Conservation Education

Nature Activity

Habitat Days at Columbia Bottoms

Where: North St. Louis County at the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers

When: June 17 to June 19, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Who should come: Kids ages 8–12

To Register: Call (314) 877-6014 from May 20 through June 10.

Columbia Bottom ’s “Habitat Days” program is a kids-only adventure, where a habitat-a-day keeps summer boredom away. The program’s three-day exploration of the area’s habitat mosaic starts with an experience of the peaceful prairie on day one. Day two gives kids a chance to take a fascinating look at forests. Participants will spend day three diving into awesome aquatics and wetlands. The program’s hands-on activities include field investigations, crafts, arts and keeping a nature journal. Participants will also enjoy riding around the area on a straw bale-lined flatbed trailer pulled by a tractor. Parents must register children for all three days, and send a sack lunch per child each day. To find more information about Columbia Bottom, including other events, maps, area hours, directions and area features, visit our online atlas, keyword, "Bottom".

Native Landscaping

Book gets new species and maintenance info.

Native Landscaping for Wildlife and People, Missouri’s guide to using native Midwestern plants to beautify your property and benefit wildlife, has been a Nature Shop favorite since 2002. This year author Dave Tylka made several improvements to his original effort. The book’s tables now include more information on the care and maintenance of native plant species, as well as details on the unique and distinctive characteristics of some of the more colorful species of native butterflies. Dave also replaced some hard-to-obtain native plant species with those that are more widely available from Missouri’s native plant nurseries. Overall, this year’s updated and improved edition is more user-friendly than the 2002 version. You can purchase the 2009 edition for $18 plus shipping and handling and sales tax (where applicable) at any MDC Nature Shop. To order, call toll-free (877) 521-8632 or visit our online Nature Shop.

Teacher Workshops

Register now for this summer’s courses.

If you’re pursuing an education degree or want to enrich your teaching, consider signing up for a conservation educator’s workshop. You can get undergraduate or graduate credit hours for many of the workshops, several of which also serve as Category 1 Instructional Workshops for the Missouri Environmental Education Certification Program. Cross-curricular workshops address Pre-K through high school educators’ needs, and most workshops align with Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Grade Level Expectations. Check the links listed below for dates, locations and registration information.