Go green: Explore environmental science

Go green: Explore environmental science

Spring blooms with opportunities to engage in and explore science in the great outdoors. And in and around Kansas City you’ll find plenty of places you can learn and improve the environment at the same time. A sampling:

Plant an Impact: Earth Day Workshop at Powell Gardens

Celebrate Earth Day by restoring native prairie with Powell Gardens. Individuals, families, environmental groups, Girl Scouts, and Cub Scouts are invited to help Powell Gardens manage the native landscapes to better support diverse plant and animal species.

Powell Gardens’ staff and volunteers will be available at stations to share the importance of planting native species in their homes and communities. This workshop will allow families to work and learn together to make a positive impact in honor of Earth Day 2019. Many of the activities satisfy requirements for Cub Scouts’ Grow Something (parts two and three) and Into the Wild (parts five, seven, and nine) badges and Girl Scouts’ Junior’s Gardener (parts one through three) and Brownies’ Eco Friend (parts one, two, four and five) badges. Scouts who complete each of the requirements will receive a certificate stating the requirements completed. Learn more and register here.


The Green Guard Stewardship program

Green Guard Stewardship Program logo

The Green Guard Stewardship Program enables Kansas City’s urban communities to take ownership of their surroundings while creating environmental literacy in watershed health, plant identification, biodiversity, community engagement, green infrastructure, how to safely interact with wildlife in the city and land use.

Open to community members, teachers, students, business owners and any other stakeholders in/near the third district of Kansas City, Mo., the program features monthly sessions that began in February and continue through May.

To find out more, visit heartlandconservationalliance.org/stewardship, email sarah@heartlandconservationalliance.org or call or text Sarah at 816-545-9971.


Learn about sea turtle rescues at Sea Life-Kansas City

Earlier this year, SEA LIFE-Kansas City opened a new Sea Turtle Rescue Center that will serve as a home to rehabilitated sea turtles no longer able to survive in the wild due to injury or other ailments.

A new, permanent addition to Kansas City’s aquarium, the center invites visitors of all ages to get face-to-flipper with rescued sea turtles in an intimate aquarium setting while learning about the threats wild turtles encounter.  Learn more.

Children looking through magnifying glass

Be a Citizen Scientist

Visit Lakeside Nature Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 18, to learn how birds survive in cities by using urban green spaces for food, resting sites and shelter. Along with fun activities like crafts and temporary tattoos, participants will share data they collect about the birds they see with Cornell University.

Call (816) 513-8960 or e-mail folnc@crn.org for more information.

Photo courtesy Kansas City Parks & Recreation

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