Newsletter

Litzsinger Road Ecology Center produces a monthly newsletter which is distributed to volunteers, participating teachers, and community partners. Past newsletters can be accessed via the links below.

• November/December 2024 – from the director: feeding the experience machine; introducing Emma Crisman; on the grounds: fauna at LREC; introducing fall interns: Abigail Andrews and Jinxin Li; outdoor engagement: fall activities; LREC book recommendation list available
• September/October 2024 – from the director: hand-crafted learning; on the grounds: grasses; outdoor engagement: citizen science; book recommendations: LREC book recommendation list available
• Summer 2024 – from the director: the fine art of kid watching; on the grounds: Allison’s top 5 natives blooming now; outdoor engagement: summertime at LREC; book recommendation: Summer is Here; introducing summer interns: Akiva Zeff and Lexi Baiter
• May 2024 – from the director: crafting culture at LREC and beyond; outdoor engagement: a hodge-podge of happy memories; book recommendation: In a Jar; on the grounds: here comes the sun (and the oaks say it’s alright)
• April 2024 – from the director: spring growth; on the grounds: who am I quiz (spring flowering plant edition), new restoration intern Malachai Frisby; outdoor engagement: April celebrations; book recommendation: To Change A Planet
• March 2024 – from the director: farewell, James; outdoor engagement: the colors of the world; book recommendation: The Color Collector; on the grounds: planting the future of the pipeline path; message from James Faupel
• February 2024 – from the director: the grass is always greener…; on the grounds: embracing the cold to learn tree identification and pruning; introducing high school intern: Maddie Schaus; outdoor engagement: winter schoolyard activities; book recommendation: In Our Garden
• January 2024 – from the director: pipelines and tributaries; outdoor engagement: reflection on verbs; book recommendations: Snowflakes and Best in Snow; on the grounds: nurturing growth in native horticulture through Grow Native!
• December 2023 – from the director: what could go right?; on the grounds: in defense of brush piles: the ecological wonders of woodland debris; outdoor engagement: birds, birds, birds; book recommendation: Ruby’s Birds
• November 2023 – from the director: in search of meaning; outdoor engagement: learning outside is the best; book recommendation: The Thing Lou Couldn’t Do; on the grounds: mothing around at LREC; meet our fall restoration interns: Cailyn Haubien and Aaron Stovall
• October 2023 – from the director: nature at the cutting edge; outdoor engagement: fascinating field work at LREC; book recommendations: Winged Wonders: Solving the Monarch Migration Mystery; on the grounds: where cottonwood stood—an MSD path update
• September 2023 – from the director: “No questions now…it’s time for learning”; outdoor engagement: plants and pollinators; book recommendation: Give Bees a Chance; on the grounds: 5 years in…what’s next?
• August 2023 – from the director: almost half a lifetime; outdoor engagement: teacher mini-workshops, family fun day; book recommendations: Plant a Pocket of Prairie and Creek Critters
• July 2023 – from the director: comings and goings foster growth; on the grounds: get pumped for stumps; outdoor engagement: welcoming new teachers and building our volunteer educator team; introducing new interns: Karen Schmiedeler and Cicely Krutzsch
• June 2023 – from the director: summer growth; summer opportunities; on the grounds: learning native garden design at a native plant tour
• May 2023 – from the director: I want magic; In Memoriam: Ray Potter; on the grounds: catching macroinvertebrates; outdoor engagement: schoolyard habitats; book recommendation: The Extraordinary Gardener
• April 2023 – from the director: social ecology of an ecology center; outdoor engagement: get outside!; book recommendation: Over and Under the Pond; on the grounds: spring cleanup and the bees; introducing Devan Rupel, Spring Restoration Intern
• March 2023 – from the director: a fun discovery; on the grounds: wait for spring garden cleanup; outdoor engagement: story walk; book recommendations: The Leaf Detective and The Arbornaut: A Life Discovering the Eighth Continent in the Trees Above Us
• February 2023 – from the director: how big is the world?; outdoor engagement: schoolyard anecdotes; book recommendation: Hiders Seekers Finders Keepers; on the grounds: learning to design a native garden; introducing Caity Sims, Restoration Coordinator for Project Clear
• January 2023 – from the director: five questions; outdoor engagement: winter escapades; book recommendation: Secrets of Winter; on the grounds: phenology
• December 2022 – from the director: finding value in our work; on the grounds: frosty winter school visits; outdoor engagement: what is “friluftsliv”?; book recommendation: Winter Sleep: A Hibernation Story
• November 2022 – from the director: a care-full Thanksgiving; outdoor engagement: schoolyard anecdotes; book recommendation: Summer Green to Autumn Gold;  on the grounds: collecting seeds and lessons
• October 2022 – from the director: everything all at once; on the grounds: seed dispersal; outdoor engagement: rave reviews; book recommendation: Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn
• September 2022 – from the director: new beginnings; outdoor engagement: building a sense of place; book recommendations: Mapping Penny’s World and Mapmaking with Children; on the grounds: pollinator night shift (moths)
• August 2022 – from the director: it was a dark and stormy night; outdoor engagement: summer wrap-up; on the grounds: flooding (water and trash removal)
• July 2022 – from the director: LREC’s monumental achievements; on the grounds: continuing education for our staff; introducing Deanna Deterding, Habitat Restoration Technician, and Clara Barton and Owen Katheriner, Summer Restoration Interns, and Ximena Gallegos Gutierrez, Summer Education Intern; YouTube: Phun with Phenology and Rock Gardening at Missouri Botanical Garden
• June 2022 – from the director: joy of science; on the grounds: bringing Missouri natives to schools; outdoor engagement: reflections on the school year; book recommendation: Daniel Finds a Poem
• May 2022 – from the director: feeding the imagination chamber; on the grounds: farewell from Rebekah Helmich, Ecological Restoration Technician; outdoor engagement: cloudspotting; book recommendation: Cloudette; YouTube: Flyover of Deer Creek
• April 2022 – from the director: appreciation; on the grounds: hunt for flowers begins; outdoor engagement: ephemeral art; book recommendation: Be Still, Love Nature; YouTube: Evaluating the Trees of LREC
• March 2022 – appreciation of spring; outdoor engagement: twigs, buds, trees; book recommendation: The Forever Tree; on the grounds: when is it truly spring?; YouTube: Species Spotlight on Spring Ephemerals and BirdSafe STL—Keeping Birds Safe in St. Louis: You Can Help Too
• February 2022 – using what I learned at LREC in my own garden; outdoor engagement: looking for hidden messages in winter; book recommendation: Over and Under the Snow; researcher spotlight: Siobhan Perry (creek health)
• January 2022 – tree inventory; outdoor engagement: outdoor fun all year long; book recommendation: Squirrel’s New Year’s Resolution; volunteer spotlight: Chuck Wilson (happy place)
• December 2021 – Advanced Inquiry Program; outdoor engagement: birds; volunteer spotlight: Jack Hambene (why I became a Master Naturalist)
• November 2021 – digitizing Tom Hardy’s insect archive; outdoor engagement: ephemeral nature art; book recommendations: Anywhere Artist and My Forest is Green; researcher spotlight: Rowan McGinley (insect communication); YouTube: Seed Collecting and Cleaning
• October 2021 – restoration of our shared landscape; outdoor engagement: finding fall treasure; book recommendations: Seeds Move! and Seedfolks; volunteer spotlight: Myra Moscowitz (native plants); introducing Emily Buehrle and Kiegan Baranski, Fall Restoration Interns; YouTube: Litzsinger Renewed
• September 2021 – from the director: Litzsinger renewed; outdoor engagement: who lives here?; book recommendation: Tiny, Perfect Things; You Tube: Urban Prairies as Stepping Stones: Measuring Grassland Habitat Connectivity
• May 2020 – from the director: navigating to the future together; effective outdoor learning at home; slideshow of LREC
• March 2020 – from the director: building purpose in our lives; sustainable schoolyard example; controlled burn; fallen sycamore
• December 2019 – from the director: building community one adventure at a time; a community of partnerships (MSD Project Clear); partnering for effective outdoor learning (Pershing Elementary); dress for winter
• September 2019 – from the director: a fuzzy but promising project; partnering for restoration; graduate study begins at LREC; YES teens become environmental educators; computer modeling enhances learning

Until February 2017, LREC produced a monthly downloadable newsletter September through May each year. Browse and download past newsletters below.

• January 2017 – stories from the schoolyard: Holy Cross Academy–Our Lady of Providence; going digital; going outside in winter; new volunteer educator training; glass house quiz: prairie burns
• December 2016 – stories from the schoolyard: visiting schools; 2017 LREC Teacher Conference; new volunteer educator training; glass house quiz: Quercus (oaks)
• November 2016 – stories from the schoolyard: fall photo collage; 2017 LREC Teacher Conference; glass house quiz: nuts
• October 2016 – stories from the schoolyard: The Soulard School; new volunteer educator training; summer intern: Josh Lovera; glass house quiz: scat
• September 2016 – stories from the schoolyard: Central Christian School; teacher enrichments; summer programs summary; volunteer educators; summer intern: Amy Turlington; staff changes; glass house quiz: fall visitors
• May 2016 – activity spotlight: signs of animals; end-of-school-year announcements for teachers and volunteer educators; glass house quiz: snakes
• April 2016 – activity spotlight: plants and pollinators; expanding adult programs; local hikes; LREC research: groundwater flow; glass house quiz: pollen; 2016 summer workshops
• March 2016 – activity spotlight: vanquishing invasive plants; 2016–2017 Teacher Partnership Program; stream meander; glass house quiz: invasives and native replacements
• February 2016 – a fourth grader’s account of her visit to LREC; activity spotlight: more winter lessons; upcoming volunteer enrichments; glass house quiz: barks and buds, part 2; photos from the January 28 teacher workshop
• January 2016 – activity spotlight: winter activities/resources; teacher partnerships in 2016; LREC research: woodland diversity; Christmas week flooding; glass house quiz: barks and buds
• December 2015 – activity spotlight: watersheds; intern Layla Funke; LREC research: prairie diversity; glass house quiz: watersheds
• November 2015 – activity spotlight: soil studies; LREC teacher partners present at NAAEE conference; LREC research: pawpaw pollination; glass house quiz: soil
• October 2015 – activity spotlight: seeds; new teacher enrichment opportunity; LREC research: Jennifer Thompson studies spiders; welcome to new Restoration Assistant Jamela Thompson; followups on three previous interns; glass house quiz: seed dispersal
• September 2015 – summer 2015 at LREC recap; activity spotlight: using sweep nets to investigate insect diversity; new teacher enrichment opportunities; LREC research: Brandon Schack studies dodder; glass house quiz: self-defense mechanisms of insect and spiders
• May 2015 – sustainable planting (Clark Elementary); teacher timeline; horticulture/restoration offerings for school groups; glass house quiz: opossums
• April 2015 – student project highlights: Freedom School; teacher timeline; horticulture/restoration offerings for school groups; new at lrec (construction and natural events); glass house quiz: roots
• March 2015 – volunteer educator recruitment; horticulture/restoration offerings for school groups; burn; LREC research: phenology project; glass house quiz: a winter mystery
• February 2015 – winter to-dos; student project highlights: Central Christian School; horticulture/restoration offerings for school groups; glass house quiz: February folklore; more images from the motion detector cameras
• January 2015 – partnership updates; student project highlights: Sustainable Schoolyards; horticulture/restoration offerings for school groups; LREC research: rain gardens; volunteer highlights and welcome to new Volunteer Educators; glass house quiz: insect adaptations to winter
• December 2014 – teacher contribution: The Freedom School PreK; teacher contribution: The Soulard School fifth grade; student project highlights: Kol Rinah school and Schretelech houses; teacher contribution: let’s go outside!; how cold is too cold?; horticulture/restoration offerings for school groups; glass house quiz: woodpeckers; LREC research: Shannon Rapp
• November 2014 – preschoolers from UMSL’s University Child Development Center experience LREC on a rainy day; fourth graders from Saul Mirowitz Jewish Community School reenact the Lewis and Clark expedition; student project: Saul Mirowitz Jewish Community School and the LREC demonstration gardens; horticulture/restoration offerings for school groups; glass house quiz: staff favorites; LREC research: Brittany Bratt
• October 2014 – student project: Chesterfield Elementary; horticulture/restoration offerings for school groups; glass house quiz: bats; new grant; LREC research: Sarah Black; Bob Coulter book published
• September 2014 – student on-site project: Southview School; glass house quiz: all things yellow; horticulture/restoration offerings for school groups; LREC research: Chelsea Pretz; meet Amanda Topping
• May 2014 – memories vs. souvenirs; bison and third graders (authentic habitats); horticulture/restoration offerings for school groups; glass house quiz: camouflage; book review: Noah’s Children: Restoring the Ecology of Childhood
• April 2014 – effective outdoor learning at CCS and CCS (Central Christian School and Covenant Christian School); LREC celebrates two of our volunteers (Carole Dean and Cindy Leuder for their work with Southview School); horticulture/restoration offerings for school groups; glass house quiz: tiny flora world; book review: Mossy
• March 2014 – linking studies at school to visits to LREC (Uthoff Valley Elementary School); glass house quiz: studying nature (the “ology” quiz); horticulture/restoration offerings for school groups; book review: The Little Creek
• February 2014 – schoolyards and sustainability; 2014 summer workshops; glass house quiz: February folklore—weather; Richard Pandorf: in memoriam; horticulture/restoration offerings for school groups; LREC research: chloride monitoring; making suet for birds; book review: Little Blog on the Prairie
• January 2014 – interview with two teacher partners; drawings from Shirlee Green preschoolers; 2014 summer workshops; welcome new volunteers; glass house quiz: rainscaping; LREC research: Colleen Crank; horticulture/restoration offerings for school groups; book review: When Winter Comes
• December 2013 – twenty-first century skills and four-season learning; the evolution of the habitats at the former Our Lady of Providence school; volunteer Faye Roth; glass house quiz: wasps, hornets, and yellowjackets; LREC research: Jason West; horticulture/restoration offerings for school groups; book review: The Reason I Jump
• November 2013 – making the “upsell” to your kids; horticulture/restoration offerings for school groups; the oak; glass house quiz: rain gardens; LREC research: Maisie Rinne; book review: The Sign of the Beaver
• October 2013 – what’s your victory; our teacher partners; LREC library; sustainable schoolyards enrichment; glass house quiz: migration; LREC research: Anna Chott; horticulture/restoration offerings for school groups; book review: Flight Behavior
• September 2013 – welcome back; in memoriam; summer 2013 recap; glass house quiz: LREC staff; LREC research: Hannah Carpenter; horticulture/restoration offerings for school groups; volunteer educator training; book review: Monarch Butterfly
• May 2013 – ten percent change; Brentwood ECC journal page; spring break nature camp, part two; glass house quiz: nests; horticulture/restoration offerings for school groups; summer opportunities for teachers; book review: Growing Patterns: Fibonacci Numbers in Nature
• April 2013 – big ideas; spring break nature camp; glass house quiz: flooding; horticulture/restoration offerings for school groups; Earth Day; book review: The Secret Garden
• March 2013 – making science accessible to kids; nature pyramid; seed sowing and stomping; glass house quiz: germination and seedling growth; horticulture/restoration offerings for school groups; welcome Susan Baron; book reviews: A Seed Is Sleepy and An Egg Is Quiet
• February 2013 – Gateway Children’s Nature Connection; glass house quiz: February folklore—animals; horticulture/restoration offerings for school groups; book review: The Book of Why
• January 2013 – 2013 summer workshops for teachers; glass house quiz: wild canines; new Volunteer Educators; horticulture/restoration offerings for school groups; rainscaping; book review: Wild Tracks!: A Guide to Nature’s Footprints
• December 2012 – happiness; prairies and schoolyards; outdoor education leadership course; glass house quiz: biotic and abiotic; horticulture/restoration offerings for school groups; book review: The Snowy Day
• November 2012 – watch your language!; look what’s happening at The Soulard School; glass house quiz: our mighty oaks; create a native plant garden
• October 2012 – stop thinking, start creating; today’s lesson: mud, mud, mud (Brentwood Early Childhood Center); ECO-ACT; glass house quiz: fall leaves; fall florals; NSF grant
• September 2012 – creating innovators; summer workshop recap; fallen trees; in memoriam; North American Prairie Conference; glass house quiz: drought; habitat conditions
• May 2012 – awareness of local environment; teacher partnership checklist; glass house quiz: eastern tent caterpillars; nest boxes; summer events
• April 2012 – renewing school partnerships for the 2012–2013 school year; Sustainable Schoolyards update; glass house quiz: reptiles; warm winter, early spring
• March 2012 – building up your community; taxonomy and local environmental literacy; glass house quiz: insects in winter; upcoming carnivore lectures
• February 2012 – tending your professional garden; getting started; Prairie Garden Grant; teacher reflection: from outdoor learner to outdoor educator; January 2012 prescribed burn; glass house quiz: evergreens; summer workshops
• January 2012 – New Year’s challenge; McGrath Anniversary Garden; glass house quiz: raptors; eco-friendly holiday party
• December 2011 – garden politics; where is your outdoor classroom?; LREC teacher partners speak locally; glass house quiz: cleaning house
• November 2011 – beyond the bean seed; partnership with the University Child Development Center; prescribed burn season; glass house quiz: white-tailed deer
• October 2011 – the spirit of St. Louis; phenology; Discover Nature Schools; monitoring Deer Creek; glass house quiz: investigating elms; cheers for volunteers
• September 2011 – hope made visible; place-based education goes downtown (Patrick Henry Downtown Academy); Stream Team award; glass house quiz: the majestic monarch; summer workshops recap; new trails
• May 2011 – perfinkers—those with the ability to simultaneously perceive, feel, and think; expanding partnerships (Wyvetter Younge Middle School); glass house quiz: baby animals; thank you to Volunteer Educators; volunteer excellence (Group Excellence Award); reminders for teachers
• April 2011 – applying for next year’s field labs; tree inventory (Confluence Preparatory Academy); glass house quiz: ephemeral beauty
• March 2011 – beyond the scientific method; glass house quiz: buds & blooms; natural events at LREC; invasives brochure
• February 2011 – summer professional development opportunities; gardening in February; winter buds; glass house quiz: look up, look down, look around; the year of forests
• January 2011 – sustainable schoolyards: Edgar Road Elementary School; a team approach to outdoor, place-based teaching and learning; glass house quiz: our winter trees; volunteer holiday party photos
• December 2010 – sowing seeds for the future (service-learning); student investigations from Hudson Elementary; new Volunteer Educators; glass house quiz: winter restoration; preparing to burn
• November 2010 – picturing change; schoolyard learning…down the street; glass house quiz: seed dispersal
• October 2010 – becoming an agent of care; animal-plant interactions on leaves; glass house quiz: urban stream water quality; promoting native pollinators; seed box; updated place-based education report
• September 2010 – being your own advocate; CSI’s first year; summer internships; glass house quiz: branching patterns; any school can create a schoolyard habitat
• May 2010 – summer’s coming; sustainable schoolyard at the College School; tying it all together; digging and dining along Deer Creek; hooray for volunteer educators; glass house quiz: frogs and toads
• April 2010 – going easy on the planet; Maplewood-Richmond Heights Early Childhood Center and its neighborhood; glass house quiz: native and non-native spring wildflowers
• March 2010 – sustainable schoolyard and seed sowing at Covenant Christian School; glass house quiz: feeder birds
• February 2010 – revisit 2007 goals for 2010: have we made it?; update on sustainable schoolyard at Our Lady of Providence School; glass house quiz: animal tracks; what is a master ecologist anyway?
• January 2010 – New Year’s resolutions: Community Science Investigators (CSI); glass house quiz: snow; reading nature
• December 2009 – stream living: mayflies; whistle pig sighting; glass house quiz: turkeys; turkeys at LREC
• November 2009 – six strands of science learning; Soulard School; additions to the cabin (gutters and rain barrels); glass house quiz: controlled burns
• October 2009 – sustainable schoolyard: Our Lady of Providence School; zipper spiders; glass house quiz: seeds
• September 2009 – welcome back; photo report: sustainable schoolyards; summer ERC program; overlooking overlooks; horticultural glass house quiz
• May 2009 – moving from spaces to places; photo reports: bee calm and wade in the water; sharing the adventure and glass house quiz; fallen giants (trees); national volunteer week; farewell to LREC; this summer at the Garden
• April 2009 – looking for stories; what winter left behind (road salt); common springtime birds at LREC; spring glimpses
• March 2009 – renewing your LREC partnership; welcome Deanna and Danelle; St. Louis watershed quiz; weeds, whips, and wildflowers
• February 2009 – green deconstruction; Ozark witch hazel
• January 2009 – winter life; making room; prairie bugs in winter
• December 2008 – second grade entomologists; reflections on The Sunflower
  Forest; Christmas geese; parting words from Jennifer Brown
• November 2008 – new beginnings; the flood of 2008; restoration at LREC
• October 2008 – no newsletter was produced due to extensive clean-up efforts following flash floods
• September 2008 – the Freedom School; ERC update; young nature explorers; using medicinal plants as a “hook;” meet Anne Wamser
• May 2008 – wrapping the year up; summer 2008 teacher training; introducing Leslie Memula; summer at the Garden
• April 2008 – power of place; participating schools; hop into spring (frogs and toads); Arbor Day giveaway; rain gardens
• March 2008 – crossing borders; natural lawn care; brief geologic history of St. Louis; Ecological Restoration Corps
• February 2008 – seed statistics 2007–2008; River des Peres Watershed Coalition Planning Forum; Garden happenings
• January 2008 – computer games and the environment; LREC Stream Team; summer 2008 teacher training at LREC; insects in winter; new online virtual tour; feed the birds; goodbye Heather
• December 2007 – LREC and MBG horticultural therapy with autistic kids (Southview School); red-tailed hawk release; slugs
• November 2007 – place-based education in action (Spoede Elementary); riparian restoration activities; prairie invertebrates
• October 2007 – navigating a crowded calendar; the new prairie; belted kingfishers; happenings
• September 2007 – restoration education; dodder; a new spin on site research; why collect bees?; research goals of LREC; Missouri Department of Conservation grant opportunities for teachers
• June 2007 – watershed workshops; field research
• May 2007 – schools we serve; tiger beetles; eastern tent caterpillars; spring freeze
• April 2007 – New City River Kids; greenhouse; decomposers; garlic mustard
• March 2007 – expeditionary learning; winter creek report; springtime birds
• February 2007 – Hudson grade 5; schoolyard habitat grants
• January 2007 – Reform Jewish Academy; seed sowing; bush honeysuckle removal
• December 2006 – Spoede Elementary; environmental education; new volunteer educators; decomposers
• November 2006 – Ecology School; dragonfly metamorphosis
• October 2006 – mink; restoration interns; new restoration projects
• September 2006 – Maplewood-Richmond Heights Early Childhood Center; Ecological Restoration Corps; hydrology; North American Prairie Conference
• June 2006 – galls; Normandy High School BIO Club; herbarium; fungi
• April 2006 – greenhouse; spring ephemerals; riparian restoration; pileated woodpeckers
• March 2006 – burned prairie; Deer Creek Watershed citizen projects; beavers
• February 2006 – Midwest Invasives Conference; Deer Creek study; LREC Stream Team; natural happenings
• January 2006 – gopher burrows