The Environmental Bulletin Board for the Ozarks Region

Hellebores are tough! Barbara Lucks


Photo courtesy of the Watershed Committee of the Ozarks

Hellebores are tough! Barbara Lucks
Welcome to OzarksEnvironmentNews.com! This is your virtual bulletin board – a place to share information and celebrate your events, your accomplishments, your projects as well as a place to find info about organizations of like-minded folks, cool places to go to experience the outdoors at its best, and resources offering data, information, expertise. You are invited to share your news and enjoy the news of others! Got news? Report it to info@ozarksenvironmentnews.com Please note: we make every effort to ensure accuracy in our website; however, we cannot be responsible for info garnered from sites other than ours.
The mission of OzarksEnvironmentNews.com is to facilitate communication and to celebrate efforts and accomplishments among the environmental community of the Southwest Missouri Ozarks and to provide useful information to those who live in or visit the Region. Learn more...
Breaking News
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In his memoir, Loring Bullard reflects on his 73 years, from his 1950s and ’60s urban and rural American childhood to the present day, all weaved seamlessly in with the historical events that shaped him, the state of Missouri, the nation, and the world. In 225 colorful pages, this book tackles the Cuban Missile Crisis, nuclear testing, Earth Day, the contamination of Spring River and the ghost town of Times Beach, the production of Agent Orange in Missouri, lead mining controversies in the eastern Ozarks, rivers that caught fire, the rise of factory farming, legislative progress and setbacks, and much more. Along the way, Bullard provides ideas and resources for protecting the land, water, and air that we all share.
Career Opportunities - The Discovery Center of Springfield
Employment Type: Part-Time, Seasonal Compensation: $13.75-$14.25/hour. The Discovery Center of Springfield is a non-profit science center dedicated to inspiring a lifelong love of learning through engaging, hands-on experiences in STEM.
Science of Sound--Teacher Workshop, July 30. Target grade level is 1st and 2nd grade, but we could take 3rd grade teachers as well.
See flyer for more details. Click here.
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James River Basin Partnership.
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JRBP Volunteer Opportunities On The Horizon:
June 7th - River Rescue Cleanup
Join us for JRBP's Annual River Rescue Clean-Up
Saturday, June 21, 2025 from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
 
Join us Saturday, June 21, 2025 for our annual River Rescue cleanup on the James River! This year we will be floating from Shelvin Rock Access to Hootentown, picking up trash and tires along the way. Stick around after the cleanup for a free lunch.
This is a FREE event, sponsored in part by Athletic Brewing Company. Registration is required. Volunteers are encouraged to bring their personal boats, but no worried if you don't have one, you can borrow a canoe from us! Limited boats available, so sign up quick!
To register, please visit our event webpage. For questions, please call Brooke Widmar at (417) 380-9625 or email BrookeWidmar@JamesRiverBasin.com. Businesses and organizations with large groups should contact Brooke directly.
Springfield Art Museum Fassnight Creek Cleanups will be held the second Saturday of the month. We’re thrilled to bring back our Fassnight Creek 2nd Saturday Cleanups in collaboration with the Springfield-Greene County Park Board after a fall and winter break—join us in helping clean Fassnight Creek and stick around for a nature-art activity on Hatch Lawn.
Ozark Soul
Go to Native plants sales page
​Missouri Department of Natural Resources
Department of Natural Resources will host four pesticide collection events in 2025
JEFFERSON CITY, MO, FEB. 18, 2025 – The Missouri Department of Natural Resources will offer four free waste pesticide collection events in 2025. All of the events will be open from 8 a.m. to noon and are open to all Missouri farmers and households.​
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Sep. 13 - Location to be determined.
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Oct. 4 - Litton Agri-Science Learning Center, 10780 Liv 235, Chillicothe.
Accepted (limited to 8,000 lbs. total weight per farm or household):
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Herbicides.
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Insecticides.
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Fungicides.
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Rodenticides.
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De-wormers.
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Fly tags.
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Fertilizers containing pesticide.
Not Accepted:
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Pesticide rinsate: For rinsate management information, visit mo.gov/document-search/pesticide-rinsate-management-pub2870/pub2870.
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Paint, explosives.
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Fire extinguishers.
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Yard waste.
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Electronics.
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Trash.
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Pesticides from businesses, pesticide-production facilities, pesticide distributors, pesticide retailers or similar entities.
Registration is recommended but not required. Register for one of the collection events at pesticidecollectionregistration@dnr.mo.gov. More information about the Missouri Pesticide Collection Program is available online at dnr.mo.gov/waste-recycling/what-were-doing/events-collections-trainings/missouri-pesticide-collection-program.
Missouri Prairie Foundation
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Ozark Society
(see flyer, click here)
The Ozark Society is a non-profit organization established in Arkansas in 1962 to protect the Buffalo
River and its surrounding wilderness area from development, thus allowing it to remain a free-flowing
and scenic river. Today, the Ozark Society continues to advocate for conservation of natural resources,
preservation of scenic places, and environmental education.
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The Youth Grant Program (K through 12th grade) was initiated in 2020. The purpose of this program is to
support youth engagement and participation in conservation and environmental education projects.
Since inception, the program has awarded a total of $53,000 to 33 projects with 7,500 youth
participants from Kindergarten to 12th grade.
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Who are beneficiaries of Youth Grants? Grants from $500 - $3,000 are awarded to conservation and
environmental programs in schools or small non-profit organizations from any region in which there is an
active Ozark Society Chapter including central and northwest Arkansas, Springfield Missouri and north
Louisiana
What types of projects are awarded? Proposals should focus on some aspect of conservation or
environmental education, which aligns with principles of the Ozark Society. Examples of more specific
focus for a project are: water quality/stream restoration, preservation of wild spaces or natural
resources, native plant gardens and native tree projects, habitat restoration, sustainability projects,
enhancement of access to nature, and unique/innovative projects that address local environmental
problems.
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Ozarks Clean Fuels Coalition​
SW Missouri Local Government Briefings
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​​​​​​Missouri Butterflies, host plants and Caterpillars
Go here to see a great poster of common butterflies and their caterpillars!
Watershed Center of the Ozarks
Join the Team: two seasoal internships with Watershed Natives
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Children and Nature Network
Springfield Community Resource Guide
EPA​
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Read to find out how to subscribe and see what events are coming up. Learn about composting, free workshops and more! Click HERE.
The Ozarks Clean Air Alliance (OCAA) Go HERE to find out more. and the Clean Air Action Plan
White River Sierra Club
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The Schoolcraft Ozarks Society
Dark Sky Missouri (Click here for more information)
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Missouri Environmental Education Association (MEEA)
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Check out what can be recycled at Staples. https://www.staples.com/stores/recycling
Missouri Department of Conservation
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Meet your webmaster, Shae Johnson. She is a Springfield Plateau Master Naturalist, a Greene County Master Gardener, a docent at the Dr. Bill Roston Native Butterfly House, and she wears many other hats. She is also an artist.

Meet thej owner of this website. Barbara Lucks has developed it as a central place
for patrons to find all sorts of environment related news and opportunities.
