The End, but not quite.

For detailed descriptions of Monday’s tour: click here.

For detailed descriptions of Tuesday’s tour: click here.

For more information about the judges or the mission of this blog, click the corresponding tab at the top of this screen.

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After a non-stop two-day tour of Columbia, Julie Riley and Matt Rosen, two judges from America in Bloom, are headed to Lafayette, Ind. to start all over again. But their work here is not finished after they leave the public eye.

“Matt and I will meet and go through the scoring tonight.” Riley said on Tuesday, the final day of the tour. “We like to keep each city separate in our minds and the best way to do that is to compartmentalize them.”

In October, they will present their findings to representatives from Columbia at the America in Bloom awards ceremony in Columbus, Ohio.

Riley said the detailed report should be around 25 pages, a majority of which will be written soon after the tour. It will contain observations of the city’s strengths and weaknesses and suggestions for city officials.

Each city will receive a report at the awards conference and receive recognition for an outstanding project in their city. In addition, the highest scoring city in each population category will be considered the champion of that category and eight cities across the board will be recognized for top scores in the eight specific criteria judges used.

“We’re not really comparing the communities against each other,” Riley said. “We’re judging each community against its potential in each of the eight categories.”

The categories include landscaped areas, turf and ground covers, floral displays, tidiness, urban forestry, heritage, community involvement and environmental effort.

Rosen said the tour is better than any convention you could ever go to. He said you might not be interested in half of the information at a convention, but on the tour you can ask any question you want.

“My favorite part is meeting with people,” Riley said. “We get to go behind the scenes to meet the decision-makers and the volunteer network of the city. There are always a lot of activities, a lot of ideas, that you can bring back to your own city or share with others.”

— Rebecca Legel

3:45 p.m. Tuesday: A.L. Gustin Golf Park

The America In Bloom judges ended their tour driving golf carts through the MU A.L. Gustin Golf Park. Isaac Breuer, director of golf course operations, led the caravan around the 18 hole public course where the judges toured fairways set among towering oaks, maple saplings and swaying wildflowers.

Discussion on course maintenance, grass species, field watering and curative spraying filtered in between stops along the cart path as the judges began to realize the significance of the golf park.

In 1996 Gustin became the first certified university course sanctuary through the Audubon International cooperative sanctuary certification program that offers schools the chance to integrate environmental stewardship and conservation onto their grounds. Gustin in effect became a design of green aesthetics for a sustainable habitat that incorporates the natural environment into the course.

Breuer told the judges how wildlife is abundant on the course recalling sightings of bobcats, flocks of deer, turkeys and baby hawks. But for the judges the real treat was viewing hatchlings in one of the course’s 26 blue bird houses.

Nestled among a nest of pine needles, the baby blue birds chirped as the judges got a sneak peak of the newest editions of Gustin’s blue bird population that has hatched about 1,100 eggs since 1994.

Brett O’Brien, natural resource supervisor for Columbia’s Parks and Recreation, likened Gustin to a green infrastructure that provides more to the community than just a recreational site.

Breuer agreed and added that Gustin’s allows patrons to escape their jobs and cell phones and enjoy golfing within a healthy environment that benefits people and nature.

“We feel like we’re a sanctuary here in the middle of town,” said Breuer.

— Joshua Barton

1:30 p.m. Tuesday: Flat Branch Park

The rain clouds at bay and the humidity on the rise, the tour next stopped by Flat Branch Park. Mona Menezes of the Public Works Department and Steve Saitta, Superintendent of Parks and Development, led the judges down the length of the Flat Branch Creek, sidestepping the remaining pools of high water

Speaking from a spot overlooking the creek, Menezes explained the local significance of the park as a storm water management facility. The education programs she has developed are designed to illustrate the effects of dumping garbage and pollutants down storm drains. Saitta related the brief history of the area, from its days as a concrete garbage trap to its current state as a plant-lined path and “groundhog haven.” Saitta said the animals are pleasant around people and frequently play in the creek during the day.

Another highlighted aspect of the park, just south of the bridge, was the Rain Garden, which uses water runoff from the parking lot to sustain aquatic plants in a reservoir, before seeping into the creek. Plants selected to prevent soil erosion and various local species make up the bulk of vegetation around the park.
Although no nature preserve, the park has offered a lot to the area in the short time it’s been open. And the budding shrubs only indicate more growth for the future. Additional information about the park is on the City Web site.

— Parker Michels-Boyce

12:30 p.m. Tuesday: University of Missouri Campus

Pete Millier, Director of Campus Facilities and Landscape Services led the judges on a walking tour of the University of Missouri Campus.

The tour began at Peace Park. Millier said that the historic park is one of the largest remaining “undug” and undeveloped areas in Columbia, as well as the home to a creek that runs year round.

From there, we were off on foot through the MU Quad, but not before taking a moment to admire 8th Street, the Avenue of the Columns.

Due to the the abundance of construction being done throughout campus, it is safe to say the Quad was not in peak condition. Still, remnants of the beauty remain. Julie Riley, one of the judges, snapped a few quick pictures of the columns that leave so many freshmen bewildered.

The tour was not without its stories. Pete Millier recalled the Tiger Walk tradition and the burning of Academic Hall in 1892, leaving only the six columns standing. The history of the Chancellor’s House was also told, as it acted as an infirmary during the Civil War.

With flowers in bloom, Millier made clear that MU’s campus was not only a place of higher-learning, but also a botanical garden. In fact, it is the most visited botanical garden in Missouri. The lack of admission fees and the 28,000 students who pass through these gardens everyday could have something to do with that.

With limited time, we were only able to make a loop around the quad before returning to Peace Park. Though it was short, it was difficult to leave without an appreciation of the work some do to keep the campus beautiful.

— Ashley Simpson

11:30 a.m. Tuesday: YouZeum Conference Room

Over lunch at the Youzeum, the judges met with Gwen Robbins, executive director of the Youzeum, and a host of others who work on non-motorized transportation in Columbia.

Robbins gave a history of the YouZeum, mid-Missouri’s “first and only interactive health science center.” One interesting thing we learned was that everything in the museum is local. Local artists helped make the space beautiful and local scholars contributed to the exhibits. In addition, the museum utilizes volunteers for administrative work and public interaction.

Ted Curtis, senior planner for Columbia Public Works, Ian Thomas, executive director of the PedNet Coalition, and Kim March, director of operations consultant for the PedNet Coalition were several of the non-motorized transportation presenters. They explained the various programs in Columbia meant to encourage riding and/or biking whenever possible.

PedNet, a partner of GetAbout Columbia, offers bike safety classes for children and adults. The classes are taught by PedNet members who have completed instructor training and certification through the League of American Bicyclists.

“I wish your educational opportunities existed in my town,” said Riley.

— Rebecca Legel

9:45 a.m. Tuesday: Historic Preservation, Wabash Station and Missouri Theatre Center for the Arts

Due to heavy rain in this morning’s thunderstorm, the first part of the downtown walking tour was more of a “visual walking tour.” The judges met with Deb Sheals, historic preservation consultant and Carrie Gartner, executive director of Downtown Columbia Association. They discussed historic structures and preservation efforts in Columbia, most specifically the canopy across storefronts that was removed from the downtown area in 2006. Sheals said the removal of the canopy helped make it possible to get downtown listed on the national historic register. It also helped increase visibility of store fronts.

After the meeting, the storm had passed. We rode to Wabash Station to meet Marie Hunter, manager of the city’s Office of Cultural Affairs. She discussed the newly refurbished station as well as the city’s Percent for Art program. One point of interest was the paintings on the wall with the ticket window; they help bring history into the station. On the left side the paintings show the station as it might have been when it was still a train station. On the right, the paintings show the station as it is today.

After visiting Wabash Station, we drove to the Missouri Theatre Center for the Arts, where David White, director of the theater gave the judges and myself a tour.

The theater has been almost completely restored in the past 10 months. He highlighted the historical restoration of the original crown molding, the marble floor in the lobby, original paint colors and the history lounge.

The lounge contains seats from the old theater, a call board cut from an original wall backstage, some original floorboards from the stage, and original breaker boxes and a spotlight. In addition, there is a digital wallpaper of a mural that used to be 24-feet high.

Our tour took us through the entire theater, from the digital organ above the stage to the star dressing rooms beneath.

As we walked into the theater, Riley gasped.

“Wow,” she said.

“Now you know what I’m talking about,” White said.

— Rebecca Legel

9:30 a.m. Tuesday: Gentry Building Conference Room

The judges had a short meeting with Gerry Worley, environmental health manager of the Columbia/Boone County Health Department. They discussed weed ordinances enforced by the Health Department’s Environmental Health Division.  By this ordinance, weeds taller than 12 inches are considered excess vegetation.  Weed complaints are handled by the department of health in a streamlined process, Worley said.

— Rebecca Legel

8:00 a.m. Tuesday: Stephens Lake Park

To the left: Julie Riley takes a picture of a rain garden in Stephens Lake Park.

4:00 p.m. Monday: Shelter Gardens

Weather.com says the temperature this afternoon was 84 degrees, but when we walked through the gate of Shelter Gardens it felt much cooler. The entrance, which is full of lush greenery as the end of June nears, provided a nice break from the sunshine.

Shelter Gardens, a 5-acre site with 14 garden areas, was the final stop before dinner on the judges tour Monday. Joy Long, superintendent of grounds for Shelter Insurance Company, took us on a tour of the gardens.

First stop: the sensory garden. Here, visitors are encouraged to carefully touch the plants to observe them with touch instead of sight. Each plant is labeled not only in English, but in Braille as well.

Then, we walked around the paths to the other garden areas. These include the butterfly/hummingbird garden, the conifer garden, the deciduous shrub garden, the Japanese maple garden, the shade garden, the Vietnam memorial, the gazebo, the lily pool, the rose garden, the desert garden, the rock garden, the Newcomer school, and the waterfall, pool and stream.

Long discussed a little of everything: irrigation, organic gardening, lawn management, history of the gardens and the replica of an old schoolhouse and community involvement at summer concerts and weddings.

Rosen listened, laughed with her and offered some of his own suggestions as a fellow plant enthusiast.

Of course, at any garden, you can’t forget to stop and smell the roses. Unfortunately, Long said many of the roses in the rose garden were wiped out because of last year’s frost. The new roses, over 50 varieties of hybrid teas, miniatures, shrubs and climbers, seem to be doing well.

“Every year the plants get more beautiful,” Long said. “It makes you wonder how you’re going to outdo yourself the next.”

— Rebecca Legel

3:00 p.m. Monday: Waste Water Treatment Plant

The next stop was the Waste Water Treatment Plant.

In the past, Columbia had a host of water treatment sites. The treatment plant we visited off Gillespie Bridge Road was built to consolidate Columbia’s water treatment into one site.

About 20 years ago, citizens appealed for a more natural approach to water treatment. The result was a 130-acre network of constructed wetlands. In this system, the initial treatment steps are the same as those at a conventional treatment center. Then, for its final treatment, the water is passed through the wetland area.

The wetland is home to cattails. Cattail root systems provides a home for the microorganisms that feed on the biowaste found in the treated water. The cattails benefit from this “natural fertilizer” as well. The wetland area is “green as a gourd,” said Tim James from the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Through this process, water is “treated” naturally. The wetland area was designed for a known amount of wastewater flow, and its size is based on the level of treatment needed to return the water to the environment without harmful effects, according to the project’s brochure.

Matthew Rosen, one of the judges, asked specifics on the animal species living in the wetlands.

Muskrats fill the area as well as migratory birds, James said.

Due to its constant flow of water, the wetland area never freezes. During winter, it is a bird hot spot.

Part of the wetland area lies adjacent to the Katy and MKT trails. Viewing platforms have been installed in these areas and are especially popular with birdwatchers.

Joel Gambill, Waste Water Treatment Plant Superintendent, stressed that tests are done on the water coming into the plant and on water exiting the wetland area.

This project has gained national and international attention. Countries including China and Russia have sent experts to view Columbia’s unique approach to water treatment.

– Naomi Weisbrook