In 2015, approximately 6 acres of lawn were replaced with a reconstructed prairie at the Danforth Plant Science Center in Creve Coeur, Missouri. This Grow Native! webinar presentation will outline the process of site preparation, planting, and maintenance—from the first plantings to the present—from Danforth Plant Science Center experts. The presentation will include information on current stewardship of the prairie, how it fits into the overall goals and mission of the Center, and the possibilities and limitations of the prairie for research purposes. The Danforth Plant Science Center is a Grow Native! Garden of Excellence.
The webinar, to be held via Zoom, will include a presentation and a live question and answer session. Please register below at the link. The webinar will be recorded, and sent to all registrants, as well as posted to our YouTube channel.
Cost: Free
Register Here
Presenters Include:
Todd Hornburg is the Danforth Plant Science Center’s vice president of facilities and special services. Todd’s responsibilities include oversight and management of all facility maintenance and facility modification projects. He also oversees the campus security department, shipping and receiving, Danforth’s plant growth facility, and its field research site. Prior to joining the Danforth Center in 2016, he worked in construction project management and engineering. Todd received a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Purdue University.
Elizabeth A. (Toby) Kellogg is the Robert E. King Distinguished Investigator at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis, Missouri, and an Associate of the Harvard University Herbaria. She is a plant scientist with classical training in systematics and is best known for her work on the comparative biology of cereal crops and their wild relatives in the grass family. Her lab addresses how evolution has produced the huge diversity of grasses, and how humans can harness that diversity to unlock the genetic potential of cereal crops. She holds A.B. and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard University, where she also did post-doctoral work. She has an M.S. degree from the University of Idaho and an honorary doctorate from Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and is an Académica (Fellow) of the Academia Nacional de Ciencias, Argentina.
Malinda Walter has been passionate about Missouri native plants for more than 20 years. She has a Master’s degree in pollination ecology from the University of Iowa and co-owns Compass Native Landscapes, a Grow Native! Professional Member, in St Louis with her partner, Chris Feldewerth. Among other commercial and residential clients, they have maintained the prairie planting at the Danforth Plant Science Center since 2023.
Photo of native blooms from Danforth Plant Science Center’s reconstructed prairie by Kari Frey