GRAY SUMMIT, Mo. – What started as an emergency backup plan for the Missouri Botanical Garden has become a sanctuary for native plants and wildlife and a haven for conservation.
In the early 1900s, rapid industrialization led to constant smog over St. Louis, harming many of the plants at the Missouri Botanical Garden. In 1925, the garden purchased five neighboring farms in Franklin County as a refuge. The following year, selected plants were relocated to Gray Summit Extension, which eventually became the Shaw Nature Reserve.
One hundred years on, the nature reserve is still a division of the Missouri Botanical Garden, but its experience is much different. The farmland has reverted to its natural state. You’ll find prairies, forests, and wetlands.
Visitors can explore 18 miles of hiking trails or drift through the reserve’s native plant collection in the Whitmire Flower Garden. Kids will love the Nature Explore Classroom and Sense of Wonder Woodland, both full of hands-on fun. The reserve is perfect for individual visits or for enjoying any of the weekly public programs.
Shaw Nature Reserve has become a leader in ecological restoration, native plant cultivation, and environmental education. The reserve is bringing back its Wildflower Concert Series this summer, providing visitors with live music amid the serene beauty of the Missouri prairie.
Garden members get free admission to the nature reserve, as well as the Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House.