What is summer made
of? Family re-unions, weddings,road
trips, vacations, ‘stay-cations’ - it’s the season to go exploring – visit a
favorite place and see it from a fresh perspective, or visit a place new to
you. Whatever you enjoy this summer, we
hope you gain a renewed appreciation of this fragile, yet beautiful world that as
Pope Francis puts it, is our ‘common home’.
Missouri is fortunate
to have a strong, well-funded Department of Conservation created in 1937
through citizen-led efforts. It is now a national leader in conservation
and education. Use www.mdc.mo.gov/atlas
for details about our 14 conservation centers, including trails, scheduled
programs, maps, driving directions, plus hundreds of other conservations areas
for fun ways to explore the outdoors.
Did you know that we’ve
been celebrating the centennial of our Missouri parks system? On April 9, 1917, a state park fund was
created to buy land for this purpose. New
parks continue to be created. Visit
two of our newest parks: Echo Bluff State Park and Don Robinson State Park. Echo
Bluff, which includes a section of Sinking Creek, the second-largest
tributary of the Current River, is located in a scenic valley deep in the
Ozarks and provides connections to several other state parks and natural
areas. Accommodations include camp
sites, cabins and a beautiful lodge. Don Robinson State Park, with over 800
acres is the state’s newest park, and lies just southwest of the metropolitan St.
Louis area in Jefferson County. It offers
a variety of beautiful contrasting botanical areas – slot canyons provide wet
environments with rare ferns and mosses while above them are desert-like glades
with species like prickly pear cactus.
LaBarque Creek Conservation area lies on the park’s northern boundary
and together they provide almost 2,000 acres of natural beauty near one of the
most heavily developed urban areas in the state. While enjoying these areas, be mindful that
in many states, both residents and out-of-state visitors must pay fees to visit
their parks and natural areas. Appreciate Missouri’s free access to these
treasures. Visit https://mostateparks.com/
for more information.
Treasures can be found in urban areas also – visit the Missouri Botanical Garden (aka Shaw’s
Garden) in St Louis, while ‘Garden of Glass’ is in place through August 13 –
this special show of fused glass sculptures placed primarily in the Climatron, are beautiful in their own
right and enhance the striking variety of plants found there. The St Louis Zoo is a leader in research
and conservation efforts and in providing natural habitats for animals in their
care. The St Louis Science Center,
also located in Forest Park, offers a variety of exhibits, hands-on activities
and a planetarium. Admission is free to both the Zoo and the Science Center
with fees charged for special attractions.
The Anita B Gorman Conservation
Center in the heart of Kansas City, near
Country Club Plaza, demonstrates many effective conservation practices in a
very urban setting – a native plant landscape, wetlands, a water garden and
more, plus a LEED certified building that includes many exhibits and hands-on
activities.
Check our Sustainable Living blog
at http://occsustainable.blogspot.com/ for more helpful
information – children’s books on a wide variety of environmental topics,
kid-friendly websites, plus trails, parks and conservations areas around
Columbia. Enjoy your explorations!
…Sustainable Living Steering Committee
