MISSOURI — The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) invites teachers to learn how to incorporate prairie ecology into classroom study. MDC will offer free Discover Nature Schools prairie sessions from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Monday, May 16, at Wah’Kon-Tah Prairie in St. Clair County, and on Saturday, Sept. 10, at Dunn Ranch Prairie in Harrison County.

MDC and TNC staff will focus on the Discover Nature Schools formats taught in grades 3 through 12, including Nature Unleashed, Unhooked, Unbound. Topics will include the importance and history of Missouri prairies, and plants and animals unique to prairies. All educators are welcome. Participants will explore the specialized adaptations of prairie life, learn to identify several common prairie wildflowers and grasses, and learn about prairies streams and watersheds.

Wah’Kon-Tah Prairie Conservation Area is in the Upper Osage Grasslands, an MDC priority geography. Dunn Ranch Prairie, owned and managed by TNC, is in the Grand River Grasslands, also a priority geography. MDC works with private landowners and other conservation entities in those geographies to protect and restore functioning native grasslands and stream watersheds.

Teachers will also build and take home a plant press. They will receive a guide to Missouri wildflowers and other materials. A free lunch will be provided by TNC. Teachers who attend the full day and meet grant requirements will be eligible for MDC Discover Nature Schools funding. COVID-19 safety precautions will be followed.

Registration is required. To register, visit MDC’s online teacher portal, MDC Teacher Portal (mo.gov). For more information about the workshops, contact Ginger Miller or Adam Brandsgaard, MDC conservation educators, at Ginger.Miller@mdc.mo.gov or Adam.Brandsgaard@mdc.mo.gov.