INNOVATION HUB SCIENCE COMES ALIVE

By Drew Gieseke

Experts in wildlife ecology, animal movement and veterinary medicine joined forces in a landmark collaboration to enhance how we understand Forest Park.

Dubbed the Forest Park Living Lab, the team behind the project is comprehensively examining the health and behavior of Forest Park’s wildlife, as well as interactions between its ecosystems. The hope is that the work will shine a light on the intricate web of wildlife in St. Louis’ most beloved urban park and its relationship with the millions of people in the region.

“When we study these animals, we can understand how they’re interacting with each other, with humans and with the urban environment around them,” says Stella Uiterwaal, a postdoctoral fellow with the Living Earth Collaborative at Washington University. “This gives us data to understand how best to protect our park’s treasured wildlife and answer fundamental ecological questions.”

The new initiative is a partnership between some of the finest institutions and organizations in the city: Forest Park Forever, The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center, Saint Louis University, the Saint Louis Zoo, Washington University in St. Louis and the World Bird Sanctuary. Forest Park Living Lab’s living experiment relies on GPS tracking that follows select mammals, birds and reptiles to better understand community health and movement.

In November 2022, the team concluded one year of GPS tracking data collected from Astrid, Forest Park’s great horned owl. This unique data is stored in an online repository that both builds an understanding of the animal species living in the 1,371-acre park and helps outline conservation steps.

“My hope is that the data we collect inspires increased appreciation for and understanding of our local urban wildlife,” Uiterwaal says. “How cool is it to know that during a walk in Forest Park, you are sharing the space with a whole community of animals that call the park home?”

Another core component of the project includes education and outreach. Forest Park Living Lab plans to partner with schools and area organizations to connect kids with the wildlife living right in their backyard. Think fun, immersive activities that expose kids to nature in the park, like the popular box turtle safaris, where kids use trackers to locate box turtles in the area. Through these efforts, the team hopes to break down barriers and build up lives.

“If we can work with those kids by getting them into further training in wildlife nature, ecology – science-y stuff – we have the potential to transform a lot of people’s lives, especially with the institutions we have around here,” Stephen Blake, professor of biology at Saint Louis University says.

Funding is key to the success of Forest Park Living Lab. The team is in the process of writing proposals for a variety of initiatives related to its mission and people can donate to the organization on its website.

More broadly, Forest Park Living Lab is an experiment in community buy-in. Blake said he hopes the project can reach people in the region and beyond by inculcating a new sense of wonder and greater appreciation for the wildlife and nature that’s right on their doorstep. Investment goes a long way in making that happen.

“We can find money for all sorts of things, but wildlife conservation is always looking for the crumbs at the table,” Blake says. “Environmental stability is the most important thing we have on planet Earth.” ln

Forest Park Living Lab, forestparklivinglab.org