plant Action Awards Winners Announced

The Missouri Invasive Plant Council (MoIP) is pleased to announce the winners of the 2023 Invasive Plant Action Awards. MoIP established the Invasive Plant Action Award program to recognize the outstanding work being done in Missouri to control invasive plant species, which threaten many aspects of Missouri’s natural habitats and economy.

The MoIP Invasive Plant Action Awards recognize exceptional effort and leadership in the field, and also serve as a way to demonstrate to the broader community how controlling the spread of invasive plants on Missouri farms, forests, woodlands, prairies, gardens, parks, neighborhoods, roadsides, and along waterways is attainable and very important land stewardship. Members of MoIP evaluate nominations and select winners annually. For more information about the Invasive Plant Action Awards program, visit the MoIP website, moinvasives.org.

The 2023 MoIP Award Winners …

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted on September 26, 2023 in Environment, Home

Image

Methane: An Environmental Issue? Flatulence Book Breaks New Ground (Wind?)

Presentations on definite flatulence book slated for Chicago, Webster Groves, as well as Missouri Wine Country this Fall.

Flatulence is something people don’t want to talk about. A taboo in mass media for years, there are a number of “firsts” when it comes to free expression and flatulence. Well-known names are associated with those “fart firsts.”

Whoopi Goldberg broke a barrier in comedy for females with her flatulence comedy. Director Mel Brooks broke the mold in movies with his fart scene in “Blazing Saddles.” Shock jock Howard Stern broke a sound barrier with his flatulence antics on the radio waves.

I Fart in Your General Direction: Flatulence in Popular Culture, now breaks new ground as a definitive work about the entire flatulence movement with commentary on the work of Stern, Brooks, Goldberg and many, many more.

Author Don Corrigan is presenting his flatulence tale at several venues, now that the book has finally rolled off the presses.

Professor Emeritus Don Corrigan will present at the Popular Culture Association conference Oct. 6-8 in Chicago. He will focus on flatulence in literature from Fielding to Shakespeare to Mark Twain, with special emphasis on new flatulence humor of female comedians.

Copies of Corrigan’s treatise,  Flatulence in Popular Culture, will be available for signing and for sale at the Blumenhof Winery at a music event from 6-8 p.m. Sept. 29 in Dutzow, Mo. The hills of Missouri Wine Country will be alive with musical vineyard fruit.

Corrigan will also do a signing at the Webster Groves Bookshop from 12:30- 2:30 p.m. Nov. 4. The books are available on Amazon and locally at Novel Neighbor and Webster Groves Bookshop.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted on September 20, 2023 in Home, Local Events, Opinion

Image

Night Visions: The Natural World Under Twilight, Moonlight and Starlight

Pictured: Dan Zarlenga.

The Fantastic Photography of Dan Zarlinga

A lot of people may not think of night as the best time to take pictures. But while many photographers are putting their cameras away, Dan is usually getting his out. Zarlinga explains, “I’ve been in love with the night sky and the stars all my life.  After becoming interested in photography, it seemed only natural to bring the two together. The world looks different after the sun goes down . . . unique, mysterious, and intriguing.”

These photographs are a collection of twilight scenes, starscapes, long exposure star trails, and moonlit landscapes, all revealed by the photographic magic of long exposures.

See this amazing photo and more at Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center through the month of September.

Leave a comment

Posted on September 16, 2023 in Home, Local Events, Outdoor/Nature

Image

Get Outside This Fall With Help From Agents of Discovery Mobile App

MDC is again partnering with the Agents of Discovery mobile gaming app for its Missouri Explorer Campaign. Through Oct. 31, users can complete challenges at five MDC nature centers to connect with nature and earn special prizes.

The fall season is a great time to explore and learn about Missouri’s outdoors. To help kids and adults discover nature this season, the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is again partnering with the Agents of Discovery mobile gaming app for its Missouri Explorer 3.0 Campaign.

Agents of Discovery is an educational gaming app that allows users to engage with nature while completing “Missions”, or games – proving that screen time can be green time.

The Missouri Explorer Campaign will run through Oct. 31. Anyone can join in by downloading the free app and completing the Missions at participating locations. Each Mission is made up of educational challenges that teach players about local history, culture, ecosystems, and safety.

The Campaign includes prizes to reward “Agents”, or players who participate. Once an Agent completes a Mission, they’ll earn a lanyard and a player card. If Agents complete three Missions, they’ll be entered to win raffle tickets to the Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium, Dogwood Canyon Nature Park, the Discovery Center of Springfield, Arabia Steamboat Museum, and St. Louis Botanical Gardens. If they complete six Missions, they’ll fill out their player card and get upgraded to a new lanyard.

Agents can again complete Missions at five MDC nature centers: the Anita B. Gorman Discovery Center in Kansas City, Runge Nature Center in Jefferson City, Powder Valley Nature Center in Kirkwood, the Springfield Nature Center, and Cape Girardeau Nature Center.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted on September 4, 2023 in Home, Local Events, Outdoor/Nature

Image

Missouri Prairie Foundation to Offer Three, Free Guided Hikes in September

Deer Lake Savanna courtesy Forest Park.

Make plans to see the fall splendor of blooming native plants around the state while learning from an expert with a guided hike in September, organized by MPF in partnership with colleagues from the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and Forest Park.

The hikes are free, but registration is required. See details on each event and registration links below.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted on September 2, 2023 in Home, Local Events

Image

Fall Colors Are Coming! – Hit the Water and Kick Back for Fun at Creve Coeur Lake

Plenty of canoes and kayaks are available for use at the Creve Coeur Lake Rentals.

By Don Corrigan

Popular venues for major outdoor activities in the St. Louis area include Forest Park, the Gateway Arch grounds and Jefferson Barracks. But Cheryl Beckmann wants you to know you’re missing out if you don’t include Creve Coeur Lake.

Beckmann touts the miles of hiking and biking trails, plus a recreational lake for kayaking, canoeing and boating. There’s also a sandy beach for sunning, sand castle building or casting to catch the big one.

Of course, Beckmann readily admits  she has a vested interest in promoting fun times at the 2,125-acre park that includes a 320-acre lake. She and her husband, Rick, have operated Creve Coeur Lake Rentals for the past 13 years.

A staff member at Creve Coeur Lake Rentals prepares a kayaker for a trip on the lake located east of the Missouri River.

If you need a mobile surrey for the loop trail, or a single or tandem kayak, canoe or paddle board for the lake, the Beckmanns have you covered with rentals on the shoreline  just northwest of the park’s famous waterfall.

“We were out on the lake 15 years ago in our canoes, and some people on the shore asked if they could rent them from us,” said Cheryl Beckmann. “So I said to myself, that sounds like a great idea. We should start a rental business.

That’s exactly what they did.

“We started with five canoes and two quad bikes, and it just took off from there,” she explained.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted on September 1, 2023 in Environment, Home, Outdoor/Nature

Image

Roadside Memorials: Grim Reminders Don’t Slow Down Traffic Or Highway Deaths

The road memorial for Marissa can be found on I-270 South between
the I-44 interchange and Gravois.

By Don Corrigan

Roadside memorials are becoming part of the highway landscape along with Culver‘s, Waffle House, and Circle K fuel stops. The grim reminders are not so hard to find in St. Louis – just hit the on-ramp of your nearest interstate – and drive.

James Hill of northern Indiana has made it his business to archive as many of these roadway memorials as he can with his Roadside Tribute. His web master handiwork can be found at roadsidetribute.com.

“Roadside Tribute is a place where families and friends can memorialize their loved ones lost in traffic accidents,” said Hill. “It does this by providing a place to share a picture and story of their roadside tribute site they built along the roadway.”

Hill is a mechanical engineer who began working in automotive design in 1985 at the Ford Motor Company. After witnessing many test crashes, he began to develop a passion for reducing automobile accidents.

According to Hill, there are a number of benefits in registering, free-of-charge, a roadside tribute to a crash site on Roadside Tribute:

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted on August 18, 2023 in Environment, Home, Opinion

Image

Native Gardens of Excellence Program inducts Peers Store Pollinator Garden Near Marthasville, MO

The Grow Native! Native Gardens of Excellence program has inducted the Peers Store Pollinator Garden, located at 16011 Concord Hill Road near Marthasville, on the Katy Trail at Mile Marker 81.2.

Along with four more newly inducted sites, this garden joins 20 other locations in Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, and Illinois recognized by the program since it launched in 2021.

With its location on the Katy Trail, this pollinator garden, a partnership between Missouri State Parks and Magnificent Missouri, provides tens of thousands of yearly visitors a look at native plants and how powerful they can be in transforming a landscape. Visitors can see a prairie reconstruction with a variety of native plants, like rattlesnake master, sideoats grama, and slender mountain mint, that support wildlife and beautify the surroundings.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted on August 12, 2023 in Home, Outdoor/Nature