Field Trips

To compliment our outstanding monthly educational programs, the Springfield Plateau Chapter periodically offers field trips to members. These trips generally qualify for advanced training.

Our field trip coordinator is Karolyn Holdren. To sign up for a trip or to get more details, contact her at at 417-881-7429 or wildflower116@mchsi.com.

Here’s our 2012 schedule to date:

Saturday, Feb. 25 – River Bluff Cave and Museum

Saturday, March 17 or 24 – Geocaching

Saturday April 7 (rain date April 21) – Wildflower walk at Barb and Bob Kipfer’s place on Bull Creek; led by Barb and Linda Ellis

May – Float trip and possible overnight camp

June or July – Potluck picnic and silent/live auction

Saturday, Aug. 11 – St. Louis Wolf Sanctuary

Saturday, Sept. 30 – HaHaTonka; this will be close for those attending the Master Naturalist State Conference at Lake of the Ozarks; other members can drive up for the outing

Sunday, Oct. 7 – Paddy Creek Wilderness

Other possibilities are Lost Valley near Ponca, Ark.; an owl prowl; and Devil’s Well on the Current River.

Past Trips

Here are images from the Aug. 13 field trip to the Endangered Wolf Sanctuary, The World Bird Sanctuary and Lone Elk Park in the St. Louis area. At the wolf Sanctuary, we viewed African wild dogs, maned wolves, red wolves, Mexican gray wolves and swift foxes in large fenced areas.

At the World Bird Sanctuary, we viewed many raptors, which they specialize in, as well as other birds and domestic fowls. At the end of our visit, a wild immature bald eagle from the nearby Meramec River flew in and settled in a tree above the exhibits.

At Lone Elk Park, we learned about the squeeze shutes and corrals used for the elk and bison in the park. As we were leaving, we were fortunate to see both elk and bison grazing near the road side.

Here are images from the May 2011 wildflower field trip at the Barb and Bob Kipfer property on Bull Creek, followed by a potluck at Dan Crane’s cabin in Mark Twain National Forest. Note that the cropping was done automatically, and we did not intentionally cut Master Naturalists out!