Tours
Outdoor Classroom – Educational Tours
All tours will take place on Wednesday, July 21. Departure and return times vary.
The tours will give exposure to interesting and informative conservation work
happening in the area. Be sure to register early to secure a seat. The SWCS reserves the
right to cancel a tour that does not have the minimum number of participants and to
change the maximum number of participants. Late fees (an additional $15 per ticket) will
apply beginning on June 3, so register early!
Tour #1 (Full Day)
NRCS Plant Materials Center & Forrest
Keeling Nursery
7:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Fee: $45
Tour the best of two plant material facilities located
next to each other on the bluff of the Mississippi River
Bottom lands. Family owned Forrest Keeling Nursery is
the originator of the RPM (root production method)
technology. Keeling works closely with conservation
and private organization to create solutions to local and
global resource problems such as wetland restoration,
reforestations in China, and costal restoration after Hurricane
Katrina. Rain Garden, Oak Tree Improvement Wildflower
production and more.
For more than 70 years, the Elsberry Plant Materials Center
(PMC) has selected plants and developed new planting
technologies for areas of three central states. The PMC
has released over 80 improved conservations plants and
developed new technologies for plant establishment. Tour
includes Garden & High Tunnel Demonstration, Native Forbs
for Pollinators, Seed Processing, and more. (Lunch Included)
Links: http://fknursery.com/
Tour #2 (3/4 Day)
Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site
7:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Fee: $25
Centuries before Columbus, a powerful culture arose on the
flood plains of the Mississippi. A sophisticated city of 20,000
inhabitants was built and influenced culture from the Gulf
to Canada. We will visit the Interpretive Center and Museum,
and take 2- 3 walking tours to visit the mounds, stockade,
woodhenge, and the central palisade. (Lunch Included)
Link: http://cahokiamounds.org
Tour #3 (Full Day)
City Seeds/McMurphy’s Grill/Alberici LEED
Certified Building
8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Fee: $30
Fostering self sufficiency through production and
distribution of locally grown fresh food for low-income
families is part of the mission of City Seeds Urban Farm
located in downtown St. Louis. This garden is tended by
St. Patrick Center clients overcoming homelessness, drug
addiction, and coping with mental illness. Lunch will be
ordered from the menu at McMurphy’s Grill, a job training
program of the St. Patrick Center.
After lunch, tour the Alberici Corporation St. Louis
headquarters. This building is a model of sustainable design
and construction, locally and nationally, by achieving LEED
platinum certification. This building includes recycled
materials, storm water runoff management, and native
landscaping. (Lunch on own at McMurphy’s Grill)
Tour #4 (Full Day)National Great Rivers Museum & Confluence
Point State Park
7:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Fee: $30
Begin this tour by going inside the Melvin Price Lock and
Dam for below the river information. The natural ecosystem
of the Mississippi River and how humans interact with it is a
major theme of the museum. The mechanics of the river,
how soil is made, erosion, various plants and wildlife species,
and how working models of the river help scientist make
decisions affecting the river are explained.
Lunch at picnic shelter in the Riverlands demo area.
Afternoon: Lewis and Clark began their journey
up the river at the confluence of the two great rivers of North
America — the Mississippi and Missouri. Visitors can watch
as the Big Muddy and Mighty Mississippi merge into one at
Confluence Point State park. The role that both rivers played
in the Lewis and Clark Expedition and the history of the
rivers are interpreted at the park in outdoor exhibits. A short
interpretive trail will take you to the actual confluence point.
(Lunch Included)
Tour #5 (Full Day)
Missouri Botanical Gardens
8:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Fee: $25
The Missouri Botanical Garden is the nation’s oldest botanical
garden in continuous operation and a National Historic
Landmark. The Garden is a center for botanical research and
science education as well as an oasis in the city of St. Louis.
It covers 79 acres and has 150 exhibits, including a 14 acre
Japanese strolling garden, Henry Shaw’s original 1850 estate
home, and one of the world’s largest collections of rare and
endangered orchids. Lunch will be in the Sassafras café , first
“Certified Green” restaurant in Missouri. (Lunch Included)
Link: http://www.mobot.org/
Tour #6 (Full day)Riverlands Bird Sanctuary and Wetland
Restoration
7:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Fee: $35
The Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary encompasses
3,700 acres, including a 1,200 acres wetland/prairie
project. Designed as a flowthrough wetland, this area hosts
abundant waterfowl, shorebirds, and raptors.
Lunch will be on site. After lunch, tour private lands Missouri
wetland restoration projects completed with combined
program efforts (WRP, CRP, EQIP) and coordination among
agencies such as NRCS, MDC, FSA and private groups such as
Ducks Unlimited. (Lunch Included)
Tour #7 (Half Day)
Henry White Experimental Farms
7:30 a.m. – Noon
Fee: $15
This farm serves as an outdoor laboratory for research in
sustainable agriculture, a system of farming that emphasizes
profitability and natural resource protection. Research
includes cropland cover crops and tillage systems that
balance resource concerns and profitability, 4.3 acres of
native prairie plants, 6.3 acres of wetlands and aquatic
agriculture, deciduous and evergreen woodlands.
(Snack included)
