Great River Greening leads community-driven conservation work across the state, restoring native habitats, protecting clean air and water, and increasing access to healthy natural areas in urban communities. Working alongside our ecologists, over 71,000 volunteers have helped restore and sustainably manage over 72,000 since 1995. We also have programs to create resources for farmers interested in regenerative agriculture, provide learning experiences for youth with barriers to nature-based education, and promote innovative restoration techniques like the use of biochar kilns.

Great River Greening was founded in 1995 as part of the St. Paul Foundation to restore the downtown St. Paul riverfront. In 1999, we incorporated as our own nonprofit and now work throughout the entire state of Minnesota to mobilize community volunteers and restore our native landscapes. You can learn more about our history here.

Great River Greening is a respected and active participant and leader in the community, and we maintain strong connections with many partners for volunteer recruitment, youth engagement, project implementation and evaluation, and conservation planning. You can learn about the schools we partner with on our Future Stewards page, the cities we partner with through our Urban Tree Canopy Program on our Cooling Minnesota Communities page, our corporate partners on our Corporate Partnerships page, and more groups who partner with us for events on our Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Great River Greening works statewide, with regional teams concentrating efforts in Central Minnesota, Southern Minnesota, and the Twin Cities Metro. We focus our work in locations that offer conservation impact, ecosystem services, and community benefits. We choose our projects based upon conservation need, feasibility, and community benefits.

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 Outdoor Heritage Fund, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, and watershed districts and organizations

• Cost-share or other agreements with landowners

• Corporate Sponsors

For general inquiries, you can reach us here. For specific questions or comments about a project site, click here to find and contact the grant manager.