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Missouri Prairie Foundation Awards

At The Missouri Prairie Foundation’s Annual Dinner, held virtually in August, the 54-year-old prairie conservation organization and land trust paid tribute to seven awardees, including one recipient from our metro region, as well as a statewide organization that is very active and popular in our region.

2020 Grow Native! Native Plant Pioneer Award: Mitch Leachman of St. Louis, MO.

Mitch Leachman is the Director of Programs for the St. Louis Audubon Society. Since 2012, he has delivered more than 150 presentations and seminars to more than 5,000 people on native plant landscaping and gardening for birds. In 2016, Leachman helped develop a series of native landscaping continuing education classes at St. Louis Community College at Meramec. He spearheads the very successful Partners for Native Landscaping workshop and has coordinated the St. Louis Native Plant Garden tour. Leachman also coordinates the St. Louis Audubon’s Bring Conservation Home program, which involves many volunteers and provides on-site advice to homeowners in the greater St. Louis area on landscaping with native plants, the removal of invasive plants, and other stewardship practices that promote healthy habitat for birds, other native wildlife, and people.

2020 Grow Native! Native Plant Protector Award: Missouri Native Plant Society

This 41-year-old conservation organization has worked, on a purely volunteer basis, to educate Missourians on the many values of the state’s native flora. The

Missouri Native Plant Society

was founded in 1979 and is devoted to the enjoyment, preservation, conservation, restoration, and study of the flora native to Missouri. The Society is active both at the state level and regionally with chapter affiliates. It organizes presentations on native plants, free and open to all, and many field trips around the state where participants learn how and where plants grow in specific habitats. The Society has also organized trips in partnership with native plant societies of neighboring states and publishes the scientific journal Missouriensis to document and share native plant knowledge in Missouri. The Society’s Facebook group has more than 28,000 members.

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