Heartland Waystation, Kansas City

Kansas City is the Heart of America and sits right on I‑35, the monarch’s main highway north. That makes it the natural center of The Peace Flyway.

A proposed nature center

Start at the center

Heartland Waystation is a proposed nature center in Kansas City, planned with local partners and service clubs as the home base and training ground for the whole flyway. Its centerpiece is a Peace Garden, with a goal of dedicating it on September 21, 2027, the UN International Day of Peace.

From here, the flyway grows outward in both directions, south toward Mexico and north toward Canada, one historic cemetery and one community at a time.

Ideas for the site

A monarch meadow and a walk that traces the whole flyway
Four Sister Gardens shared with clubs in Mexico, the U.S. and Canada
A greenhouse, aquaponics and food gardens that grow for local pantries
A STEAM lab and outdoor classrooms for students and young leaders
A program that gives transitioning veterans a home and a start while they care for the land

Plans are a concept for discussion and subject to city approvals.

The Peace Flyway Nursery

Grow here, plant everywhere

A pollinator nursery at Heartland Waystation would start milkweed and native wildflower plugs for cemetery and garden stops all along the flyway. It would also be a central place where clubs and community groups come to learn how to create a Peace Garden, then take plants home to plant.

Peace Garden workshops: site choice, plant lists, Peace Pole placement and care
Plant pick-up: clubs leave with trays of local-ecotype milkweed and nectar plants
Peace Garden kits: plants, a planting plan, signs and a passport stamp
Revenue that sustains the center: plant sales to clubs, schools and the public help support the Kansas City site