Mother, son duo discover nature through trapping

Leslie Bruner-Thresher and her son, Lawson, check their traps daily after school.

Leslie Bruner-Thresher hands up a successfully trapped beaver to her son, Lawson. Though beavers play a valuable role in nature, they also cause damage to drainage ditches in Southeast Missouri. Leslie and Lawson work together to help minimize damage to their community drainage ditches.

Leslie Bruner-Thresher is shown as she is about to retrieve a beaver caught in one of the traps she set along a drainage ditch in Mississippi County.

Lawson tosses a large Beaver-chewed stick down to his mom, who places the sticks together close enough to guide beavers into the trap, but wide enough that otters can slide past the trap. The duo are careful to take precautions that help determine which species they are more likely to trap.

Also a part time physical education teacher and Mary Kay Cosmetics Consultant, Leslie Bruner-Thresher has learned to trap furbearers to meet needs for her community and her family

Lawson skillfully processes a beaver after checking traps with his mother, Leslie Bruner-Thresher.

Leslie Bruner-Thresher resets a beaver trap in a drainage ditch.