Blog Archives

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RIVERS ARE NOT OBEYING OUR RULES, MEEA POINTS OUT

2016meeaoakManaging rivers with dams, levees and channelization has always been a bit of an exercise in futility. Just ask the residents of the abandoned floodplain site of the old Valmeyer, Illinois. The Mississippi River did the town dirty in 1993.

More recently, residents of Fenton got a bad taste of Meramec River water when flooding in December and January overwhelmed the MSD sewage treatment plants.

Environmental Echo (EE) is posting a link to the June issue of the Missouri Environmental Educators Association (MEEA) newsletter. It has some great information on the regional history of trying to manage rivers and a map rendering that should not be missed.

EE Editor Don Corrigan has been a member of MEEA for several years and is always in awe of Missouri teachers and their commitment to teaching environmental issues and sustainability to students in the state.

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Posted on June 18, 2016 in Environment, Home

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Environmental “Lunch and Learn” Sessions At Webster University

Web U lunch leran June 2016Learn about strategies and solutions being created and used right here in our local community to improve environmental, social and economic sustainability on Wednesdays from 12pm-1pm at Webster University. This series of special presentations are FREE and box lunches will be provided!

All sessions will be held in room 202 of the East Academic Building located at 545 Garden Ave, Webster Groves, MO 63119. Please RSVP for each session to help provide accurate attendance numbers. Parking is available in Garden Park Plaza parking garage. The sessions run through August 10, 2016.

For more information, the speaker schedule, or to register for a session CLICK HERE.

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Posted on June 17, 2016 in Home, Local Events

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Don’t Forget About The “Jens Jenson The Living Green” Screening June 18

Microsoft Word - NPD Fact Sheet.docxA 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.

Where: Nine Network in the Public Media Commons, at 3653 Olive Street in the Grand Center Arts District, St. Louis

When: 7:00 p.m., Saturday, June 18, 2016.  RSVP Here for the free event.

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Posted on June 17, 2016 in Local Events

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Gov. Nixon announces Echo Bluff State Park to open July 30

Crop Environmental Echo TopperA new state park is about to open. Echo Bluffs State Park, located in Eminence, Missouri, opens July 30. The Park will host a campground and lodging choices, which are now accepting reservations. Find more information from Gov. Nixon’s press release outlining the park’s features below.

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Posted on June 15, 2016 in Home, Outdoor/Nature

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Don’t Miss The 2016 Sustainable Backyard Tours This Sunday

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.

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!

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Posted on June 11, 2016 in Local Events

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Meramec Caverns To Reopen Upper Level Of Caverns For Tours

UPDATEThe 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.

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Posted on June 10, 2016 in Environment, Outdoor/Nature

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Don Corrigan Tackles The Rocky Mountains

Something about Don fits right in with the 100th Anniversary Celebration of the NPS.

Something about Don fits right in with the 100th Anniversary Celebration of the NPS.

 Don Corrigan recently packed up and headed west! He has put pen to paper and chronicled his outdoor adventures in the Rockies.

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Posted on June 10, 2016 in Outdoor/Nature

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The 2016 Sustainable Backyard Tour: More Than Veggies and Compost

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.

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Posted on June 6, 2016 in Environment, Local Events, Podcasts

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Celebrating Our National Parks: The Eleven Parks With Geologic Wonders

Photo: National Parks Service. Shown is Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

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.

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Posted on June 6, 2016 in Outdoor/Nature

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“Jens Jensen The Living Green” Documentary Screening June 18

Microsoft Word - NPD Fact Sheet.docxA 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.

Continue reading →

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Posted on June 3, 2016 in Local Events