Outreach and Education

The Missouri Prairie Foundation organizes many hikes, field tours, bird watching trips, campouts, work days, and other events throughout the year to connect more people to their prairie legacy. At our annual Prairie BioBlitz, for example, prairie enthusiasts team up with biologists at a given prairie to document as many plants and animals during a weekend. MPF also regularly offers virtual events, including webinars and master classes. View past webinars on MPF’s YouTube channel (linked at right), and see upcoming events on MPF’s Event Calendar.

MPF also produces the Missouri Prairie Journal, one of few publications devoted to native grassland conservation, with articles on prairie biodiversity, native plant gardening and landscaping, native grassland management and restoration information, and beautiful photography. The Missouri Prairie Journal is sent to members as a benefit of membership, as well as to libraries, schools, and elected officials.

The Missouri Prairie Journal also includes a regular feature, Education on the Prairie with Jeff Cantrell, an education consultant and MPF technical advisor, with specific activities for teachers, complete with Grade Level Expectation lists.

Grow Native! is a native plant education and marketing program of MPF. It promotes the use of native plants in yards, farms, municipalities and even container gardens through workshops, educational plant tags, and a social media presence.

The Missouri Invasive Plant Council is housed and administered by Grow Native! This multi-agency, multi-industry networking and advocacy group bolsters statewide efforts to identify and control the invasive plant species that severely impact native biodiversity.