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A monthly publication about conservation in Missouri. Started in 1938, the printed magazine is free to residents of Missouri.
Kansas City, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) continues to expand offerings of free nature and outdoor skills programs with COVID-19 precautions. MDC can connect people of all ages with nature, and several programs are upcoming in the Kansas City region.
MDC’s Lake City Shooting Range is offering five-stand clay target shooting from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 21, at 28505 E. Truman Road between Independence and Buckner. This sport combines trap, skeet, and sporting clays to provide the challenge of all three games with less walking. No registration is required. There is a $4 fee per round of 25 clay targets. The event is held weather permitting. For more information, call 816-249-3194.
MDC’s Burr Oak Woods Nature Center will offer a “backyard busters” program from 10 to 11 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 22, 1401 N.W. Park Road in Blue Springs. This program for all ages is about native wildlife and insects that help control yard and garden pests. Registration is required, to register visit https://short.mdc.mo.gov/ZBG.
Missouri had giant predators in the distant past, and the state still has significant ones today, such as black bears. Learn about them at a Burr Oak Woods presentation for all ages from 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 29. Registration is required. To register, visit https://short.mdc.mo.gov/ZBf.
How about some surprisingly tasty fish? Burr Oak Woods will offer a class on how to catch, prepare and cook fish such as gar, drum, buffalo, and Asian carp from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 29, at the center’s education pond. Many crappie and catfish anglers bypass these fish. But with the right cooking styles they add to table fare. This class is for participants age 5 and older, families are welcome, registration is required. To register, visit https://short.mdc.mo.gov/ZBN.
Learn an outdoor survival skill and a fun hobby when MDC’s Anita B. Gorman Discovery Center staff teaches how to twine prairie plants into sturdy rope from 1 to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 22, 4750 Troost Ave. in Kansas City. This program is for all ages, registration is required. To register, visit https://short.mdc.mo.gov/ZBx.
Late August is a good time to see butterflies and all the pollinators. MDC’s Discovery Center staff will discuss all the beneficial native insect and animal pollinators that fly and crawl, from monarch butterflies to small skipper butterflies from 10 to 11 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 29. Registration is required for this all-ages program. To register, visit https://short.mdc.mo.gov/ZBY.
These programs are held outdoors. Participants must follow COVID-19 safety protocols including any local city or county mandate requiring masks that are in place.
For more information about these programs and those coming in September and October, visit https://short.mdc.mo.gov/ZXo.
