About Heartland Waystation
Kansas City is the Heart of America and sits on I‑35, the monarch’s main highway north. Heartland Waystation is the Kansas City stop on The Peace Flyway, the route from Mexico to Canada.
Why a waystation?
Rest, refuel, fly on
Monarchs stop at waystations to refuel before flying on. People do too. Heartland Waystation is planned as a place to pause, learn and grow, and then carry what you've found back home.
It sits beside a family home that stays private. The open land and woods around it would become meadows, gardens, food growing, classrooms and small homes for veterans, with the busiest buildings at the edges and a protected view across the gardens.
This is a concept for discussion. Everything depends on city approvals and a final site plan.
What's planned
A lot of good on a few acres
Monarch Meadow & Flyway Walk
Tallgrass and milkweed, with a winding path that traces the whole Peace Flyway.
Peace Garden
Four Sister Gardens and a 4-7-8-17 Circle for the Four-Way Test, Areas of Focus, Pillars of Peace and UN Goals.
Waystation Hall
A green-roofed hall for about 120 people, with a classroom, lab and monarch exhibit.
Food Security Commons
Greenhouse, aquaponics, agrivoltaics, community plots, a regenerative plot and a pantry pavilion.
Peace Flyway Nursery
Milkweed and native plants for stops along the flyway, plus Peace Garden workshops.
Tiny Homes for Heroes
Small homes for veterans serving one-year stewardship terms.
STEAM Lab & Maker Yard
Robotics, sensors, drones and nature art for students and young leaders.
Forest Classroom
The existing woods, with a trail, log amphitheater, bird blind and bat houses.
Living Memorial Grove
Native trees planted in honor of community members and loved ones.
Lily pond & fish pond
A planted water edge and a deep pond where fish live year-round.
Apiary & rain garden
Beehives, a monarch rearing house, and a rain garden that cleans stormwater.
Wellness (future option)
Healing gardens and a possible therapy center for seniors and veterans.
How it could grow
Year 1Plant it
Form the nonprofit, plant the Peace Garden and meadow, and hold the first Civic & Peace Week, Sept 17–21, 2027.
Year 2Open it
Entrance and parking, caretaker's lodge, rain garden, Forest Classroom, greenhouse and food beds.
Years 3–4Build it
Waystation Hall and STEAM Lab, the plaza and Memorial Grove, and the first veteran homes.
Life at the waystation
