Summer in Columbia can be hot, and this summer is certainly no exception. When Missouri Conservation Corps started leading volunteer events in Columbia’s parks back in 2021, our events took place on weekday evenings and on Saturday mornings. This strategy helped us maintain our full-time jobs while we also brought volunteer opportunities to community members who were ready to remove invasive species and restore their native habitat. During the summers of 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 we scheduled volunteer workdays between the months of April and December, including these hot summer months of July and August. Last year our hottest workday was held in Garth Nature Area during late July, and despite the temperature, we had several enthusiastic volunteers who were willing to come out and cut some of the largest honeysuckle we have ever tackled (see photo).
This year, with experience as our guide, we are dialing back our efforts a bit during the hottest of the summer months, and we are saving our energy and enthusiasm for the mellower months of autumn. While we will not schedule any invasive species removal events during late July and August this year, we will be back in force for the months of September, October, November and December. We hope to have a new schedule of events ready to go by the middle of August, and our volunteer work events will once again take place in Columbia’s public parks, with some of our favorite parks being Kiwanis Park, Garth Nature Area, Bonnie View Nature Sanctuary, and the MKT Trail.
This is not to say that we will not be busy between now and September. Missouri Conservation Corps staff and volunteers will be planning our next Pint Night Fundraiser at the Alpine Shop in early September, we will be meeting with the wonderful educators and volunteers who helped us with our Summer Camp education series to plan next year’s camp events, and we will be putting getting ready for the return of students to Columbia, and the collegiate Volunteer Fairs at MU and at Columbia College. We are also working on fall plans for more urban tree planting in north-central Columbia, developing strategies for volunteer tree watering, and we are adding one or two more board members. So while it looks like we are taking a sleepy, summertime hiatus this year, we are in fact working steadily to be ready for what looks to be a busy, productive fall.
