During Year Two of Green Spiral Tours, families experienced many magical moments, and learned directly from local entrepreneurs, farmers, educators and leaders in the sustainable field, at a wide variety of locations throughout the Saint Louis area.
Experience really is the best teacher! Plus, bringing friends along is more fun and helps create a vibrant learning community. At Green Spiral, we especially welcome adventurous families who like to write and photograph, will reflect and debrief online, and will share the learning via social media.
Green Spiral hosted 10 field trips in Year Two, (up two field trips from Year One).
Field Trips Include:
Pie Making at BEGIN New Venture Saint Patricks Center
We learned how to make pies with “Pie Oh My!” entrepreneur Jane Callahan, at the BEGIN New Venture “kitchen incubator,” a cutting edge program for local food entrepreneurs, located downtown at the Saint Patrick Center.
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Bocce Ball, Herbaria and Ravioli Tour of “The Hill”
One mother’s testimony “I’ve lived on The Hill for seven
years and didn’t know all this stuff was here!”
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“Living Building” Tour at Tyson Learning Center
Saint Louis is home to one of the very greenest buildings
in the world, a “Living Building” built by Washington University as a lab
and learning center. We got to see it on a rainy day. Closed to the public.
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Strawberry Picking at Thies Farms at the Creve Coeur location
Still the best place for u-pick strawberries within easy reach.
Don’t let your kids grow up without strawberry picking at least once!
The best strategy for organic strawberry picking in Saint Louis is still DIY.
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Rue Lafayette Cafe and Lafayette Park Pond and Playground
Saint Louis has a rich french heritage and it’s important to know at least a little something about it. Renting sailboats for the Lafayette Park pond and eating chocolate croissants is a nice way to start! This was our third year to Rue Lafayette Cafe on Lafayette Park.
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Farm Tour at EarthDance FARMS
One of the primary movers in the Saint Louis food movement,
EarthDance FARMS hosts regular tours on Sunday afternoons in the summer.
If you want to explore to the front edge of the food movement, it’s a must visit!
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Arrowhead Hunting
The historic drought made this year an excellent year for arrowhead
hunting, and it’s fascinating to hunt for artifacts from past civilizations,
which may be hiding surprisingly near you!
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Crawdad Fishing
Missouri is home to the biggest spring fed rivers in the world,
and this makes us a biodiversity hotspot for “crawdads” (crayfish).
We went to catch a few with very young children in Forest Park.
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Sustainable Sensory Tour of Maplewood
The City of Maplewood is a hotspot for sustainability,
anchored by the Gardenworks at Schlafly Bottleworks.
We went to visit the gardens, along with sustainable
chocolate maker Kakao, and two healing arts centers:
The Salt Room and Cheryl’s Herbs.
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Metro Journey to the Whispering Wall at Union Station
Union Station is again in transition, and so the annual
Metro Journey to the Whispering Wall was cancelled this year.
We are holding a bright candle for Union Station and know
that this rich cultural landmark will continue to be part of Saint Louis’ living legacy,
well into the future.
Green Spiral Tours
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