Missouri Prairie Foundation

Thank you for visiting our Missouri Prairie Foundation page!

The Missouri Prairie Foundation (MPF) -- founded in Columbia in 1966 by a small group of conservation professionals and citizens -- protects and restores prairie and other native grassland communities through land acquisition, management, education, and research. Temperate grasslands, like Missouri's tallgrass prairies, are some of the most endangered ecosystems in the world. What began 59 years ago as an all-volunteer advocacy group has now grown into a nationally accredited land trust that owns and manages 36 properties totaling more than 5,000 acres across the state. These beautiful prairies are carefully stewarded and open to the public to enjoy.

MPF also promotes the use of native plants in developed landscapes through its Grow Native! program. Grow Native! helps protect and restore biodiversity by building conservation awareness of native plants and their effective use in urban, suburban, and rural areas. Native plants are adapted to our lower Midwest climate and soils, and furnish vital food and habitat for songbirds, butterflies, and pollinators. They also can help conserve water resources, manage stormwater runoff, and store carbon. Some even make great food for us! Through collaboration with individuals, businesses, non-profit organizations, government agencies, and other community partners, Grow Native! aims to further expand the adoption of native plant landscaping across the lower Midwest to benefit wildlife and people.

With a small but mighty staff and dedicated volunteers, the Missouri Prairie Foundation carries out vigorous outreach and educational programming with many prairie and native plant resources available to all, for free. 

These resources include:

- Original, old-growth prairies open to the public to visit on foot at any time

- Free, guided prairie hikes, tours of native gardens, and free campout events

- Free webinars on a wide variety of prairie and native landscaping topics

- Online native plant database with 370+ native plants

- Top 10 native plant lists and landscape plans

- Detailed guidance for native gardening and maintenance

- Information about establishing native plantings from seed

- Recipes for native edible plants and a native companion planting guide for fruits and vegetables

- Grow Native! Resource Guide with a directory of nearly 200 native plant suppliers and service providers

Donations made through Give STL Day will support the Missouri Prairie Foundation's mission to protect rare and biologically diverse prairies for all to enjoy, and to continue to develop and share hundreds of free native landscaping resources through its Grow Native! program to provide quality native plant information and educational opportunities for the community. Thank you for your support!

Photo credits: Banner - Linden's Prairie, an old-growth, unplowed prairie that is one of 35 properties protected by the Missouri Prairie Foundation by R.S. Kinnerson; Media Gallery photos: Pale purple coneflowers at an MPF prairie by Emily Gustafson; Students observing pipevine swallowtail caterpillars on Dutchman's pipevine at an MPF Grow Native! event; Wild hyacinth in bloom during an MPF guided prairie hike by Carol Davit; Children and adults learn about native pollinators at an MPF event by Carol Davit; Guided MPF hike to a rare fen by Carol Davit; Volunteers collect seed for prairie restoration at an MPF event north of St. Louis by Bruce Schuette; Shoppers select native plants for home landscaping at an MPF-organized native plant sale by Emily Gustafson; Students learning up-close about monarch caterpillars and native plants during a school presentation by MPF Board Member Doug Helmers and volunteer Amanda McColpin.