Skip to main content
LearnTrees

Loving Your Tree To Death: Girdling

You just brought a beautiful new tree home from the nursery and plant it in the perfect spot in your yard, excited for the lifetime of memories you and your family will make under the luscious shade of its leaves. You want to remember what species you got, so you leave the plastic nursery tag on.…
Bridgingthegap
February 28, 2024
Community Voices

Black History Month: Celebrating Local Changemakers

February is Black History Month. To honor and celebrate, we're highlighting four local leaders who are creating restorative change for the environment and their communities. Michael Kelley BikeWalkKC Drew Hines Missouri Department of Conservation Jalen Holloway Heartland Conservation Alliance Kechia Smith Bridging The Gap Q: When it comes to environmental…
Bridgingthegap
February 20, 2024
Greener LivingLearnWildLands

Garden Planning in Winter

I hear a lot during wintertime about excitement for vegetable seed catalogs coming in the mail. Did you know winter is a good time to start planning for a native plant garden as well? Whether you plan on growing from seeds or buying plants in the spring, adding a new…
lesliebarland
February 1, 2024
Climate ChangeGreener Living

The Climate Case For Long Underwear

When people think of actions they can take to cut their global warming pollution, they typically think first of big, high-tech changes like buying an electric car or installing solar panels on their home. These can certainly have a large impact, but they typically require a big expenditure up-front (even…
lesliebarland
January 2, 2024
Climate ChangeGreener Living

In Appreciation of Winter

Winter’s not as long in Kansas City as it is in, say, Minnesota, but it’s long enough for most of us. While climate change is erratically spiking some very warm days even in December, we can generally count on it being cold, unpredictably icy or snowy, and somewhat gray for…
lesliebarland
December 15, 2023
LearnTrees

Discover the Wonder of Trees

Trees provide many types of benefits including: Social Benefits: Strengthen community bonds, improve mental well-being, and create serene, peaceful, restful, and tranquil environments. Community Benefits: Serve architectural and engineering functions by providing privacy, emphasizing views, reducing glare, and directing pedestrian traffic. Enhance the quality of life for residents. Environmental Benefits:…
lesliebarland
December 11, 2023
News

2023 Year-End Letter from BTG’s Executive Director

Dear friend of our community and shared environment, Hands down, this is the most exciting time ever at Bridging The Gap. Through the ARPA and IRA acts, our federal government is taking aggressive action on climate change, while working to reduce environmental injustices. There are billions of federal grant dollars…
lesliebarland
December 1, 2023
LearnWater + Energy

Saving Water at Home

The average American family uses more than 300 gallons of water per day at home, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. Reducing water use will not only help you save money on your utility bills  (both in the amount of water used, and the cost associated in heating water),…
lesliebarland
September 27, 2023
LearnWater + Energy

Saving Energy At Home

Buildings and homes generate 63% of our region’s greenhouse gas emissions. Finding ways to decrease our energy use and use renewable energy resources as much as possible is a strategic way our region can lower the impacts of climate change. Here's a few quick tips to help homeowners easily identify…
lesliebarland
September 27, 2023