KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Thirteen-year-old Jack Murphy is out to make a difference in his Kansas City neighborhood.

An avid fisherman and environmentalist, Murphy was just 10 when he began advocating to improve North Terrace Lake in Kansas City’s 1,800-acre Kessler Park. Three years later, his determination remains as fierce as ever. He wants the park cleaner and safer, for people and fish.

University of Missouri Extension horticulturist Tamra Reall began working with Jack three years ago when he reported invasive honeysuckle and overgrown vegetation in the woods around North Terrace Lake. Murphy fishes there with his buddies weekly.

In one of the country’s largest urban parks, the 2.32-acre lake provides refuge from the hustle of the city. Visitors come to fish, bike and enjoy the outdoors. Jack began fishing at the lake with his parents when he was 7. The Missouri Department of Conservation stocks the lake with channel catfish. Jack says the lake also hosts crappie and bass that grow as big as any fisherman’s tall tale. He talks about fish and wildlife with the wisdom of a salty sea captain.

Jack and his mother, Sara, applied for a small Public Improvement Advisory Committee grant. Jack’s wish list included invasive species removal, improved safety, repairs to the park, trash cleanup, erosion control and electrofishing to determine the presence of invasive fish in the lake.

They presented the grant to the Pendleton Heights Neighborhood Association. While the grant was not initially awarded, neighborhood residents and some government officials soon rallied to support young Murphy’s efforts and enlisted Reall and MU Extension urban west regional director Shatomi Luster-Edward to help.

MU Extension has worked to facilitate collaborations to address needed repairs and accessibility issues for the park, Reall says. Kansas City Parks and Recreation manages the park, and the lake is overseen by the Missouri Department of Conservation. Other collaborators include Pendleton Heights Neighborhood, UMKC Center for Neighborhoods, KC Design Center, KC Water and Jerusalem Farm.

So far, a rock wall and benches have been repaired, curbing was installed in a neighborhood above the lake to help with erosion issues, and invasive plant removal has started. Jack and Reall have organized trash cleanup days.

More improvements are in the works, including streetside parking and better lighting, both of which are needed to improve accessibility and safety. Accessibility is a key issue since there is no way to enter the park with a vehicle. There is no off-street parking on Chestnut Trafficway, the only street that borders it. This makes it difficult for parents to drop off and pick up their children.

Jack’s vision for better use of the lake area is well placed, says MU Extension community development specialist Elena Stephenson. In addition to being a wildlife oasis in an urban landscape, the natural contour of the land lends itself to use as an amphitheater where symphony and theater groups could perform.

MU Extension, along with community and state partners, is securing grants to make the needed improvements, including removing the invasive species using goats, and will continue to support Jack’s efforts for cleanup days and better accessibility. Reall also had the quality of the lake water tested, which was one of Jack’s concerns.

With the slow pace of change, the long-term project has been a learning process. But Jack’s not giving up. More agency partners are responding favorably to requests for help as the country rebounds from COVID, say Stephenson and Reall.

Reall assures him that progress is ongoing and commends him for his steadfast efforts. “Your vision brought everybody together,” she tells him. “You started something really big.”

Photos

https://extension.missouri.edu/sites/default/files/legacy_media/wysiwyg/Extensiondata/NewsAdmin/Photos/2023/20231218-kessler-1.jpg

Jack Murphy, a 13-year-old fisherman and environmentalist, works to improve Kessler Park in Kansas City. He receives support from his mom, Sara, MU Extension specialists Tamra Reall and Elena Stephenson, and a host of community members and agencies. Pictured from left: Sara Murphy, Jack Murphy, Tamra Reall and Elena Stephenson. Photo by Linda Geist.

https://extension.missouri.edu/sites/default/files/legacy_media/wysiwyg/Extensiondata/NewsAdmin/Photos/2023/20231218-kessler-2.jpg

MU Extension horticulturist Tamra Reall, left, began working with Jack Murphy three years ago when he reported invasive honeysuckle and overgrown vegetation at Kansas City’s Kessler Park, one of the nation’s largest urban parks. MU Extension file photo by Michael Hicks.