“It’s very important, for the longevity of Brightside, to further engage the incredibly talented mass of young volunteers we’re fortunate to have already helping us,” said Mary Lou Green, our Executive Director. “Thanks to the local colleges and universities, we have a very deep and diverse pool of students and recent grads to tap into. Our hope is that by getting them involved with a Young Friends of Brightside St. Louis group, we’ll give them added incentive to make St. Louis their long-term home, all while making it even more beautiful than it already is.”

Brightside will be presenting to the Launch St. Louis board later this month and will host the organization for a site visit this summer. Launch is scheduled to make a decision by early Fall on their next partner. We sure hope it’s us!

As noted on their website, Launch St. Louis “energizes and develops the next generation of leadership for St. Louis area non-profits. Previous partners of Launch St. Louis have included Friends of Kids with Cancer and the Friends of the Saint Louis University Liver Center.

Wish us luck! And in the meantime, check out Launch St. Louis. They’re doing really great things to help our city build it’s next generation of leadership. They’re on Facebook and Twitter if you’re interested.

On Friday May 10th and Saturday May 11th volunteers will be expanding on last year’s efforts to beautify downtown. Brightside will be planting flowers along Market Street and Tucker Boulevard in conjunction with the City Parks Department and the Partnership for Downtown St. Louis.

WHO: People who love flowers and St. Louis
WHAT: Planting flowers and having fun!
WHEN: Friday May 10th & Saturday May 11th, 9:00 a.m. until Noon
WHERE: Volunteer Registration, 13th & Market Streets, near the Laclede Statue at City Hall

This is a cooperative effort between many organizations dedicated to making St. Louis a more beautiful place to live, work and visit. The efforts of these volunteers make every trip downtown more beautiful than the last.

For more information or to volunteer…
Call Brightside at 772-4646 or email info@brightsidestl.org.

Help us plant for a beautiful St. Louis!
St. Louis gets more beautiful every year thanks to the volunteers planting flowers downtown and in neighborhoods throughout the city!

As detailed on their website, Forest ReLeaf was founded in 1993 to provide trees for public and nonprofit plantings and to present educational programs to increase stewardship of the trees and forests in Missouri. This fine organization is working to build a region of healthy community trees sustained by volunteer efforts and partnership with the public and private sectors.

Perry Eckhardt, Urban Forester with the Missouri Department of Conservation, presented the Exceptional ReLeaf award to our Mary Lou Green on Arbor Day.

“We’re really excited to be a recipient of this highly competitive Wells Fargo environmental grant program,” said Mary Lou Green, Executive Director at Brightside St. Louis. “We truly appreciate being recognized and will use this grant to provide funding for our Employees Engaged in Environmental Stewardship (EEES) program. We’ll be working hand in hand with Wells Fargo Advisors, engaging their employees and employees from other leading companies in St. Louis to create a healthier, more sustainable ecosystem for wildlife and the local community.”

Brightside St. Louis was named among 64 nonprofit recipients of Wells Fargo’s 2013 Environmental Solutions for Communities grant program across the country in honor of Earth Day. The grant program began in 2012 as part of Wells Fargo’s commitment to provide $100 million to environmentally-focused nonprofits and universities by 2020. It is funded by the Wells Fargo Foundation and administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation through a $15 million, five-year relationship to promote environmental stewardship across the country.

“We’re pleased to announce Brightside St. Louis as a recipient of Wells Fargo’s environmental grant program to help provide long-term solutions to the region’s environmental challenges,” said Ashley Grosh, head of Wells Fargo Environmental Philanthropy.

The goal of the Wells Fargo Environmental grant program is to provide cash grants for highly impactful projects that link economic development and community well-being to the stewardship and health of the environment. Brightside St. Louis was identified by Wells Fargo and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) as being in need of extra help with the EEES program.

“We sought out the best ideas and programs to protect and conserve the environment for local communities,” said Jeff Trandahl, executive director and CEO of NFWF. “Through Wells Fargo’s generous contributions, these community-based projects will provide immediate benefits to local ecosystems and will help build and strengthen environmental stewardship ethics.”

The grant program funded proposals in select cities/regions in the areas of sustainable agriculture and forestry, conservation of land and water resources, energy efficiency and urban infrastructure, community outreach and environmental education.

The community and environmental impacts of all grants will be measured and reported. For example, in 2012, the Wells Fargo Environmental Solutions for Communities grant program collectively funded 8,621 acres of habitat restoration and 165,970 newly planted trees. The grants also helped reduce more than 2 million gallons of runoff water and an estimated 331,840 pounds in CO21. The full list of 2013 winners can be found at http://blog.wellsfargo.com/environment/. Details of the program and a link to the 2014 application can be found at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation application website: www.nfwf.org/environmentalsolutions.

Not only do you have the chance to grab some new plants for your yard and garden, but all the proceeds from the sale will benefit the Flora Conservancy, a not-for-profit volunteer organization that, in partnership with the City of St. Louis Parks Department, landscapes and maintains plantings throughout Forest Park.

So, what do you say? Come out and support a great organization that helps support one of St. Louis most prized treasures – Forest Park!

Click here to download the flyer.

According to their website, habitat loss is the number one cause for the population decline of native birds and other wildlife. In the area, urban sprawl is the greatest contributor to this habitat loss.

The program’s vision is for a metropolitan region covered by a mosaic of small, private habitats for birds, butterflies and other animals, helping reverse the population decline of many species and inspire families with nature encounters at home. While supporting positive action for the environment at home and work, those private nature sanctuaries are intended to inspire community-wide activism for some of the same conservation practices.

To learn more about the program, click here. And to learn more about our friends at the St. Louis Audubon Society, click here.

Thanks for reading! And get involved today!

On November 3rd, five SLU students and members of the service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega worked with Mark Grueber and our very own Mary Lou to plant trees in the Silva Cells in front of our building. They loved being a part of this historic project. GO APO!

In case you’re unfamiliar with the Silva Cell planting process, Deep Root root guides are placed around a tree’s root ball to direct the roots into the Silva Cell modular blocks which are filled with soil. This enables the trees to get the moisture and oxygen that they need to live for decades without buckling sidwalks. After all, a large street tree is the best urban stormwater management tool. This is the first silva cell project in all of Missouri under a porous surface.

A special thanks to Mike Rood at Pea Ridge Forest in Hermann for the great Shawnee Brave Baldcypress trees. The Shawnee Brave, with its columnar growth habit, is perfect for planting in our new sidewalk plaza. Thanks to EPA Region 7 and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources for making this Silva Cell project possible with funding provided through Section 319 of the Clean Water Act. A special thanks to Valerie Hentges for believing in this project and to Perry Eckhardt and Mark Grueber for being the inspiration behind installing silva cells at Brightside in the first place.

And special thanks to Mike Walsh and Forest ReLeaf of Missouri for donating even more trees to Brightside St. Louis. What a great partner! Thanks to Forest ReLeaf, we now have 7 more trees — four baldcypress and three redbuds — to provide shade, stormwater management and carbon sequestration.

Thanks to Mark Grueber, Community Forester with the Missouri Department of Conservation, we also have a new Post Oak tree in our Woodland area in our Demo Garden. Another 20 years and we will have lots of shade from the tree Mark grew from an acorn.

Quality soil is the key to a healthy lawn and garden and now we can help. The Horticulture Specialists at the MU Extension will examine your soil’s pH level and vital nutrients. In addition to scientific results, you will also receive problem-solving advice tailored to your soil’s specific needs.

Just gather two cups of soil samples from around your lawn or garden that have been mixed together and bring them (and $20!) to the Brightside St. Louis office – we’ll take care of the rest! For lawns, sample 3-4″ deep, and for other garden areas, your sample depth should be 6″ deep. Air-dried samples should be brought in a plastic bag.

Stop by to drop off your samples and get your garden growing again!