Open Space STL recently announced the addition of Laumeier Sculpture Park to their conservation initiative, the Community Stewardship Alliance (CSA). Incubated by Open Space STL, CSA is a collaborative conservation effort between St. Louis environmental organizations to protect vulnerable natural areas across 12 parks. The addition of Laumeier Sculpture Park to CSA represents a multi-year commitment to control invasive plant growth in service of nurturing native species and continuing to integrate art and nature.
With more than 70 outdoor sculptures throughout Laumeier’s green spaces, Meridith McKinley, the board president of Laumeier Sculpture Park, says the collision of art and nature is a defining characteristic of the park and a driving force behind the collaboration with CSA.
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“The natural environment [is] crucial to being able to experience the artwork, so we felt like this was a really important partnership,” she says.
The CSA’s immediate focus is restoring the natural beauty of the oak woodlands in the south side of the park, which are currently overshadowed by invasive honeysuckle plants.
“To the average person, when you look out and see Laumeier, what you see is a beautiful park. When you move down the trails at Laumeier, especially as a master naturalist, looking around, what I see is a lot of honeysuckle,” says Katie Franke, community conservation program manager at Open Space STL.
Controlling the invasive honeysuckle spreading across the oak woodlands is also a matter of managing environmental hazards, according to Dennis Hogan, environmental resource specialist at St. Louis County Parks and Recreation.
“What [invasive plant growth] can also do is cause erosion, because there’s not the small herbaceous plants growing in the woodland to hold the soil in place…it’s moving soil particles into the water systems, to creeks, and causing, again, more aggravated environmental problems,” Hogan says.
Judy Meixner and Susan DiPaola, long-time volunteers at Laumeier Sculpture Park, are now ambassadors for CSA. Meixner anticipates removing invasive honeysuckle from the oak woodlands may take as long as three years.
“Then, possibly we could start planting more of the trees that are native if they’re lacking. We don’t know what’s in there until we can get the honeysuckle out,” she says.
“Our real goal and drive is to liberate that woodland, and to try and get some more native plants established,” adds Hogan.
Meixner expects close to 25 volunteers to join CSA’s first “honeysuckle hack” at Laumeier Sculpture Park on February 21. “We right now have an 18 all the way up to a 76-year-old. That’s a wide range of interest, [a] wide range of backgrounds,” she says.
The support of these citizen volunteers opens a new realm of conservation opportunities in the park. “From the parks department point of view, we just don’t have enough labor to get some of these projects done. So we really do rely on the community stewardship alliance to get some of this resource management work completed,” Hogan says.
McKinley is grateful for the energy and intention that CSA’s community-driven efforts brings to the table. “This just adds an extra level of care and conservation to the park that is…informed by the experts,” she says.
Laumeier Sculpture Park is also celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, which includes programming around the idea of “Begin Again.” It’s a fitting sentiment as the park seeks to reset and revive its natural elements.
“Launching this partnership during our 50th anniversary year really does make it all the more special… it’s where we reflect on our legacy and chart our course for the future,” McKinley says.
As CSA embarks on their multi-year journey of restoring the natural environments in Laumeier Sculpture Park, Franke says Open Space STL is proud to be a part of maintaining the park for the future.
“This is a park that has value for generations of families. This is a park that we went to as kids, that we bring our kids to now, that, you know, our kids will probably bring their kids to…I love getting to play a part in its history,” Franke says.
