Shaw Nature Reserve, formerly known as Shaw Arboretum, is a 2,400 acres (9.7 km2) private nature reserve located in Gray Summit, Missouri, that is run by the Missouri Botanical Garden as an extension.
The area was opened in 1925 when pollution from coal smoke in St. Louis threatened the garden's live plant collection, especially the orchid collection. The orchids were moved in 1926, but the pollution in St. Louis decreased with waning use of coal for heat, making it unnecessary to move the rest of the live plant collection. It is currently dedicated to environmental education, to the maintenance and restoration of the region's native flora and fauna, and to public enjoyment of the natural world.
The nature reserve has several historic homes (including the Joseph H. Bascom House), a large prairie, and a large wetland blind from which herons can be observed. Over 14 miles (23 km) of hiking trails run through the reserve. In addition, wheelchair-accessible trails and scenic routes run through the reserve.
Shaw Nature Reserve is open year round from 7a.m. till sunset. Visitor Center hours are 8 to 4:30 on weekdays and 9 to 5 on weekends. Shaw Nature Reserve is open to hikers every day, but the Visitor Center is closed on some major holidays. No pets are allowed on the grounds. No reservations are required except in the case of an organized tour and for those wishing to participate in an education program.
Famous quotes containing the words shaw, nature and/or reserve:
“The more reasonable a student was in mathematics, the more unreasonable she was in the affairs of real life, concerning which few trustworthy postulates have yet been ascertained.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)
“How does Nature deify us with a few and cheap elements! Give me health and a day, and I will make the pomp of emperors ridiculous. The dawn is my Assyria; the sun-set and moon-rise my Paphos, and unimaginable realms of faerie; broad noon shall be my England of the senses and the understanding; the night shall be my Germany of mystic philosophy and dreams.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
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—René Daumal (1908–1944)