As of January 1, 2021, Karla Wilson resigned from her 12+ year position as Deer Creek Watershed Management Consultant for the Missouri Botanical Garden to launch a new career as a Guide and Wayshower with Earthlight Journeys. Karla said, "It has been an honor to serve these many years as a Watershed Management Consultant, as well as with the many colleagues with whom I have had the pleasure to interact. Thank you." We greatly appreciate all her many years of contributions to the Deer Creek Watershed Alliance, and we wish her well on her new journey! As Dr. Peter Wyse Jackson, President of Missouri Botanical Garden said in Karla's virtual send-off, "You are one of the heroes of the Missouri Botanical Garden and will always be a part of the Garden family. You have made a huge impact in so many ways. It's not a goodbye; it's just a different chapter."
The Deer Creek Watershed Alliance, a project of the Missouri Botanical Garden, started in 2008 with a small, but ever committed team of citizen volunteers who wanted to make a difference in their community and in their creek. With the help of Karla, this team was able to get the Missouri Botanical Garden to agree to sponsor their work which resulted in over ten years of achievements. These include the creation of the first urban US EPA accepted nine-element watershed management plan in the state, the planning and implementation of the first demonstration projects in the Deer Creek Watershed in partnership with the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) which were the first bioretention projects ever designed and installed by MSD, the creation of an online Rainscaping Guide to educate landowners and contractors alike on rainscaping best management techniques, and so much more! Over 35 agencies, organizations, and municipalities now form this partnership, and three committees actively drive the work of the Deer Creek Alliance: a Citizen-led steering committee, a Technical Advisory Group, and a Community Leaders Task Force. Together we have installed over 412 rainscaping projects!
To learn more about the Deer Creek Watershed Alliance, visit deercreekalliance.org.