Capen Park Mulch Site

Capen Park (located at Capen Park Drive off of Rock Quarry Road, South of Stadium) is known for it's trails and bluffs overlooking a creek. But, right next to it is one of two mulch sites which is in and of itself an interesting place to visit and located centrally to several other places worth exploring.  I am working on a story regarding Capen park itself to include at least one video and one or more audio files with lots of pictures.  That story will probably be in at least two parts.  But, I thought i would go ahead and do this separate, but related, story regarding the mulch site. This particular area, located less than a quarter of a mile from the football stadium, has several interesting features and the mulch site is located right in the middle of them.

 This is the monster grinder used to make the mulch.

 

The Capen Park Mulch Site  is a location where you can drop off yard waste and get free mulch.  Compost is available Wednesdays from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m and on some Saturdays at $12.00 plus tax per cubic yard with a loader on site to assist.

Unfortunately  some people abuse the system and dump waste and trash.  Tires can be particularly problematic to get rid of and here you can somebody took advantage of the situation.  One problem with tires is that the city trash service will not pick them up unless they are cut into four pieces which is a little bit of a trick to do.  I have a lone tire sitting in my basement, one I inherited from my son when he moved out over two years ago, to attest to that fact.  So, people look for alternative means to get rid of their old tires.

I highly recommend the composting workshops which are scheduled periodically.  Here is the information from the Compost-Mulch Operations web site:

Fall and Spring compost workshops are held at the Capen Park Demonstration Site located off Rock Quarry Road. For additional details about the compost workshops, call Columbia Public Works at 874-6271, or send your name, address, telephone number and E-mail address to pw-volunteer@GoColumbiaMo.com, and we'll send you the composting schedule and information you requested. 

There is also a lot of pretty scenery in the area including the walking trail that runs right on the north side of the site. As you head west along the trail you pass the compost class site and eventually come to an old bridge which is just used now for bicycle and foot traffic. 

 

 

 

 

The picture above and below are views from the bridge.