Chapter News

On June 20th, Osage Trails Master Naturalists visited the Richard L. Sutton Museum of Geosciences located in Miller Nichols Library on the UMKC campus. Our tour of the library was hosted by James Murowchick, professor emeritus of GeoChemistry. The library has a large collection of rocks, agates, crystals, fossils and petrified wood. It includes the a large fulgurite (top) which a lightning bolt (or possibly downed power line) fused soil and shale.  Another item of interest is the massive fossilized jaw of an Oligocene mammal (Titanothere or Brontotherium – not pictured) a species related to horses and rhinos. If you were unable to attend this tour, the museum is open to public whenever the Miller Nichols Library is open.

Linda Callahan (2017) and Barbara Van Vleck (2007) photos.

By Lindsay Hoyt (2025)

The Snowball Hill Prairie tour was an absolute hit! The weather was perfect and there was so much in bloom.

We had 9 participants attend. Two brothers in the group really knew their birds, which was incredibly helpful since I am more of a plant person! They were sure they spotted a Western Meadowlark, mentioning that was a treat to see. Another Master Naturalist joined us as well and shared some fantastic foraging tips.

The star of the show was definitely the Bunchflower; I managed to get a great shot of the group gathered in a patch of it. The burned areas were absolutely vibrant. We saw expansive patches of Leadplant, New Jersey Tea, Tall Green Milkweed with massive flower umbels, White Baptisia still in bloom, Prairie Phlox, coreopsis, Sensitive Briar, and Pale Coneflower dotting the upper hill. The Butterfly Milkweed was such a vivid hue it was borderline red, and Wild Bergamot scented the air as we wrapped up around the restoration section. The insect life was just as active—we spotted Widow Skimmers and various other dragonflies, bumblebees, carpenter bees, Yellow Sulphur butterflies, and arguably the best find of the day: a group of dung beetles hard at work rolling scat right on the main path!

At the end of the hike, everyone shared that they had a wonderful time. They left with a much deeper understanding of the prairie ecosystem, specifically the ecological differences between a restoration area and a remnant prairie, and the vital role MPF plays in protecting these vanishing spaces. I’m hopeful we inspired some new faces to engage with future events both in person and online.

This hike served as the final capstone project for my Master Naturalist certification, and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience or a more engaged group.

As A Girl Who Grew Up in New York

By Sarah Mayerhofer (2025)

Earlier this month, I traveled to Cleveland, Ohio, for the 2026 Midwest Climate Summit held at Case Western Reserve University. This was my second time attending the conference. Last year, I had such a great experience in Madison, Wisconsin, so I was excited to return and see what this year would bring.

What I found, once again, was not just a conference, in your typical sense, but a gathering of people trying to imagine what it means to live well, care for one another, and respond to a changing world with honesty and courage.

One of the biggest things I took away from the summit is that community is still the best tool we have. Again and again, I saw that the real strength of this work is not just in policy or technology, but in resource sharing, relationship building, mutual support, and people showing up for one another. So many of the conversations I attended came back to the same truth: we cannot face climate change in isolation. We need each other. We need local knowledge, trusted networks, and spaces where people can learn from one another and build real resilience together.

Another thing that stood out to me was how clearly women are leading the way in resilience, climate mitigation, and preventing burnout. This was evident not only in the range of speakers, but in the people attending the resilience-focused sessions and in the conversations happening both during and after them. Women were asking thoughtful questions, naming the hard things out loud, offering solutions, and articulating their concerns with clarity and vision. It really hit me how much women are shaping the climate field, especially in the spaces that ask us to care not just about systems, but about people.

One of the more memorable moments of the conference came on the second night, when Cleveland reminded us that no place is untouched by climate reality. The Midwest is often talked about as a strong region for climate migration, and in many ways it is. Compared with other parts of the country, it can seem more buffered from certain climate impacts. But it is not immune. That became very real when all 500 of us at the conference had to go down to the basement of Case Western Reserve University because of a tornado warning. I think it was a stark reminder of why we were all together. Climate change is not a future concept or a distant threat. These “unique” weather events are feeling less and less unique. It is already reshaping where and how we live, including in places many people think of as “safer.”

Another idea that has stayed with me came from a storytelling session. A few people were discussing books, movies, and the ways our culture portrays climate change. During that conversation, someone brought up the word frontier. Not in the traditional sense, but as a way of describing a threshold — something that is ending and something else that is beginning.

That language really struck me.

It feels like the moment we are in right now. There is so much uncertainty, so much unraveling, and so much that feels unsustainable. I do not know exactly what is ending, and I do not know exactly what is beginning. But I do know that many of us can feel it. We are standing in between worlds, on the edge of something we cannot fully name yet. And for all the fear that can come with that, I also think there is possibility there. It feels like we are on the cusp of something meaningful, maybe even something better, if we are willing to help shape it.

As someone who grew up in New York and on the East Coast, I also found myself reflecting on what feels different about the Midwest. There is a strong sense of community here that feels deeply rooted. Even the sessions at the summit reflected that. So much of the conversation centered on preparedness, local networks, collective care, and what it means to belong to a place and to each other. That emphasis stood out to me. The Midwest seems to understand, in a very lived way, that resilience is not just about infrastructure. It is about relationships. It is about knowing your neighbors, sharing resources, and building systems that people can actually rely on when things get hard. This is what I love the most about the Midwest.

That may be the lesson I carry with me most.

The Midwest Climate Summit reminded me that climate work is not only about preventing disaster. It is also about building the kinds of communities we will need in order to endure, adapt, and care for one another through what is coming. It is about imagination, honesty, and connection. And maybe most of all, it is about remembering that even in uncertain times, we are not powerless when we are together.

By Courtney Green (2025)

The 75th Greater KC Science Fair had over 500 project submissions. This is one of the largest years since covid. They had around 300 hundred judges support the event. This year 7 MDC Staff (including Lily Davis and Courtney Green) and 3 affiliates (Tessa Poolman (MRBO) and MMN Lisa Gann and Megan Russel) supported the event by being a judge.

They are asked to judge science fair projects based on a rubric and work together to pick the best in their category. This group was given the extra task of looking for the projects that best supported conservation science. 

“I am not sure how I ended up signing up to be a judge. And while science is not my biggest forte, that was so fun! We only had one scientist show up to talk about his project. He was actually very amazing. But wandering around and talking to the different age groups, was the best!”
Lisa Gann

“This is one of my favorite events of the year! 

Showing up to support students participating in scientific research is so important for our future. We need more scientifically minded individuals!”

Courtney  Green

The winners:

Senior: Testing Environmentally Safe Sprays to Reduce Fungal Growth: A Bat Health Model Using Penicillium chrysogenum – Van Horn High School

White-Nose Syndrome severely impacts bat populations by disrupting hibernation. This study used the non-pathogenic BSL-1 fungus Penicillium chrysogenum as a model to test environmentally safe sprays for antifungal activity.

Junior: Effects of Mixlights on Animal Behavior – Guadalupe Centers Middle School

This study investigated how mixed artificial lighting affects fish behavior compared to natural light conditions. The students made recommendations about light use at night and the effects it could have on wildlife and migrating birds.

Intermediate: Huh! Where did my shells go?

This study tested how CO2 affects shells. They wanted to learn how gas from cars affects the environment by making shells disappear which harms animals.

 Thank you to those who supported this! It is great to show up for this event and be a part of the science community in KC.

On April 4, volunteers from many groups came together for Project Blue River Rescue, a wide-ranging cleanup along the Blue River. I pitched in with around 20 volunteers for the Lakeside Stream Team as we cleaned up east of Lakeside along a small stream that feeds into Fox Hollow Creek.