Mike Saxton – Shaw Nature Reserve – Gray Summit, MO – Divison of the Missouri Botanical Garden

As we come off a successful and engaging 2025 Workshop with the Kansas Biological Survey, KU Field Station, Johnson County Park and Recreation District and Baker University, planning has begun for the 2026 Workshop.

Shaw Nature Reserve, a 2,400 acre site located 35-miles outside St. Louis, MO, will host in 2026. Natural communities at SNR include woodlands, prairies, dolomite glades, floodplain forests, and wetlands that are actively managed to promote native biodiversity. The three core mission areas of SNR include native plant horticulture, environmental education, and ecological restoration.

Restoration efforts began at Shaw Nature Reserve in 1980 with the first prairie plantings and Rx fire. Controlled burns started in woodland communities in 1992. The program has grown over the last decade and the scope of stewardship has increased dramatically.

Dates and specific agenda are TBD but anticipated elements include glade management, prairie planting, logging/land clearing, volunteer stewardship, equipment/shop tours, and our core stewardship activities of fire, weeds and seeds. Research projects including work on grass specific herbicide use in grass-dominated prairies, prairie planting establishment mowing practices and use of mycorrhizal inoculant will be discussed.

Once the exact dates are set, we will send out a Save the Date – GRN 2026!

Shaw Nature Reserve is actively recruiting for the position of Manager, Restoration and Land Stewardship.  The full position description and application can be found here on the Missouri Botanical Garden career opportunities page.

The Nature Reserve has a thriving ecological restoration program with highly skilled staff, a dedicated community of volunteers, and professional equipment and facilities to support ambitious restoration projects and long-term stewardship of regional biodiversity.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Applicants are encouraged to apply promptly and should submit their applications no later than the end of September