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
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 Much of this natural area has been replaced by rows of corn and soybeans.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.”
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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Photo courtesy MDC.
Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC) Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center and its grounds will be closed Saturday, Nov. 7 through Monday, Nov. 9 to accommodate a managed archery deer hunt on the area. During this time, the nature center building and grounds, including the surrounding trails, will not be accessible to the general public. Powder Valley will resume normal operational hours starting Tuesday, Nov. 10.
Visitors should note that while the trails will be fully accessible after the hunt, the nature center building will continue to be available for front desk access for information, gift shop sales and permit purchases only.
Photograph by Jennifer Silverberg, courtesy of Forest Park Forever
St. Louis has a gem that most cities across the country can only dream of – Forest Park! Citizens of the St. Louis region have enjoyed festivals, concerts, plays, top class museums and the zoo, sports and outdoor activities, extraordinary scenery, quiet and tranquil spaces, wildlife, overwhelming amounts of photography opportunities and much more for decades.
The grounds of the park are an exquisite example of year round land management and maintenance. It takes thousands of hours and hundreds of volunteers and staff to maintain the grounds for the public’s enjoyment and learning opportunities.
Thank you to the Forest Park Land Management Department for 15 years of making our park a beautiful and healthy place for all to enjoy in every season of the year!
Read about the Forest Park Land Management Department, its history and legacy, in the Forest Park Forever online story “Partnership, Professionalism and Passion: Our Land Management Department Turns 15.”
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.”
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.
Photo courtesy Great Rivers Greenway.
by Don Corrigan
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.
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
