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WEEKLY READER

December 2018 Vol. 2, No. 3

EVENTS/MEETINGS/ANNOUNCEMENTS

Innovation to Entrepreneurship: Fostering a Culture of Research Translation: Keynote speakers are Dr. Kelly Sexton, Associate Vice President for Research - Technology

Transfer and Innovation Partnerships for the University of Michigan and Dr. Rodolphe Barrangou,

Associate Professor of Food Science and the Todd R. Klaenhammer Distinguished Scholar in

Probiotics Research at North Carolina State University. The event will also feature panel

discussions, an exhibit hall, poster session, reception and many other notable speakers including:

Dr. Christopher Daubert, Vice Chancellor and Dean, College of Food, Agriculture and

Natural Resources, University of Missouri

Bill Turpin, CEO, Missouri Innovation Center and Interim Associate Vice Chancellor for

Economic Development at the University of Missouri

Dr. Namrita Lall, Professor of Plant Science, University of Pretoria

Dr. Chung-Ho Lin, Associate Research Professor, Center for Agroforestry, University

of Missouri

Dr. Katie Thompson, CEO and Co-founder, Elemental Enzymes

The event will be held at the Bond Life Sciences Center on the University of Missouri campus in

Columbia, MO. (See map) and is scheduled for Wednesday, January 30th (6:30-8:00pm) and

Thursday, January 31st (8:15am – 5:45pm). The 2019 Symposium is free and open to the public,

but advance registration is requested. Please register to attend at: goo.gl/iywnii. Not able to attend

in person? Join us via livestream: goo.gl/qtzbZa. We hope you can join us and look forward to

seeing you there. Please help us spread the word! Feel free to post this invitation on social media

or share throughout your networks to bring to the attention of others who might be interested to

participate. (Submitted by Greg Ormsby Mori.)

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The link below is an Instagram feed from the MU Honors

Convocation where Craig Paukert and graduate Cheyenne

Stratton were interviewed. (Submitted by Craig Paukert.)

https://twitter.com/Mizzou/status/1074008314231578626

Forwarded on behalf of the MNRC planning committee…

The Missouri Natural Resources Conference committee has been working hard again this year and

has another great MNRC planned. Workshops and their abstracts are now on the website

MNRC.org. Early Bird Registration ends January 12, 2019.

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THIS WEEK IN SNR WITH DIRECTOR JOSE

Dear All – Warmest wishes for a wonderful Holiday Season and a Happy New Year!

Shibu and the SNR Family

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IN MEMORIUM

There aren’t enough words to

describe such a magnificent,

humble woman who made so

many changes for conservation

and the environment. Pat

Jones’ legacy cannot be

written in a paragraph or in

several pages.

Pat grew up the daughter of a

prominent lawyer in St. Louis.

While growing up during a

time when girls were expected

to behave a certain way, she

enjoyed not being the

stereotypical girl; she loved to

go outside and get dirty, to

explore nature, and to wonder

what would happen next. Even

until her last moments, this

curiosity that was fostered at

the family’s weekend “Shack”

never diminished. Pat became

more than just the wife of the

legendary Edward D. “Ted”

Jones. Her passion, her drive,

her interest and her ability to

make things happen led to

some amazing outcomes. She

became known as the Prairie

Godmother as stated in People

Magazine in 2007.

In 1986, Pat donated her family farm, which would later become the Young Conservation Area.

In 1997, while continuing with her desire and vision to promote conservation, she worked on

donating her farm and acreage from her marriage with Ted to the Missouri Department of

Conservation in partnership with MU’s School of Natural Resources. In Pat’s heart and mind, she

“When you love something enough that you want it to

last forever, you’ve got to give it away.” Pat Jones

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envisioned the property to serve as a place for research, restoration, and education. This place was

to become Prairie Fork Conservation Area.

As we prepare to celebrate the 22nd year of fostering, caring for and nurturing those dreams at

Prairie Fork, we reflect on the past fall’s accomplishments. We have 10 research projects being

conducted on the property. We restored another 60 acres of prairie to bring us up to a total of 456

acres of prairie plantings, along with many acres of invasive species management and acres under

controlled burn management.

In education, we continued to host the

following groups this fall:

The Westminster’s STEM

Academy.

Two large Edward Jones events,

along with eight smaller tours and

fireside chats with Pat Jones.

The Missouri Pollinator

Stewardship class through

University of Missouri Extension

for six consecutive classes.

Fun City Youth Academy and

United Community Builders

groups came out to explore the

prairies, forests and pond habitats,

in addition two 4thgrade classes and

a 2nd grade class.

A teacher’s workshop focusing on

how to incorporate insects in the

curriculum.

Project Wild Terrestrial, Wild

Aquatic and Flying Wild

workshops showcasing lessons

from each of those areas of interest.

The annual Youth Dove Clinic, with an added Youth Deer Hunt with mentors.

Two scout group’s campout, along with a Cub Scout pack.

Two work days to help prepare for the educational events, with the assistance of the

Conservation Leadership Corps.

Dr. Mike Byrne brought out the Wildlife Techniques class to collect seeds this fall.

Dr. Kerry Clark brought out the Soil Genesis Class to investigate the soil shed and the soil

core.

Dr. Christine Li brought out the Foundations of Environmental Education and a Taiwan

Scholar come to talk about youth education.

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Other uses on site at Prairie Fork included hosting meetings for the Missouri Prairie Foundation,

Missouri Department of Conservation, and Missouri Department of Natural Resources. In

spreading the word about Prairie Fork and its mission, Dr. Christine Li and Amber Edwards tabled

booths at several events, along with presenting at the Missouri Environmental Education

Association Conferences.

In October, The Prairie Fork Trust Board had an opportunity to hear from several PI’s who

presented research updates at the fall meeting. We continue to find new opportunities to connect

people of all ages with nature. If you know of any group interested in wanting to visit Prairie Fork

or to use it as a meeting space, go to the http://prairiefork.missouri.edu/ and make an appointment

on the calendar tab.

As one can see, the vision that Pat wanted for Prairie Fork continues to thrive and to develop in

many ways. It is the hope that Prairie Fork will continue to expand and to serve within Pat’s desires

for this area that she and Ted loved so dearly. We will mourn the loss of a dear friend, a champion,

and a visionary. However, Pat would want us to dry our eyes and to continue to follow in her

footsteps of giving of our time and of ourselves by helping people of all ages to get outside and

engage the world around them. As Pat always said, we need to, “learn, get dirty, and have fun!”

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A celebration of life will be held at a later date in spring which is yet to be determined.

Donations can be made to: Conservation

Federation of Missouri, Friends of Ted and Pat

Jones, 728 W Main St, Jefferson City, MO

65101, http://www.confedmo.org/donate/ Attn:

Pat Jones OR Missouri Conservation Heritage

Foundation, Attn: Prairie Fork, P.O. Box 366,

Jefferson City, MO 65102. OR Katy Trail State

Park, check or money order, please make it

payable to Katy Trail State Park and send it to:

Katy Trail State Park, PO Box 176, Jefferson

City, MO 65102. To make an online donation:

https://mostateparks.com/katytraildonations

(Submitted and photos by Amber Edwards.)

This Weekly Reader will be distributed electronically every Friday (except during breaks). Please

send announcements to Cindy Greenwood, Editor (greenwoodci@missouri.edu) by Thursday @

5 p.m. If you’d like to unsubscribe from the Weekly Reader, please email Cindy. Thanks to Laura

Hertel for the Weekly Reader Tiger logo.