September 2022 – Watershed Greetings

WHAT: As a part of our Operation Wild Lands program and the Missouri Department of Conservation’s Back to Nature StL grant, The Open Space Council is partnering with the City of Crestwood’s Beautification Committee on a series of stewardship events at Crestwood Park. This volunteer opportunity will focus on removing the invasive Bush honeysuckle shrub from the park during National Public Lands Day.

After the volunteer work day, the City of Crestwood will be hosting an outreach event at the park that includes a food truck and nature-themed scavenger hunt. Partnering organizations will also be on hand to share details about the habitat restoration efforts currently underway at the park. Volunteers are encouraged to attend and celebrate their contributions to the community. The event will run from 12:00pm to 2:00pm.

WHEN: 9:00am, Saturday, September 24th. Volunteer check-in will begin at 8:45am.

WHERE: Crestwood Park, 9739 Meadowfern Dr, St. Louis, MO 63126. The meeting location will be the upper pavilion — see map for exact location.

WHAT TO WEAR:

Long-sleeves and pants - there are some areas within the project site that have poison ivy
Clothes that you don't mind getting dirty
Closed-toe shoes
Sunscreen

WHAT TO BRING:

A filled bottle of water - we recommend reusable!
Your own work gloves/tools, if preferred - otherwise they will be provided
Bug/tick spray, if preferred

REGISTRATION NOTES:

Pre-registration is encouraged, but walk-ups the morning of are always welcome.
The annual OSC liability waiver must be signed and approved before a volunteer can register for this opportunity. To see if you have met this qualification, please view your profile here.
This volunteer opportunity is family-friendly and open to all ages. Must be 18 years or older to handle herbicide. Children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.

“. This event will occur on Sep 24, 2022.

We’re glad you will be lending a hand, and we are looking forward to meeting you.

Thanks and see you soon,
Your friends at The Open Space Council for the St Louis Region

With two previously competed training sessions, participants were ready to photograph bees on this outing to Forest Park. After signing in we walked to the Albrecht Nature Playscape to photograph the many different varieties of bees there for the Shutterbee research project.

We were looking to capture specific features of bees to help biologists identify the species. We were also familiar with the phone app iNaturalist where we upload useable photos into the project’s online database. Biologists at several universities in the Midwest then identify the species of the bees for the project. Once fully trained, volunteers conduct about 20 photo surveys of their neighborhoods during the next 40 weeks. Each outing takes about 45 minutes of time.

Besides the training sessions, ShutterBee also hosts additional events throughout the year, including site visits, a bee ID camp, and end of the season celebration with the entire ShutterBee community. On November 12th, we will have our first ever Shutterbee Symposium, featuring talks by the research team and our citizen scientists. This month’s bulletin is full of activities. Here is the link: https://shutterbee.net/2022/09/07/september-2022-bulletin/

Shutterbee is collaboration among Webster University, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis Zoo, and the Missouri Botanical Garden, with additional support from the Missouri Department of Conservation, the Academy of Sciences, St. Louis and the Living Earth Collaborative.

The Shutterbee project can be found online on Instagram (@shutterbeebuzz), Twitter (@shutterbeez) and on Facebook (Shutterbee Community).
Those who are interested in volunteering should complete this survey to register and sign-up for a training session. For more information, you can contact Miller-Struttmann at shutterbee@webster.edu.

Month: September 2022

Back to Nature: Honeysuckle Hack at Your Local Park

Shutterbee Pollinator Photography Training Session In Forest Park