Meetup pages for events that may be planned after each E-Newsletter’s publication date.
Photo by Bruce Dupree, Alabama Cooperative Extension System
Photo Contest Returns for 2025
>CALLING ALL THOMAS HART BENTON GROUP PHOTOGRAPHERS<
Starting in June, the Thomas Hart Benton Group is hosting a photography contest! Online submission of nature-themed photos taken in 2025 will open June 1st and will continue through September. Then, all Thomas Hart Benton Group members will be invited to vote on the winner or winners!
Let Your Lawn Go Wild: Surprising Benefits of a Backyard Meadow
Sierra Club member Jim Turner calls our attention to an article on the International Earth Day Network’s website entitled “Let Your Lawn Go Wild: The Surprising Benefits of a Backyard Meadow.”
In addition to listing benefits like saving water, reducing chemical runoff, fighting climate change, and health and wellness, the article presents a simple six-step plan.
By Jennifer Helber, Conservation Committee Co-Chair
Our Thomas Hart Benton Group worked with the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) this past winter to eradicate invasive Callery Pear on I-470 at the southbound Lakewood Exit. With that area cleared, we looked at establishing habitat for monarch butterflies—and found a suitable area further south, at the Strother Road Interchange.
Working again with MoDOT, we have an area of about 1/3 acre staked out to restore with native species, especially milkweed, to help monarch butterflies breed and give them nectar for migration. If you came to the March presentation about the importance of prairies, you heard some of our plans.
Thanks to funding from a grant awarded by the Eastern Missouri Group of the Missouri Chapter Sierra Club, we’re beginning the project. With some advice from Mark Aufdenberg from MoDOT, along with consulting expert Jerod Huebner (Missouri Prairie Foundation’s Director of Prairie Management) we will begin with seeding a small area along the exit ramp with summer annual native species (Black-eyed Susan, Coreopsis, and Partridge Pea). This will serve as a nice visual “billboard” for the eventual seeding in the fall. The 300-square-foot area has been treated to eliminate the fescue, so that seeds may contact the soil, sprout and bloom this summer. We invite volunteers to come hand-scatter these seeds this Saturday, May 31st, and get a “hand” in on this project.
While walking through the area, we found some remnants of native plants scattered throughout. Later this summer, the entire area will be treated—with efforts to preserve the beneficial native plants and eliminate the invasive non-native plants. MoDOT will borrow a seed drill from the Department of Conservation, and we will purchase the seed mixture that is enriched with milkweed and flowers that monarchs need for nectar sources while migrating in the fall. This seed mixture needs the overwintering freeze & thaw to allow it to germinate the following spring. Our project continues in 2026, while we monitor and spray for non-native plants that may grow.
This is a learning experience—both for our THB Group, and MoDOT, which is looking to establish 15,000 acres across Missouri for monarchs in the next five years. The monarch butterfly has seen drastic declines in habitat and migration populations that make the journey to Mexico each fall.
Photo of the Strother Road location by Jennifer Helber
Missouri Wildflowers Blooming in June
Date: Tues., June 3
Time: 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Location: Anita B. Gorman Discovery Center
This month we will learn to identify Missouri wildflowers blooming in June. We will discuss the flower color, shape, leaf arrangement and habit of growth. Rachel Mandi, naturalist, will give us tips inside at the Discovery Center before we go outside to the native gardens to see how many we can identify. If you like, bring your phones to practice the basic photography skills of good lighting, the rule of thirds, using a tripod and knowing the dates of recurrent flowering of plants in season.
At the end of the evening, one lucky person will win the “Missouri Wildflowers” book by Edgar Denison. This book is also on sale at the Discovery Center.
For National Trails Day on June 7th, we will hike part of the Lawrence River Trail. The Lawrence River Trail follows and has views of the Kansas River from the north side of Lawrence. Since the trail follows the river, it's mostly flat with only a few hills.
We will hike a section of the trail for 4.3 miles. The outing officially ends after the hike, but we will also visit Massachusetts Street in Lawrence for lunch after the hike as an unofficial second part to the outing.
Sierra Club / Thomas Hart Benton Group June 2025 Executive Committee Meeting
Are you interested in getting more involved in your local Sierra Club? Are you curious about the inner workings of the Sierra Club? Please join the next monthly Executive Committee (ExCom) Meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 10th via a Zoom. Please sign up on Campfire.
Join your Sierra Club friends for a potluck celebrating the official start of summer! We'll gather at Kansas City, Missouri's Hidden Valley Park (4029 N Bellaire Ave) on Saturday, June 21st from 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. More details will be posted on Meetup soon!
Virtual Book Club: A Walk in the Woods—July 16
For July 16’s virtual book club, we will be reading and discussing A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson.
“Written in a comic style,” explains Wikipedia, “the book mixes accounts of Bryson's walk with broader discussions about the Trail's history, and the sociology, ecology, conservation status and people of the places Bryson walked through.” This book has long been praised for being rather funny and educational at the same time.
A Meetup entry and Zoom link will be provided in our July newsletter.
June 26th: The Nelson Atkins Museum hosts "Out Birding: An Evening with Christian Cooper." In May 2020, expert birder Christian Cooper had an unexpected encounter with a dog walker in Central Park that exploded age-old racial tensions. In this program, the Emmy-winning host of National Geographic’s “Extraordinary Birder” and New York Times bestselling author takes us beyond that viral moment to explore the power of observation and the unexpected lessons we can learn from a life spent looking up.
In conjunction with the exhibition “Survival of the Fittest: Picturing Wildlife and Wilderness” and in celebration of Pride Month, Cooper speaks about his extraordinary experiences, including advocating for greater access to green spaces for all, creative work at Marvel Comics where he introduced the first gay storylines, and life-changing birding expeditions across the globe.
Text Alerts - Sign up for mobile text alerts here (By providing your mobile number you consent to receive cell phone and text communications from Sierra Club, the Sierra Club Foundation, Sierra Club PACs and Chapters concerning news, action opportunities, and other important information)
