Science and social media are a powerful combination

By Elise Moser Columbia, MO– Social media has the opportunity to give scientists new ways to connect online, if only they would use it. That was the message of science and social media expert Liz Neeley* made on Saturday, March 15 at the MU Life Sciences and Society Symposium. Neeley, of COMPASS, addressed conventional academic thinking…

Setting foot in the Ozarks

By Jack Suntrup VAN BUREN, Mo.—The hills surrounding town have begun a quiet thaw. It won’t be long before caravans of families and partiers will roll through for weekends on the rivers. Horses and revelers will slosh through the water; motorboats will speed through it; government will try to manage it. There’s no stretch of the…

A search for identity and earthworms

Photo courtesy of Pattie Quackenbush By Mitch Ryals  COLUMBIA, Mo. — Soil is alive. It moves and changes below our feet without a second thought or a thank you from above. Yet soil health and composition has a huge impact on our lives. It affects the food that grows in the ground. It affects forests, which…

Pat Jones teaches kids to learn by getting dirty

By Elise Moser WILLIAMSBURG, Mo.– Every spring, as the weather warms up and spring rolls in, Jones invites schoolchildren to the Prairie Fork Conservation Area to spend a little time outdoors. That’s Pat Jones’ biggest goal. On the farm-turned-conservation area, there are rules. Everyone who comes to Prairie Fork is required to do three things:…

Columbia raw food guru spreads the word of “living diets”

By Heidi Li COLUMBIA, Mo. — People from all over Columbia parked their cars outside Clover’s Natural Market on a Tuesday night. They walked into the market, where a speech on raw food and a plate full of Zucchini Pesto rollups awaited them. The speaker was Jane Smith, 72, a health coach and the organizer of…

Start your (eco-friendly) engines

As Mizzou Eco-Racing prepares two cars for the Shell Eco-marathon in April, one team member also works toward his own goal: going back home to rebuild Indonesia. By Rebecca Dell  Update May 5, 2014: Mizzou Eco-Racing won the Communications Award at the Shell Eco-marathon Americas 2014 and received an honorable mention for the Safety Award.…