Building at the College school grounds
Photo by Kathy Bildner
Wild Ones – St. Louis Chapter received a request for $500.00 to plant a native garden at The College School outlier location near Eureka, MO in the La Barque watershed.
This 28-acre area is “for experiential, hand-on, inquiry-based learning…” The Jan Phillips Learning Center is their headquarters on the site for “learning beyond the classroom.”
Phillips was a teacher (and head of school) at The College School and author of Wild Edibles of Missouri.
The Wild Ones – St. Louis Chapter Board approved the grant, and we funded two of the six rain gardens, which Besa Schweitzer designed. She is the landscaper for the new building site property. These two rain gardens are in the rear of the structure where drainage will come off the roof of the main building and the pavilion.
College school open shelter being built – Besa Schweitzer and Ed Schmidt in the foreground
Photo by Kathy Bildner
Also, their native landscape includes short grass prairie, and native trees and shrubs. (Other grants received were 93 trees from Forest ReLeaf and 190 plants from Missourians for Monarchs.) Note that the landscaping is still in process and many of the plants are tiny.
Plant List:
Asclepias incarnata
Asclepias purpuresens
Asclepias syriaca
Asclepias tuberosa
Asclepias verticillata
Asclepias viridis
Carex comosa
Carex muskingumensis
Juncus effusus
Lobelia cardinalis
Lobelia siphilitica
Ludwigia alternifolia
Polansia dodecandra
Sagittaria latifolia
Zizia aurea
St. Peter sandstone bluff on La Barque creek tributary
Photo by Kathy Bildner
From the grant request, “The College School purchased the site in 2010. We have been working on restoring the health of the habitat as a whole since then. We have planted a tremendous number of native trees and shrubs, restored a glade area, cut out thousands of invasive species, and created a wetland connected to our permeable parking area.”
If you want to visit the Center and see the landscaping, you can go to the open house listed below.
Event: Grand Opening of the Jan Phillips Learning Center
Date and time: Saturday, May 20, 2017 from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Location: LaBarque Campus in Pacific, MO
Parking is limited.
Click the link below to register and get directions to the shuttle location.
RSVP: Registration is required.
Jan Phillips was teaching at the College School when my son went there in the late 1980’s.
Among other things she was know for taking classes to the roof of the school and showing them how to stand safely near the edge of the roof or on top of a cliff…
Dear Wild Ones,
Thank you so much for giving this grant to The College School Labarque Center. It will definitely be put to good use and appreciated so much by the generations of students to come, and their parents. This was a very wise investment. I have followed the development of the Jan Phillips Learning Center since the search for and purchase of the property. A great deal of study and professional planning and work have gone into it, by many dedicated and qualified people. The rain gardens and Monarch plantings will be another nice addition. Your time and money are much appreciated.
Excited to have this facility at a pristine location and close to my house.