Deanna Armstrong
Deanna Armstrong
Photo courtesy of the Watershed Committee of the Ozarks
Deanna Armstrong
Welcome to OzarksEnvironmentNews.com! This is your virtual bulletin board – a place to share information and celebrate your events, your accomplishments, your projects as well as a place to find info about organizations of like-minded folks, cool places to go to experience the outdoors at its best, and resources offering data, information, expertise. You are invited to share your news and enjoy the news of others! Got news? Report it to info@ozarksenvironmentnews.com Please note: we make every effort to ensure accuracy in our website; however, we cannot be responsible for info garnered from sites other than ours.
The mission of OzarksEnvironmentNews.com is to facilitate communication and to celebrate efforts and accomplishments among the environmental community of the Southwest Missouri Ozarks and to provide useful information to those who live in or visit the Region. Learn more...
Breaking News
Nature & Human Wellness eeCourse
June 15 - August 10
REGISTRATION OPEN NOW FOR THIS 8-WEEK SUMMER COURSE!
Course Overview:
This online, asynchronous course will provide you with a foundation of the knowledge, theories, evidence and interdisciplinary research on the important link between nature and human wellness. Throughout the course, you will be introduced to the science of our interconnection with the natural world, and receive an overview of the emerging field of studies indicating the important role nature plays in the healthy development of the whole child (physical, mental and behavioral) and their continued wellness into adulthood. Additionally, participants will learn to identify strategies of leveraging nature’s positive impact on wellness to drive positive changes in policy and practices in schools and communities.
Cost:
$75 MEEA Member Rate
$100 Non Member Rate
Group Rates available
Learn More and Register at: https://secure.lglforms.com/form_engine/s/fT9qvn_UeRtagLceN4bv8w
Questions? Contact Jamin Bray at bray@meea.org
More details here
Recycling Education and Outreach Round 2 RFA for Subawards is Open!
Please share with your networks. On Monday, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) launched an RFA to prevent household food waste. This effort is part of the National Household Wasted Food Prevention Project (NHWFPP). Two subaward grant opportunities are now available:
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Innovator Grants ($75K–$300K): Support focused creative, locally tailored strategies to motivate target audiences to prevent wasted food.
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Catalyst Grants ($300K–$750K): Support larger-scale projects to implement household wasted food prevention strategies across a variety of communities.
Eligible applicants include nonprofits, tribal and local governments, U.S. territories and states, and higher education institutions.
Applications are due by September 1, 2026. For more information, you can visit the landing page (grants.endingwastedfood.org) and join the info webinar on Thursday, May 28, 2-3 PM ET - tinyurl.com/RFAwebinarEWF. Also see the one-pager attached to this email. Any questions not answered in these materials can be submitted to this email address: EWF.rfa@wwfus.org.
We apologize in advance for duplicate emails! Please help us spread this announcement!
Gayle Hubert
Environmental Scientist
Brownfields Reuse and Redevelopment Branch
US Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7
11201 Renner Blvd
Lenexa, KS 66219
Hubert.gayle@epa.gov Phone: 913-551-7439
✳️ Sign up to Stay Connected and receive updates about EPA’s efforts on recycling, reducing food loss and waste, and supporting a circular economy for all.
✳️ Explore waste prevention, reuse, and recycling programs nationwide with EPA’s Managing and Transforming Waste Streams Tool for Communities.
On July 14, 2025, Missouri Governor Kehoe signed Senate Bill 105 into law, halting the sale in Missouri of six invasive plants:
sericea lespedeza (https://moinvasives.org/.../sericea-lespedeza-lespedeza.../),
burning bush (https://moinvasives.org/pro.../burning-bush-euonymus-alatus/) (‘Compactus’),
Callery pear (https://moinvasives.org/.../callery-pear-pyrus-calleryana/),
Japanese honeysuckle (https://moinvasives.org/project/japanese-honeysuckle/),
perilla mint (https://moinvasives.org/project/beefsteak-plant/),
wintercreeper (https://moinvasives.org/.../wintercreeper-climbing-euonymus/) (variety Coloratus).
CONTACT: Carol Davit, MPF Executive Director, 573-356-7828, carol@moprairie.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Missouri Prairie Foundation Recognizes 60th Anniversary in 2026
For six decades, this conservation organization has been protecting priceless prairie for current and future generations to enjoy
Jefferson City, MO (March 24, 2026)—In 2026, the Missouri Prairie Foundation (MPF) is 60 years old. For six decades, MPF has been a leading advocate for the protection and appreciation of prairie. Today, MPF owns and manages 36 properties totaling more than 5,000 acres—including some of Missouri’s most biologically rich old-growth prairies. MPF’s stewardship sustains the stunning biodiversity and natural integrity of these prairies, making them irreplaceable sites for prairie wildlife conservation and research.
“MPF is highly respected by other state and national conservation groups and is a nationally accredited land trust,” said MaryKay O’Donnell, Midwest Senior Program Manager for the Land Trust Alliance. “The organization’s excellent governance, assertive advocacy, fiscal responsibility, educational programming and materials, as well as outstanding land stewardship are admired throughout the conservation community. MPF’s leadership also helps protect thousands of acres owned by partners, inspires and supports related conservation actions by other groups and individuals, and elevates the significance of Missouri’s prairie and native plant heritage as state and national treasures.”
A few of MPF’s many accomplishments throughout its history include:
– Accelerated ownership of prairie in recent years for permanent protection. Since 2013, MPF has acquired more acres of remnant prairie in Missouri than any other entity in that time frame. MPF’s 36 properties are open to the public to enjoy on foot.
– Support for dozens of prairie research projects via small grants, funded species surveys on its properties, and access to MPF prairies for approved data collection.
– Development of a vigorous prairie education program, with numerous free guided prairie hikes throughout the seasons, an annual prairie bioblitz and campout, publication of the Missouri Prairie Journal since 1979, presentations about the functions and values of prairie to dozens of groups every year, native plant sales organized throughout Missouri, and outreach with free educational materials available at scores of community events annually.
– Serving as the home of the Grow Native! program since 2012, MPF has greatly expanded this native plant and landscaping marketing and education program, with nearly 200 professional members, a Professional Certification program; Grow Native! Gardens of Excellence program; 30 Top Ten native plant lists; 14 native garden designs; Native Landscaping Planning Toolkit for Municipal Professionals; the publication of a free e-book, Native Plants for Stormwater Management Projects; a searchable native plant database with 400 species for home gardening; a popular webinar and master class series reaching thousands of people annually; and much more.
– Serving as the administrative home, since 2015, of the Missouri Invasive Plant Council (MoIP), an interdisciplinary group of professionals working to make early detection and control of invasive plants a statewide priority. Among MoIP’s accomplishments are the establishment of an annual Callery Pear Buyback Event, in 23 cities in 2026; obtaining rigorous public input to support a proposal to halt the sale of select invasive plants; and successful advocacy that supported passage of legislation to this effect in 2025.
Individuals interested in learning more about prairie and native grasslands are invited to visit an MPF prairie, participate in MPF’s many programs, explore its online resources, and attend MPF events including upcoming native plants sales, free webinars, guided prairie hikes, the MPF Prairie BioBlitz on June 6 and 7, 2026, among others planned for this anniversary year.
“Thanks to MPF members and other financial contributors, colleagues with other conservation groups, and private prairie landowners, we are making a positive difference for Missouri’s prairie legacy,” said Carol Davit, MPF executive director. “We invite prairie enthusiasts to learn more about our work at moprairie.org and become part of the MPF community.”
Learn about the plants and animals featured in MPF’s special edition anniversary logo here.
James River Basin Partnership
Missouri Department of Conservation
Ozarks Clean Fuels Coalition
Watershed Committee of the Ozarks
Solid Waste Management District O
EPA
Please visit and bookmark the EPA Grants Webinars page where you will find tips for preparing for EPA webinars, presentation materials, helpful resources, and webinar recordings. We also invite you to visit and bookmark the Community Library of Frequently Asked Questions to find answers to questions about EPA grants that were asked by previous webinar participants.
Missouri Environmental Education Association (MEEA)
L-A-D Foundation
Incorporated in 1962, the L-A-D Foundation is a Missouri private operating foundation dedicated to the responsible management of Pioneer Forest as a working demonstration of renewable resource use compatible with the long-term carrying capacity and health of the land and water. The Foundation also acquires and preserves in the public interest outstanding areas of natural, geologic, cultural or historic interest. In addition, the Foundation provides support to various projects consistent with its conservation goals, with a particular focus on the Missouri Ozark region.
2024 Annual Report
Missouri Department of Natural Resources
Ozark Society
(see flyer, click here)
The Ozark Society is a non-profit organization established in Arkansas in 1962 to protect the Buffalo
River and its surrounding wilderness area from development, thus allowing it to remain a free-flowing
and scenic river. Today, the Ozark Society continues to advocate for conservation of natural resources,
preservation of scenic places, and environmental education.
SW Missouri Local Government Briefings
Missouri Butterflies, host plants and Caterpillars
Go here to see a great poster of common butterflies and their caterpillars!
Watershed Center of the Ozarks
Children and Nature Network
Springfield Community Resource Guide
Read to find out how to subscribe and see what events are coming up. Learn about composting, free workshops and more! Click HERE.
The Ozarks Clean Air Alliance (OCAA) Go HERE to find out more. and the Clean Air Action Plan
The Schoolcraft Ozarks Society
Dark Sky Missouri (Click here for more information)
Staples https://www.staples.com/stores/recycling
Missouri Product Stewardship Council (MP PSC)
Check out their informational flyer HERE
Meet your webmaster, Shae Johnson. She is a Springfield Plateau Master Naturalist, a Greene County Master Gardener, a docent at the Dr. Bill Roston Native Butterfly House, and she wears many other hats. She is also an artist.
Meet the owner of this website. Barbara Lucks has developed it as a central place
for patrons to find all sorts of environment related news and opportunities.
