Are you a Master Gardener or Master Naturalist?

Great Rivers Greenway is a public agency created by a vote of the people in St. Louis City, St. Louis County, and St. Charles County in the year 2000 to develop a sales tax dedicated to parks and greenways. This allows us to collaborate with partners and communities to build, care for, and bring to life your network of greenways (140 miles and counting!), creating healthy habitats and watersheds along the way.  

Master Gardeners and Master Naturalists can engage directly in our mission to make the St. Louis region a more vibrant place to live, work, and play by caring for our stormwater basins, native plant gardens, and other landscaped areas. Great Rivers Greenway will work with Master Gardeners and Master Naturalists to ensure an impactful and rewarding volunteer experience, with on-site visits beforehand and ongoing support and resources. 

If you have any questions regarding how to volunteer with Great Rivers Greenway, please contact Bryn Blackburn, Conservation Supervisor at bblackburn@grgstl.org or fill out the interest form at the bottom of the page!

Explore the sites here, then learn more about each below.

St. Vincent Greenway – Trojan Park 

• In 2016, the National Recreation and Park Association partnered with Great Rivers Greenway, St. Louis County Parks, and the city of Wellston to transform a vacant lot into Trojan Park, a vibrant community park through NRPA’s 2016 Parks Build Community Initiative. The vision was to expand opportunities for residents of all ages to be active, gather, and play. Family reunions, live music, basketball and playing in the splash pad are some of the ways residents utilize this space. Trojan Park also has a large rain garden area to help manage stormwater runoff.  

• The stormwater basins at Trojan Park are filled with native plants and will need weeding visits, a spring cutback, litter clean up, and other general maintenance tasks. 

• Volunteers are needed every other Tuesday from 9:00am-11:00am.

St. Vincent Greenway – Ruth Porter Mall at Etzel Trailhead  

• Named for Ruth C. Porter, an activist dedicated to eradicating inequality and discrimination in St. Louis, the Ruth Porter Mall section of the St. Vincent Greenway consists of eight native garden beds located on Etzel Avenue. Great Rivers Greenway works with the City of St. Louis to maintain this section of Greenway and partners with Forest ReLeaf of Missouri to take care of 100+ native trees that stretch from Etzel Avenue to Delmar.  

• Typical duties include weeding and mulching visits, spring cutback, litter clean up, and other general maintenance tasks. 

• Volunteers are needed every other Tuesday from 9:00am-11:00am 

Mississippi Greenway – Katherine Ward Burg Garden 

• Katherine Ward Burg Garden is a public plaza that is owned and operated by Great Rivers Greenway. The garden has a trellised structure, sloping paths, and a seating wall that can be used for special events and programming with a sweeping view of the Mississippi River and the Eads Bridge. It also has a mix of native plants that capture rainwater, support pollinators, and add beauty to downtown St. Louis.  

• Typical duties include weeding and mulching visits, spring cutback, reporting any maintenance issues and other general gardening and maintenance tasks. 

• There are no set volunteer hours. We will work with you to schedule a time that works for everyone. 

Mississippi Greenway – Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing 

• In 2001, the National Park Service recognized the site as part of the Underground Railroad Network to Freedom in honor of March Meachum and her husband, Reverend John Berry Meachum who were American abolitionists who dedicated their lives to educating and freeing enslaved people. This site is located along the Mississippi Greenway. It includes two native garden beds on either side of the building that was previously maintained by another Master Gardener group. 

• Typical duties including weeding, mulching, removing invasive species, a spring cutback, litter clean ups, and other general maintenance tasks. 

• There are no set volunteer hours. We will work with you to schedule a time that works for everyone. 

Brickline Greenway – Mill Creek  

• The Brickline Greenway is a public-private partnership designed to transform St. Louis by creating ten miles of greenways connecting Forest Park, Tower Grove Park, Fairground Park, and the Arch. This segment of the Brickline Greenway stretches between 20th Street and Compton Avenue along Market Street from Energizer Park in downtown St. Louis to Harris-Stowe State University. It includes Pillars of the Valley – Damon Davis’ permanent art installation that pays tribute to Mill Creek Valley, a once-thriving Black neighborhood.  

• This area is mostly comprised of natives and nativars with a few non-natives species. Typical duties include weeding, pruning, monitoring for disease, fungus, and pest pressure or watering issues, care for hardscapes, and other general maintenance tasks.  

• There are no set volunteer hours. We will work with you to schedule a time that works for everyone.