2024 Field Trips

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Shaw Nature Reserve Visit

Date and Time: 
Saturday, 27 April, 2024 - 07:40 to 12:50
Organizer(s): 
Quinn Long - Missouri Botanical Garden Shaw Nature Reserve, and Kate Farley - Missouri Botanical Garden
Maximum # participants: 
30
Fee: 
USD$55.00

Shaw Nature Reserve is a 2,400 acre nature reserve belonging to the Missouri Botanical Garden, located about 35 miles west of St. Louis. Shaw is home to distinctive natural communities of the Ozark Border region, including woodlands, wetlands, and prairie. This tour will visit the Whitmire Wildflower Garden, a 5-acre botanical garden that is a premiere demonstration of native plant horticulture in the Midwestern US. The tour will also feature a visit to the Ozark Ethnobotany Garden, an expansion of the Whitmire Wildflower Garden that is currently in development to display and interpret regional native plants used for food, medicine, fiber, and dye. Tour participants will then venture further into Shaw Nature Reserve to enjoy a 1-mile walk with scenic vistas through woodlands, glades, and prairie while learning about ecological restoration and land stewardship.

Shuttle Schedule
7:40 am: Pick up Chase Park Plaza (in front of the cinema on Lindell Blvd.)
8:00 am: Pick up Missouri Botanical Garden
12:30 pm: Drop off Missouri Botanical Garden
12:50 pm: Drop off Chase Park Plaza (in front of the cinema on Lindell Blvd.)

Mississippi River Canoe Trip

Date and Time: 
Saturday, 27 April, 2024 - 09:00 to 16:30
Location: 
Meeting Room East
Organizer(s): 
Kate Farley - Missouri Botanical Garden
Maximum # participants: 
18
Fee: 
USD$100.00

Explore the Mississippi River by canoe with Big Muddy Adventures, a St. Louis-based outfitter that specializes in guided trips along the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. You will be picked up from conference hotels and be transported by shuttle to North Riverfront Park. After a brief safety talk and paddling demonstration, we will load into 30' Voyageur canoes with Big Muddy's experienced guides and paddle along a non-commercially-navigable stretch of the Mississippi to a forested island. We will stop for lunch and take some time to explore the island. We’ll continue on into the port of St. Louis where we’ll see our setting quickly transition from natural to built. We'll pass beneath five contemporary and famous historic bridges, while learning about some notable historic landmarks, and catching incredible views of some of St. Louis’s oldest riverfront buildings. The trip ends with an unbeatable river view of the Gateway Arch and lands us on the historic landing of downtown St. Louis. No canoe experience is necessary. First-time paddlers are welcome!

9:00 am Meet at Chase Park Plaza Hotel for pick up by Big Muddy Adventures
4:30 pm Drop off at Chase Park Plaza Hotel

important details for your trip:

  • Participants will be required to complete an online questionnaire by Apr 10.
  • We will have waivers for everyone to sign at the meet-up.
  • We will provide each person with a dry bag to keep their personal belongings safe and dry.
  • Before we paddle, our guides will fit everyone with a life jacket and provide a safety talk and paddling demonstration.
  • We will provide lunch and water and will have a cooler available for BYOBeverages (no glass please).
  • Be sure to read through the list of items below to know what you should plan to bring with you!

Items to bring:

  • REQUIRED ITEMS
    • Reusable water bottle
    • Proper footwear (river shoes or sandals with a backstrap, tennis shoes that can get wet/dirty, NO FLIP FLOPS)
    • Weather appropriate clothing
       
  • SUGGESTED ITEMS
    • Small backpack or tote bag for personal items
    • Warm accessories (hat, gloves)
    • Sun protection (sunglasses, sunscreen)
    • Plenty of layers! (sweatshirt, jacket, etc.)
    • Camera
    • Rain gear

Lunch:
Lunch typically consists of sandwiches, chips, fruit and something sweet. We are able to accommodate most dietary restrictions. We will provide water for paddlers to refill their water bottles throughout the trip.

Cahokia Mounds Field Trip and Guided Tour

Date and Time: 
Saturday, 27 April, 2024 - 09:30 to 13:30
Organizer(s): 
Natalie Mueller - Washington University, Gayle Fritz, and Jane Mt. Pleasant
Maximum # participants: 
47
Fee: 
USD$45.00

Participants will visit Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, one of the most important archaeological sites in North America. Built rapidly by a multi-ethnic community around 1050 AD, this city has thrived for 200 years, supported by a diverse agricultural system and a rich floodplain environment. Participants will tour the site with Dr. Gayle J. Fritz, paleoethnobotanist and author of the book "Feeding Cahokia," and Dr. Jane Mt. Pleasant, an expert on Indigenous North American agricultural practices. A boxed lunch will be provided. *Note, the Visitor Center and Museum will be closed, so this is an outdoor field trip that will involve walking on paved paths and mowed lawns.

Shuttle Schedule
9:30 am: Pick up Chase Park Plaza Hotel (in front of the cinema on Lindell Blvd.)
9:45 am: Pick up Missouri Botanical Garden
1:15 pm: Drop off Missouri Botanical Garden
1:30 pm: Drop off Chase Park Plaza Hotel (in front of the cinema on Lindell Blvd.)

Curatorial and Campus Tour of Pulitzer Arts Foundation

Date and Time: 
Saturday, 27 April, 2024 - 12:30 to 16:30
Organizer(s): 
Tamara Schenkenberg - Pulitzer Arts Foundation, Kate Farley, Kristin Fleischmann
Maximum # participants: 
35
Fee: 
USD$30.00

Join curators and educators from the Pulitzer Arts Foundation on a tour of their current exhibitions and outdoor campus. The exhibition Delcy Morelos: Interwoven features artwork by Delcy Morelos (b.1967), a Colombian artist who uses natural materials like textile, fibers, clay, and soil. Interwoven features paintings and sculptures from the 1990s to the present and monumental installation made of soil. On Earth is a film and video exhibition of five artists who present land as a central figure. Both exhibitions draw connections between people and the environment. Following the tour of the exhibitions enjoy light refreshments and a visit to Park-Like and the Spring Church, two outdoor sites at the museum featuring native plants, rain gardens, and gathering spaces. Learn more about the exhibitions and campus at pulitzerarts.org.

Shuttle Schedule
12:30 pm: Pick up Chase Park Plaza Hotel (in front of the cinema on Lindell Blvd.)
12:45 pm: Pick up Missouri Botanical Garden
4:25 pm: Drop off Missouri Botanical Garden
4:30 pm: Drop off Chase Park Plaza Hotel (in front of the cinema on Lindell Blvd.)