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Raja’s Virtual Birthday Celebration

Photo by Robin Winkelman, Saint Louis Zoo.

Virtual celebration for Raja the Asian elephant’s 28th birthday

When: 11 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 27, 2020

Where: Online only at stlzoo.org/raja  

How do you celebrate a birthday in 2020? You decorate your lawn with birthday signs and gather virtually, of course! Over the last 27 years, the Saint Louis Zoo has celebrated male Asian elephant Raja’s (pronounced RAH zhä) birthday with huge signs in the form of enrichment-filled birthday presents decorating his habitat for the big day. This year, for the safety of Zoo guests, staff and the animals, Raja’s celebration is going virtual-only and everyone can join in to watch together online. There will be no birthday celebration activities at River’s Edge.

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Posted on December 24, 2020 in Home, Local Events

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Celebrate Missouri’s Bicentennial!

Linden’s Prairie, by R.S. Kinnerson.

By Don Corrigan

Missouri’s Bicentennial is just weeks away. The Show-Me State has a lot to celebrate since it gained statehood in 1821, but Carol Davit says the state would be wise to do a little inventory of natural losses over its last two centuries.

“Up until the time of statehood in 1821, 15 million acres of prairie enriched our beautiful state,” noted Davit, executive director of the Missouri Prairie Foundation (MPF). “Today, in only 200 years, that figure has been reduced to fewer than 60,000 acres, or less than half of one percent.

“Our New Year’s wish at the foundation is that more Missourians join us in supporting our mission to save as much remaining original prairie as possible, and to help us reconstruct more prairie habitat through plantings,” Davit said.

The Columbia-based Missouri Prairie Foundation recently posted a new video on its website to share the sheer beauty and diversity of Missouri’s prairies, and to help people understand the importance of prairies. Residents can get involved in helping protect what prairie remains, and can help MPF reconstruct prairie habitat through plantings.

Davit believes Missourians will understand the imperative to save prairie lands after visiting some of the beautiful locations around the state.

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Posted on December 18, 2020 in Environment, Home, Local Events, Outdoor/Nature

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Top 10 Nutty Christmas Squirrels!

By Don Corrigan

That holiday favorite about “acorns roasting on an open fire” brings to mind Top 10 Christmas Squirrels & why we love them!

It’s impossible to enjoy the outdoors anywhere in North America without a squirrel scolding you from a tree limb, or a squirrel scampering across your path, or a squirrel playing “chicken” with you on the roadway when you’re driving. Squirrels are not just confined to the outdoors. They are in all the mass media that we consume and enjoy in the indoors. With that in mind, Environmental Echo offers a Top Ten of mass-mediated squirrels that we encounter in print and on our electronic devices. We humans must love them. We have made them the top virtual critters in our popular culture.

1.)  Christmas Vacation Squirrel

Remember Chevy Chase’s movie when Aunt Bethany asks: “What’s that sound? You hear it? It’s a funny squeaky sound.” Uncle Lewis then responds: “You couldn’t hear a dump truck driving through a nitroglycerin plant.” The squeak was worse than a noisy dump truck. It was from the Christmas Vacation Squirrel. The production originally had a trained squirrel ready to wreak havoc on the Griswold holiday home, but it died the day before the scene was to be shot. An untrained squirrel was brought in to be chased by Uncle Eddy’s dog, Snot, which caused unanticipated mayhem. Today several online sites sell a “Christmas Vacation Attacking Squirrel” with motion sensor and sound!

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Posted on December 14, 2020 in Home, Opinion, Outdoor/Nature

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2020 Grow Native! Ambassador Award Presented at Virtual Professional Member Conference

The 20-year-old Grow Native! program honored 2020 Ambassador Award winner Mary Voges for her contributions to the advancement and promotion of native plants and native plant landscaping.

The Grow Native! Professional Member Conference, held virtually this year on November 4, 2020, is an annual gathering of Grow Native! professional members and their staff to learn about current native plant-related research, projects, and opportunities. During the event, Grow Native! Chair Ronda Burnett recognized Mary Voges of Litzsinger Road Ecology Center (LREC) with the 2020 Grow Native! Ambassador Award. The Grow Native! Ambassador Award recognizes an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the advancement of the use and promotion of native plants and native plant landscaping in the year the award is presented.

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Posted on December 7, 2020 in Environment, Home

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COOKING WILD FOR THE HOLIDAYS? (MDC Virtual cooking class, Dec. 15)

Photo by MDC Staff, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation.

For many, an important part of the Christmas holiday season is reconnecting with traditions of the past. Before the modern era of frozen turkeys, boxed stuffing, and canned vegetables, there was food from nature. It was a time when the outdoors provided the feast, rather than the grocery store.

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is providing the opportunity to re-instill the food-from-nature connection by offering a Cooking Wild for the Holidays virtual class Tuesday, Dec. 15 from 7-8 p.m. The class is free and open to all ages.

The program will benefit anyone wanting to add Missouri wild game or other wild edibles found in the Show-Me-State to their winter holiday parties.   It will provide helpful ideas for those interested in eating more organic or locally-sourced foods.

“Come and join us as we discuss various recipes you can use to add a taste of Missouri to your dinner parties. We will also discuss how to go about collecting and processing some of the wild edibles,” said MDC Naturalist Shelly Colatskie.

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Posted on December 3, 2020 in Local Events, Outdoor/Nature

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COVID-19 Pandemic Multiplies Worries For Residents Living Near West Lake Landfill

By Don Corrigan

Fear. Anxiety. Heartbreak. Those are words used by residents living near the radioactive West lake Landfill in North St. Louis County. Residents say their fear, their anxiety and their heartbreaks have multiplied in the 2020 pandemic because of weakened immune systems.

The COVID-19 virus can cause severe illness and death, especially for those with compromised immune systems. Many residents living in the vicinity of West Lake report that they already suffer ailments that they attribute to the nearby toxic landfill.

“The amount of fear and anxiety our community members have been forced to live with in regards to the landfill and toxins has doubled with COVID-19,” said Dawn Chapman, co-founder of Just Moms STL, an activist group that has fought for years for cleanup of the site. “Many of our residents are taking more extreme precautions in order to avoid this COVID-19 illness.

“If there is any good news, it is that we have learned to rely heavily on each other for support and other resources, while we have fought for a clean up at our site,” said Chapman. “Our community connections and relationships have really helped us during this viral pandemic. We are continuing to support and look after each other.”

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Posted on November 28, 2020 in Environment, Home

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Seeking Ozark Mountain High Leads To ‘Missouri Gravity Low’

Lots of sun and clear skies are essential for a comfortable canoe trip on a cold fall day, as well as a few restful stops as Don Corrigan takes here on the Current River.

by Don Corrigan

Forget a raging viral pandemic. Forget the raging political chaos. Forget the raised voices – the blame game and finger-pointing. This nature boy retreated to the wilderness of the Roger Pryor Pioneer Backcountry in the Ozarks to forget the whole, tired, human mess for a little while.

And did I find peace of mind on the waters of the Current River in a land bereft of cell phone reception?

No. Not at all. I discovered a giant crack in the Earth. I discovered an ancient rift known as the “Missouri Gravity Low.” It runs from northwest Missouri to southeast Missouri and is estimated to be a billion years old. It is part of a larger 1,700 mile “Crack Across America.”

If the “Missouri Gravity Low” ever gives way, we are all sunk. We will all be put out of our Missouri … I mean Misery. We will fall into a crack in the Earth that last saw a bit of activity in New Madrid in 1811-12. We could fall into what’s called the “Midcontinental Basement,” a fracture so deep, it might as well be halfway to China.

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Posted on November 24, 2020 in Home, Opinion, Outdoor/Nature

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U.S. BANK WILD LIGHTS STARTS NOV. 27 AT THE SAINT LOUIS ZOO

Photo by Roger Brandt. All photos courtesy of the Saint Louis Zoo

A wild, arctic wonderland with over 1 million twinkling holiday lights and festive family fun awaits you at U.S. Bank Wild Lights at the Saint Louis Zoo!

Photo by Robin Winkelman.

2020 Event Dates

Wild Lights is open from 5 to 8:30 p.m. on the following select dates:
  • Friday-Sunday, Nov. 27-29
  • Wednesday-Sunday, Dec. 2-6
  • Nightly, Dec. 9-23
  • Nightly, Dec. 26-Jan. 2

 

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Posted on November 21, 2020 in Home, Local Events

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“Trees of Treloar” Project To Bring Back A Bit of Yesteryear’s Natural Setting

Photo: Magnificent Missouri. Left to right: Bill Spradley, Dan Burkhardt, and Mike Rood.

By Don Corrigan

Missouri’s bottom lands were once filled with tall trees and abundant wildlife supported by a sprawling tree canopy. Much of this natural area has been replaced by rows of corn and soybeans.

An organization called Magnificent Missouri wants to bring back a bit of yesteryear’s natural setting. It’s a project called “Trees of Treloar” and will focus on planting native Missouri trees near the Treloar Trailhead of the Katy Trail north of the meandering Missouri River.

“The Trees of Treloar will become a place to promote Magnificent Missouri’s goal of reforesting areas along the Katy Trail by planting trees along the trail route. This will be done in cooperation with Forest ReLeaf,” said Dan Burkhardt, the force behind Magnificent Missouri. “Trail users will love the shade and beauty, and pollinators and wildlife will appreciate the new habitat.”

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Posted on November 18, 2020 in Environment, Home, Outdoor/Nature

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Geologic Wonders Await Hikers at Hawn and Pickle Springs

Don Corrigan at Pickle Springs.

By Don Corrigan

State parks remain a good bet for safe fun in the midst of a COVID-19 pandemic. EE Editor Don Corrigan recently took a jaunt to Hawn and Pickle Springs state parks – with a reprieve from the hiking and climbing at the local wineries located west of St. Genevieve.

The number of hikers was limited in quantity on a warm, autumn weekday. Visitors observed social distancing warnings in the parks as they all wound down trails in their hiking boots and climbed rocks, outcroppings and bluffs.

Hawn State Park boasts miles of looping trails and is a backpackers’ paradise. The short, but rewarding, two-mile loop combination of Pickle Creek Trail and Whispering Pine Trail, is perfect for anyone looking to allow time to do several park excursions in one day in this wooded area between Farmington and St. Genevieve.
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Posted on November 12, 2020 in Home, Outdoor/Nature