Explore Missouri’s state parks, post your photos and get a chance to win prizes in the Missouri State Park Challenge hosted by the Missouri Coalition for the Environment (MCE).
MCE invites Missourians to explore as many of the system’s 88 state parks and historic sites as they can from now until Tuesday, November 8. Registered participants can upload their state park photos to Instagram using the hashtag #MoParksChallenge.
When uploading photos, participants are encouraged to include identifying markers such as state park signs or the location feature on Instagram to tag the state park. For full details and official registration, visit MCE.
On Thursday, November 10, MCE will be present awards in St. Louis to participants with the most scenic photographs and those who visit the most state parks.
Missouri state parks consistently rank in the top five of state park systems nationally. Missouri state parks are ecologically diverse with rivers and lakes, Ozark forests, glades, wetlands and prairies.
MCE is also using the challenge to bring awareness to the upcoming renewal of the Parks, Soils, and Water Sales Tax (one-tenth of one-percent), which funds 75 percent of the Missouri Parks Department’s annual budget and provides funding for conservation efforts through the soil and water conservation districts. The tax was first approved by voters in 1984 and is on the November 8, 2016, ballot for renewal as Amendment 1. Funding from the tax also supports farmers in controlling erosion and maintaining healthy soils and waterways. MCE reports that these efforts have prevented 177 million tons of soil from eroding into waterways.