Virtual Events

Virtual Vise: Fly tying at Home. Come tie some flies with Ginger Miller, who is usually behind the camera, tying flies with materials she found at Dollar Tree, or Dollar store. We will have this material list ASAP. Stay tuned for some really neat flies on a budget.

From thundering hooves on the prairie to the nearly invisible hunters in leaf litter, Missouri is home to a wide range of wildlife. Join us has we zoom in on the life of the tiny titans and heavy weights found on the Missouri landscape.

Creature Feature is a monthly virtual program that aims to educate Missourians about the natural world one species at a time. Register to receive a Webex meeting link to view the program. The meeting link will be sent out a few days before the program as well as the day of the program.

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and the National Deer Association (NDA) invite landowners and others interested in managing deer on their properties to join them online for a free webinar on R3 (Recruit, Retain, Reactivate) deer hunting programs and venison donation to help with deer management goals for your property.

This live Zoom webinar on “Hunting for Venison” will be held Tuesday, July 28, at 6 p.m. It will begin with a presentation from an NDA Outreach Specialist followed by MDC and NDA staff answering participants’ questions. The zoom link will be provided to registered participants on Monday, July 27th.

This webinar is the second of MDC’s and NDA’s free 2026 Missouri Deer Management Webinar Series via Zoom. The final webinar in the 2026 series on Wildlife Food Plots in Missouri is scheduled for Aug. 25 at 6 p.m. Previous webinar recordings are available at https://mdc.mo.gov/your-property/improve-your-property/wildlife-management/deer-management/deer-management-assistance-program-dmap.

Learn more about deer management at mdc.mo.gov/your-property/improve-your-property/wildlife-management/deer-management.

Butterflies are a beloved guest in our forests, our prairies, or even our yards! We’ll explore what makes butterflies unique, discuss several groups of butterflies in Missouri, and go through some identification tips. Registration required. All ages invited. Be sure to include your email address in your registration. Presenter will email the program link to participants both the day before and day of the program.

As the sun goes down each evening, nature’s night shift takes over, and during the summer months it can get particularly loud. Join us on a “virtual summer night hike” as we explore the sounds of some of Missouri’s noisiest nocturnal wildlife.

A link will be sent both the day before and morning of the program to your email address provided during registration.

Reading the river is an old term used by canoers, kayakers, and other boaters to explain how to travel down a waterway safely. This virtual program will start you on the path to developing important skills needed to look at the waterways of Missouri and make good decisions about how, when, and if to float. Your full name is required at registration along with a viable email address as we will be sending you the link to log into the class the day of. Class will be available ten minutes prior to start time for log-in. Feel free to email me if you have any questions!

Once considered extirpated from the state, Missouri black bears are beginning to make an impressive comeback. Join us as we discuss the complicated history of these fascinating mammals, and the efforts which are helping them return to their former range. We will also discuss how to reduce human-bear conflict as their numbers continue to grow. This program will be held virtually. A link will be sent both the day before and morning of the program to your email address provided during registration.

Love floating Missouri's rivers and streams? Meet the mammals that call them home! Learn about otters, beavers, muskrats, and other semi-aquatic mammals, while discovering what's happening above and below the surface as you drift by. All ages. Registration required. Please include a valid email address when you register so we can send a virtual program link. This link will be sent the week of the program. This program will not be recorded.

Registration required by visiting www.deeproots.org/curious-by-nature (adults) Could the key to more successful prairie restorations be hidden beneath our feet? Explore the fascinating world of native Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) with Dr. Liz Koziol of the University of Kansas. Her research focusses on how restoring AMF improves floristic quality, increases native plant diversity and helps suppress weeds in new prairies. Learn how prairie restoration projects at Big Bull Creek Park and Shawnee Mission Park are contributing to groundbreaking long-term research on AMF application methods. We'll dig into the role of soil microbial communities, discuss practical approaches for reintroducing naive AMF and review the first two years of results from experimental prairie plots.

Curious about dipping your toe in the water of paddle sports but not sure where to begin? Join MDC staff for this two-part series that will provide all the needed information and confidence to experience the water yourself! Thursday evening, meet with a naturalist virtually to learn the equipment, techniques and logistics. Then, meet the group Friday morning to spend the day paddling on the Niangua River. Runge will provide round-trip transportation from the nature center and all equipment. Pack a water bottle, lunch and closed-toed shoes. Registration for this program implies attendance at both Thursday and Friday’s sessions.