Great River Greening leads and inspires community-based restoration of our prairies, forests, and waters. Our restoration efforts help preserve natural areas, protect clean air and water, and increase urban residents’ access to natural areas and sustainable open space.
Community Volunteers
Since we started our work in 1995, we have engaged over 25,000 volunteers in projects on both public and private land that conserve critical land habitat and affect water quality. By mobilizing and educating citizens to restore woods, prairies, and other natural resources in their communities, we are building a community of individuals who will be good stewards of these natural areas in the future.
What We Do
We focus our work in locations and on activities that offer conservation impact, ecosystem services, and community benefits. Our projects include:
- Native planting designs for developed and natural areas
- Ecological inventories and restoration management plans for natural areas
- Plantings of native trees, shrubs, wildflowers, and grasses
- Restoration and management activities, including exotic species removal, prairie seed collection and sowing, and prescribed burns.
- Campaigns and Initiatives
Our Partners
We have established partnerships with more than 400 landowners, businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies.
Funding
Our work is funded by a variety of sources:
- Charitable contributions from generous individuals, foundations, and businesses
- Government sources, including the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, and watershed districts and organizations
- Cost-share or other agreements with landowners
Consulting Services
We also offer individuals, private organizations, and public agencies a complete range of ecological, design, and volunteer management services through our fee-for-service program, Greening Strategies. Your fees then feed back into our mission work, in particular, work in those outlying rural communities that do not have the resources or staff expertise for natural resources management.
Paddleboat photo © Minnesota Office of Tourism.