PARTNER PROFILE MUBG scavenger hunt developed for MU staff activity; available online Early this spring, Krystin Cooper, business support coordinator for Nursing Staffing Services, and a member of Mizzou’s Staff Advisory Council, contacted MUBG asking if the garden would be interested in helping plan a scavenger hunt for MU Staff Recognition Week in May. ‘Lemon Meringue’ false indigo growing in MUBG’s Rothwell Garden, on the east side of the Geological Sciences Building. "As a member of the Boone County Alumni Association, I knew a previous walking tour provided by Mizzou Botanic Garden of the campus was a hit,” Cooper said. “Initially, we wanted to create a scavenger hunt with MUBG that people could do virtually, since at the time we were under COVID restrictions. But Pete Millier [MUBG Director] and his team went above and beyond to create a walking tour for the event.” MUBG’s scavenger hunt through its Gardens of Interest on campus was made available as a pdf online, and members of the Staff Advisory Council made it interactive. Hunt clues allude to labeled plants, memorials, plants and structures – intended to be both a fun activity and introduce participants to the gardens. Although the weather during Staff Recognition Week, May 17-24, 2021, can best be described as inhospitable, 26 MU staff members participated in the hunt. Winners of five door prizes were drawn from names of those who participated. Congratulations to Karen Brammer, Kristen Hasan, Holly Parsons, Kara Pennington and Danae Flint! And thanks to all who participated. “We felt the scavenger hunt was popular and well-attended. Boone County Alumni Association plans to hold an event later this summer using the online resource,” Cooper said. “We are always excited to partner with groups on and off campus to promote the beauty and diversity of the botanic garden’s offerings,” Millier said. “And since the scavenger hunt is available online anyone can access the clues and enjoy a challenge as they view the gardens.” Left: A great spangled fritillary butterfly on a yellow coneflower in MUBG’s butterfly garden located on the south side of Eckles Hall with the main area in the protected space formed by Eckles Hall and the Agricultural Engineering building. Right: Winterberry ‘Nana’ RED SPRITE is an explosion of fall color in the David Barton Monument Garden on the southwest corner of the Francis Quadrangle. Story by Jan Wiese-Fales