Kansas City WildLands is a coalition of resource professionals, private conservation organizations and conservation-minded citizens established to restore and conserve the remnants of Kansas City’s original landscape by involving people in the stewardship of the land.
Relatively undisturbed prairie, glade, savanna and forest natural communities still exist on public lands in the metro area, but they need our help! Over time, these remnant wild places have been overtaken by trees and brush, invaded by exotic plants and deprived of the natural processes that maintained them.
In addition to a lack of management, these natural communities also suffer from a lack of recognition and appreciation by the urban public. An equally important dual goal of the WildLands coalition is to involve citizens and metro communities in the care of these lands that represent Kansas City’s natural heritage.
Learn more about the KC Wildlands Projects, and how YOU can get involved!
2,000
Volunteer Hours Worked
24
Workdays Hosted
84
Species of Wildflowers our Seed Team Collected
250
Invasive Cedar Trees Removed at our Annual Cedar Tree Event
The wild lands await! Many people are unaware that there are so many beautiful, undisturbed natural areas in the Kansas City region. Come out and take a walk and visit these living natural history lessons.
Currently WildLands volunteers help to restore thirteen remnant sites within the Kansas City metropolitan region. These are some of the most diverse, beautiful places in the Midwest ... we challenge you to visit all 13!
Hike a WildlandCalling all nature enthusiasts! Volunteer with Bridging The Gap’s Kansas City WildLands (KCWL) program! At our workdays, we explain why it’s important protect and restore our native ecosystem, then we split into small groups to remove and treat invasive plants. We work on designated WildLands (native forests and prairies) throughout the metropolitan area, on both sides of the state line.
Volunteer: Set a Date With Us! (Groups Only) Maple Woods Ecological Restoration
Volunteer: National Public Lands Day Restoration Workday, 3 sites
Volunteer: Annual Honeysuckle Battle
Volunteer: Ecological Restoration Workday
Event & Volunteer: Annual Red Cedar Tree Event
An under-story shrub in woodlands, Asian bush honeysuckles invades quickly and out-competes native plants. Because it leafs out so early, the shrub steals light from native plants that need a sunny forest floor in spring in order to flower, fruit, and gather energy for the next year. Birds and small animals eat the berries and deposit the seeds elsewhere, spreading this noxious weed. Learn to identify this aggressive invader, and then kill it before it spreads more seeds elsewhere.
Learn more
Field Biologist
Johnson County Parks and Recreation District
Midwest Field Representative
The Conservation Fund
Conservationist
Kansas City Native Plant Initiative
Natural History Biologist
Missouri Department of Conservation
Professor
Rockhurst University
Environmental Chair
Shumaker Family Foundation
Program Manager
Volunteers Wanted: Saturday, September 30, 9:00 AM – Noon! In celebration of National Public Lands Day, volunteer with our Kansas City WildLands program as we’ll be removing invasive woody plants, including exotic shrub honeysuckle, while enjoying the amazing fall beauty of these wild places. Volunteers will use loppers to remove the shrub, and stump-treat the root … Continued
Honoring Fred W. Hoffower Today we are honoring a member of our ‘tribe’ who has passed on. Fred Hoffower was a longtime patron at our old Bannister Recycle Center, a volunteer and eventually a Bridging The Gap employee as a part-time fill in Recycling Center Manager. Fred’s infectious spirit and dedication to the environment … Continued
Happy National Volunteer Week! What is your volunteer story? Through our collective stories we create the narrative needed to propel others to take action. With collective action, we can create positive change. Together, we are preserving prairies, forests, and glades with KC WildLands; planting thousands of trees with Heartland Tree Alliance; removing litter from local … Continued
MDC says gardening with native plants helps butterflies and birds Kansas City, Mo. – Warm weather arrived early this spring, and so did large numbers of monarch butterflies in the Kansas City area. The first seemingly fragile orange and black butterflies spotted flitting near spring flowers in recent weeks migrated all the way from wintering grounds … Continued
If it’s on the ground in the Kansas City Metropolitan region it could end up in the Missouri River and then in the Gulf of Mexico. Litter takes on many forms – paper, aluminum, cigarette butts – everything that is improperly placed on the ground. Much of this waste finds its way into our water … Continued
