We conserve Missouri's natural resources
through outreach, restoration, and research.

The Chert Glades Chapter of the Missouri Master Naturalists welcomes you to our site.  Please look around.  Here you will find information about what is happening now in nature, chapter activities, and  upcoming events around the area.  We have links to our Facebook page and our chapter sponsors, Missouri Department of Conservation and Missouri University Extension.  Our blogs are full of timely information about natural communities in Missouri.. 

Click on "Projects" to see the latest information our Monarch Projects, Redings Mill Glade Restoration Project, and our Stream Team Initiative at Cardinal Valley.

 

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Come and explore the wild side of nature!
Come and explore the wild side of nature!

Join the MDC Naturalists at Shoal Creek Conservation and Education Center for some family-friendly summer programs.

Walking Toward the Light
Walking Toward the Light

Comparable to June & July’s night sky of twinkling stars, the fireflies seal our childhood memories, catch our attention and set our imagination soaring…no wonder we find ourselves walking toward the light. 
“Get up, Get out, and Let’s go fishing!”
Adorn the Patio Scene with Feathered Charm
Adorn the Patio Scene with Feathered Charm

They may have the stamina of an endurance athlete, the appetite of a teenager, and possess antics of a trapeze artist. Lastly, the little charmers may hold our attention like a Branson entertainer…they are our resident hummingbirds. Click here to read more………

Dragonflies as Ecological Indicators
Dragonflies as Ecological Indicators

Dragonflies Are Masters of Flight! Click her to learn more. Join us and discover some nymph dragonflies and other tiny water critters that reside in our streams. We will conduct a biological water quality demo at 12:00, April 27th, at the Earth & Arbor Day celebration in Landreth Park. We are looking for Wonderful, Wacky Water Critters. Join us at creekside and learn what they can tell us about our water quality.

Fireflies: Nature’s Flashlights
Fireflies: Nature’s Flashlights

I'm here. Where are you?  It might be a matter of the timing of the flashes, the duration, or even the color, but a firefly of the same species and of the opposite sex gets the message and flashes an answer that, in essence, says, I'm here.   

Grounding Kids to the Earth
Grounding Kids to the Earth

April is the threshold month of taking kids outside. 

INSECTS ARE IMPORTANT!
INSECTS ARE IMPORTANT!

If insects disappeared, many other species would also be wiped out. 

Wonderful, Wacky, Water Critters
Wonderful, Wacky, Water Critters

To discover some of the tiny water critters that reside in local streams and what they can tell us about water quality, join us at 12:00, April 27th,  at the  Earth & Arbor Day celebration in Landreth Park for a sample Biological Water Quality Testing Demo on the bank of Joplin Creek!

BATS- Nature’s Bug Busters
BATS- Nature’s Bug Busters

They eat up to half their body weight in insects each night. 

Little Brown Myotis (Little Brown Bat) Photo by MDC Staff, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation.