Uncategorized – Great River Greening

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Pollinator recovery in Central Minnesota

Great River Greening is partnering with key pollinator experts and landowners on plans for a 19-county pollinator recovery project along the Mississippi River, anchored by Hastings and St. Cloud.

The plan, titled “Pollinator Central”, focuses on improving food access and shelter for winged pollinators, bumble bees in particular, that are crucial to our own food production and currently in steep decline. The rusty patched bumble bee, for example, has been added to the endangered species list. Just 20 years ago, this native pollinator was a common sight across eastern United States, Upper Midwest, and Canada. In that time, it has declined by 87 percent.

Pollinator Central restores and enhances 18 traditional and non-traditional sites, to achieve a 430-acre “hopscotch” corridor; pollinator charging stations that wind through a variety of settings, from populous urban neighborhoods to rural stretches in Central Minnesota.

The two-fold plan also incorporates community stewardship by engaging citizen monitors to assist in monitoring and evaluating the project’s impact.

A vision in line with the state’s top priorities

Great River Greening and its partners, The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, the University of Minnesota Bee Lab, and several landowners, are hoping the Minnesota Environment & Natural Resources Trust Fund will provide funding to support the plan. The Pollinator Central proposal was submitted this spring to the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR), which will meet over the summer to make funding recommendations for the ENRTF.

Much of the plan was developed in utilizing recommendations from a pollinator task force convened by former Governor Mark Dayton and recently endorsed by Governor Tim Walz. Recommendations from the task force’s report call for replacing or enhancing turf with flowering habitat in urban, suburban, and rural nonagricultural lands. The non-traditional habitat sites in Pollinator Central include turf along state highways and other small areas. To boost the impact of turf conversions, the plan includes traditional habitat cores, such as prairie, wetland, shoreline, and woodland.

The 18 sites in the first phase of this plan comprise regional parks and nature centers, city basins and urban parks, spanning several counties, including Liberty Glen Park (Sherburne), Woodbury basins (Washington), Lebanon Hills Regional Park (Dakota), and Crosby Farm Regional Park (Ramsey).

We’re very excited about the vision this proposal holds. Each science partner brings a unique and crucial expertise. Bringing together so many different land owners in Central Minnesota magnifies the impact. And there really is no better way to teach people about pollinator recovery, and get them excited about it, than through hands-on restoration and citizen science.

-GRG Ecologist Wiley Buck

Connecting to the environment through science

Central Minnesota is one of the few regions where the rusty patched bumble bee can still be found, with concentrations at either end of the Pollinator Central corridor. Buck said restoring sites in this part of the state, and monitoring each one for success in food supply, nesting, and overwintering habitat, will add crucial data to the research needed for best restoration practices.

Xerces, in tandem with the GRG and Bee Lab, will oversee 450 volunteers, some as citizen scientists who will monitor pre- and post- restorations, to learn what benefits Species of Greatest Conservation Need. They will determine the value of the sites, the enhancements, and the vegetation by looking at micro-habitat success, and counting three categories of winged pollinators, in timed intervals.

Great River Greening will also train skilled volunteer photographers in methods that will provide the best visual monitoring, host community restoration events and Bumble Bee Surveys, where volunteers will work with experts to catch and release pollinators for identification.

Ensuring our food supply concerns us all. Citizen science is a fantastic way to engage people – it provides a rich learning environment and the opportunity for everyone to make an impact. It can be collected in so many ways –during a single event, or in an ongoing way, through photos, or taking notes during a hike. The data is invaluable to researchers, land managers, ecologists, and all of us who want do the best we can for pollinator recovery and restoration.

-Wiley Buck

The LCCMR will meet this summer to begin the process of evaluating project proposals. We’re hopeful the commissioners will see the value in supporting this important effort to restore critical habitat for pollinators in communities across the state.

Learn how you can benefit our winged pollinators in your own gardens

https://www.fws.gov/midwest/Endangered/insects/rpbb/pdf/MidwestPlantGuideRPBB.pdf

Our Work in Pollinator Recovery

Insect pollinators, such as bumble bees and butterflies, are an important part of food production for humans and wildlife, and are the key to plant reproduction in Minnesota and the world. Unfortunately, pollinator populations in the U.S. have been falling for decades. This situation has become so important that the Minnesota state legislature, the Governor’s Office, and even the White House, have issued official policies that prioritize this issue for all of us.
Vegetation restoration and pollinator management are intricately related. To merge the best science from both fields, and have a broad public engagement, Great River Greening has been hard at work on past, present, and future projects aimed at engaging volunteers in pollinator habitat restoration, and citizen science monitoring.

National Fish and Wildlife Monarch Butterfly Conservation 2016

Led by Great River Greening, a large partnership of conservation organizations and government agencies (including U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, MnDNR, Soil and Water Conservation Districts and County Parks) worked together to address the plight of the Monarch butterfly through coordinated and targeted restoration/enhancement work across theTwin Cities Metro and adjacent Anoka Sand Plain Ecoregion. Private match dollars helped leverage this grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, one of only 20 grants awarded, and the only one in Minnesota in the 2016 round.

We restored over 1300 acres of prairie, savanna and shoreland habitat through site prep, seeding of a diverse native seed mix (rich in milkweed and Monarch nectar plants), and subsequent management to ensure restoration efforts are successful.

In 2016 and 2017, Great River Greening and an extensive network of volunteers embarked on the Million Milkweed Seed Initiative, and collected over 1.8 million seeds of four local milkweed species from carefully tracked locations. Theses seeds were either planted directly or grown into plugs for public and private restoration sites and private landowners throughout the Twin Cities Metro and Anoka Sand Plain Ecoregion. The Million Milkweed Seed Initiative has engaged over 500 volunteers, in collection, direct seeding, and plugging of the four milkweed species.

Conservation Haying for Pollinators and Prairie

From 2015 to 2017, Great River Greening implemented conservation haying on over 80 acres of restored prairie in the South Washington Conservation Corridor, one of our long term restoration sites. In collaboration with the Xerces Society, we assessed the impacts of conservation haying on vegetation, soil nutrients, and pollinator abundance and diversity. The study revealed that conservation haying resulted in significantly more forb coverage, and a significantly higher forb to grass ratio, when compared to un-hayed units. Additionally, Xerces observed an increase in native bee abundance and diversity in hayed units for the month of May. These results support conservation haying as an appropriate tool for periodic thatch removal and disturbance, to which prairie plants are adapted, and can promote early floral resources for pollinators.

Prairie Restoration with June Floral Focus

In partnership with the South Washington Watershed District, Great River Greening is beginning prairie reconstruction on 40 acres of previously farmed land, adjacent to the Conservation Haying for Pollinators and Prairie study area above. This study identified a lack of June floral resources at the site, which prompted us to design a seed mix that emphasizes June-blooming forbs. Through a grant from the Conservation Partners Legacy Program, we are able to extend our existing budget to 1) purchase a seed mix rich in early, mid-, and late-blooming forbs; 2) dedicate staff time to appropriately stratify forb seeds to better ensure establishment after Spring 2019 planting; and 3) purchase and install plugs of June flowering forbs in time to bloom in the first year.

Six Mile Marsh Pollinator Survey

An additional study assessing vegetation, soil, and pollinator responses to conservation haying, as well as prescribed burning and inter-seeding, is currently underway with the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District at the

Six Mile Marsh Prairie in Minnetrista.

This approximately 100 acre site has been planted into a well-established tallgrass prairie and is now being managed to increase species diversity of both plants and pollinators. Baseline surveys have been completed, management is underway, and monitoring will continue in 2019 and 2020.
Citizen Science for Pollinator Monitoring and Habitat
A collaboration of Great River Greening, Xerces Society, and Maplewood Nature Center provided a suite of engagement opportunities for 1200 citizens to actively learn about pollinators, pollinator-plant interactions, prairie restoration, and pollinator lawns. Offerings ranged from citizen science non-lethal bumble bee surveys, focused training and surveying to pollinator type, and K-12 school outings with expert interpretation and hands-on restoration. Significantly, this project resulted in documentation of the federally listed Rusty Patch Bumble Bee (Bombus affinis) for the first time at one site.

Pollinators in Agricultural Landscapes

Funded by a range of organizations, Great River Greening’s Watersheds Program works with willing landowners and farmers in targeted watersheds to implement voluntary best management practices (BMP) that protect and restore habitat for insect pollinators. These efforts include integrating practices such as planting native plant buffers, adding flowering plants to the landscape, and minimized tillage and precision pesticide and fertilizer applications. Great River Greening works with Soil and Water Conservation District offices in providing restoration and technical expertise, engagement activities by reaching out to farmers and urban residents, organizing field days to demonstrate practices, and grant writing skills to raise funds for implementation.

Pollinator Seed Initiative

Supported in large part by a grant from the Butler Family Foundation, Great River Greening is leading a partnership of five NGOs, municipalities and counties to address a critical gap in pollinator seed supply. Our primary goal is to create local sources of genetically appropriate seed which could be harvested when commercial seed suppliers lack sufficient inventory. Partners are establishing grow-out areas, planted either as part of habitat restoration efforts or as stand-alone nurseries. For species that are difficult to establish by direct seeding, we will contract greenhouses to propagate plugs for planting. Recent studies show that wild selected seed such as the ones this program will produce, can be some of the most successful in area restorations.

Valley Park Pollinator Corridor

Valley Park in Mendota Heights is a linear natural area along a tributary connecting the Mississippi River to the south metro habitat cores. One area with high potential for improved pollinator habitat is the utility line corridor, maintained by Xcel Energy. This maintenance activity is compatible with a high diversity shrub/prairie planting which will be designed specifically to support the local pollinator community. This restoration will be a model project for the large acreage in Minnesota under utility easement.

General Mills Pollinator Grant

Great River Greening has received a grant from the General Mills Foundation as part of their special 65th anniversary grant series to establish pollinator plots at four sites throughout the greater Twin Cities metro area. Sites include the Westwood Hills Nature Center in St. Louis Park, the Hmong American Farmers Association Farm in Vermillion Township, the Clearview Elementary School Forest in Clearview, and a nature preserve in Chanhassen. These projects are engaging local volunteers to plant and maintain plant species that will increase pollinator populations, as well as provide seed for future plantings.

Pollinator Central: Trust Fund Proposal

Currently in development, this program will restore habitats that support and grow the populations of pollinator species, focusing Species of Greatest Conservation Need. Sites will include traditional restorations such as degraded prairies and invaded forest edges, but will also stretch into non-traditional habitats to includelawn and turf conversions, trail and roadside pollinator plantings, stormwater basins, and ‘hopscotch’ corridors. Pollinator populations will be monitored throughout these restorations by Greening, Xerces Society, University of Minnesota Bee Lab, and citizen science volunteers to better understand the impact of this work and guide future restorations.

KARE11 Rosemount HS Arbor Day

Arbor Day events put the community to work to save a city forest

(April 23, 2019) This Arbor Day weekend, 260 Rosemount High School students and 80 community members joined Great River Greening, over two days, in volunteer restoration events aimed at overcoming the buckthorn that is currently destroying Carroll’s Woods/Schwarz Pond Park. The city park, located right behind the school, is favored for its forest habitat and recreation opportunities.

Both groups will cut and haul buckthorn or pull and bag garlic mustard – depending on conditions of each of these plants.

Great River Greening Ecologist Becca Tucker said: “The buckthorn dominates the understory of the park. It is so established that the shrub plants are tree-like. Removing it will give new life to the area, bringing with it birds, pollinators, and healthy soil that will protect the pond from storm water runoff.”

The events are the result of a partnership Great River Greening began with Rosemount, in 2018, to implement an extensive management plan the city commissioned for the natural area.

Carroll’s Woods/Schwarz Pond Park is an important community park featuring 107 acres of secluded woodland with trails, a pond, and family-friendly play areas.

Much of the management plan focuses on buckthorn removal, which is severely the diminishing plant diversity, wildlife, and the hiking experience.

Rosemount’s population has grown from 8,700 to 21,000 in 20 years, and is expected to reach 30,000 by 2040. As the city looks to its future, preserving its existing natural areas is a top concern.

Urban natural areas promote well-being, according to studies by the World Health Organization. They also play a critical role in cooling cities and provide space for community building.

With 75% of Minnesotans living in a city, these benefits are substantial. That number is projected to grow by 2040–creating more need for accessible, healthy parks and public lands, wetland buffers, and greenbelts on the edge of towns.

Yet, many cities struggle to protect their parks and public lands from invasive plants, erosion, and biodiversity loss. Some lack the expertise on staff while others simply don’t have the financial resources to protect against further decline.

Great River Greening fills the gap for many of these communities. For more than 50 sites, annually, GRG provides resources, expertise, and engagement opportunities to transform degraded habitat into healthy, vibrant areas.

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Funding is provided for by the City of Rosemount, Dakota County’s Environmental Legacy Fund, and Lessard‐Sams Outdoor Heritage Fund

The Digital Marketing & Graphic Design Intern

We seek an enthusiastic individual, looking to gain experience multi-media communications, to help market our fundraising events, volunteer registration, outdoor happy hours, Buckthorn Beer Bash, and educational materials. Responsibilities include creating content for our social media channels (specifically Facebook and Instagram) through shooting and editing short videos, creating GIFS, and designing graphic content for use in print and online. The intern may work on our equipment or their own.

Open to students and graduates in graphic design, film production, fine arts, communications, marketing or related fields.

Major Job Accountabilities

Experience producing videos and photos
Proficient with Adobe software such as Adobe Premiere Pro, Photoshop, and Abobe Illustrator
Ability to be creative and inventive, while staying true to Great River Greening brand guidelines.
Ability to collaborate with a team and work independently
Attention to detail
Experience with social media, media, and communications a plus
Interest in environmental issues a plus

This is an ongoing internship. We seek a three-month commitment, for 10-15 hours a week. Weekly schedule is flexible but requires some weekday availability between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. This is an unpaid internship; we will complete paperwork required for school credit where applicable.

TO APPLY:
Submit cover letter addressing qualifications, resume, and references by e-mail to: Mary Anne Welch, Communications Manager, mwelch@greatrivergreening.org or by mail to 251 Starkey Street Suite 2200, St. Paul, MN 55107. No phone calls please.

The Digital Marketing & Graphic Design Intern

Open to students and graduates in graphic design, film production, fine arts, communications, marketing or related fields.

Major Job Accountabilities

Experience producing videos and photos
Proficient with Adobe software such as Adobe Premiere Pro, Photoshop, and Abobe Illustrator
Ability to be creative and inventive, while staying true to Great River Greening brand guidelines.
Ability to collaborate with a team and work independently
Attention to detail
Experience with social media, media, and communications a plus
Interest in environmental issues a plus

Protected: Marketing and Communications Committee

Board of Directors

2018-2019

Darrin Ahrens
Slalom Consulting

Richard Barnes, Vice-Chair
Retired, International Decision Systems

Heidi Benedict
Xcel Energy

Laura Betker
KARE11

Brenda Boehler
CEO – Consultant

Phil Cattanach
Opus

Margaret Dalton
Stoel Rives

Bryan Ebensteiner, Treasurer
Wilder Foundation

Frank Elsenbast
Zelle

Frank Forsberg
Consultant

Barry Hofer
Consultant

John Hickey
Smyth Companies

Bobby Jensen
Grow with KARE

Julie Maday
Best Buy

Thomas R. Marek
Fox Rothschild

Kathy McCuskey
Yamamoto

Patti O’Leary, Chair
Navigate Forward

Shane Shipman
LeJeune Steel

Chris Smith
Ecolab

Molly Snyder
US Bank

Nicole Strait
Norwest Equity Partners

Tom Tessman
Metametrix

Reed Watson
Bix Produce

Megan Wolle
Land O’Lakes

Members emeriti

Ellen Brown
Independent Consultant

Joe Kingman
Retired, The Saint Paul Foundation

Jonathan Wilmshurst
Superior Minerals Company

Annual Reports & Financials

Annual Reports:

DOWNLOAD: 2017 Annual Report

Federal Form 990 & Audited Financial Statements:

2017 Audited Financial Statements
2017 990

2016 Audited Financial Statements
2016 990

2015 990
2015 Audited Financial Statements

2014 990
2014 Audited Financial Statements

2013 990
2013 Audited Financial Statements

2012 990
2012 Audited Financial Statements

2011 990
2011 Audited Financial Statements

2010 990
2010 Audited Financial Statements

Employment

Outreach Program Manager

Posted: May 17, 2019

The Outreach Program Manager is the key position for our goal to provide experiences and learning opportunities that inspire environmental stewardship. Adult and youth volunteers participate in events to conduct restoration activities such as native species plantings, invasive species control, and native seed collection. Great River Greening also helps train future leaders through a Volunteer

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The Digital Marketing & Graphic Design Intern

Posted: April 9, 2019

The Digital Marketing & Graphic Design intern will use social media and other venues to inspire and lead local communities, throughout Minnesota, in restoring and conserving the land and water that enrich our lives. We seek an enthusiastic individual, looking to gain experience multi-media communications, to help market our fundraising events, volunteer registration, outdoor happy

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Program Manager

Posted: March 7, 2019

The Program Manager joins a team of Program Managers working out of the Saint Paul office who execute and manage individual projects, and collaborate on larger program initiatives. The positions primary geographic focus will be on building up Great River Greening’s Southern Minnesota Program area. The successful candidate has expertise in habitat restoration and promoting

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Volunteer Events Intern

Posted: October 1, 2018

Roles and Responsibilities: The Volunteer Events Intern will work with the Volunteer Events Manager to provide logistical assistance for the upcoming Spring 2019 Volunteer Restoration Events, which begin in April. The season comprises of multiple public and private events varying in size from 15-200+ volunteers. Tasks: Research and secure rental and food needs for

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Community Outreach Intern

Posted: October 1, 2018

Roles and Responsibilities: The Community Outreach Intern will work with the Community Outreach Coordinator to recruit volunteers and prepare marketing materials for our upcoming Spring 2019 Volunteer Restoration Events, which begin in April. The season comprises 3-6 community events that vary in size from 30 to 200 volunteers each. Activities may include attendance at Saturday

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If you are interested in volunteering with Great River Greening, learn more here.

Upcycling water bottles into floating islands

Hallett’s Pond Natural Area is a treasured natural resource within St. Peter’s city limits. The 14-acre waterbody is used by the community for outdoor events and recreation, especially fishing. Neighborhood residents appreciate they can walk and bike to it.

But a high nutrient load of phosphorous and nitrogen from stormwater feeds summer algal blooms, limits the pond’s food sources for fish, and creates other serious water quality problems.

Great River Greening is supporting a city initiative to improve the pond’s water quality by utilizing a cutting edge technology that transforms plastic water bottles into floating islands. These structures mimic floating peat bogs—wetland habitat often found on Minnesota lakes that naturally filters phosphorous and nitrogen.

This spring, 50 Great River Greening volunteers will build four of these islands for the pond.

Susie Carlin, Watershed Coordinator for Great River Greening, said “the city was interested in this exciting new technology that mimics a natural process to improve water quality while also providing great aquatic habitat for fish. Great River Greening was able to provide the resources and expertise to make it happen.”

Carlin added, “we’re starting small, so the the improvement to water quality may be marginal, but they will add important wetland habitat right into the middle of the water column, where plants are usually not able to reach excess nutrients. We do anticipate a big impact on habitat; both terrestrial, on the islands for insects and birds, and aquatic, particularly fish.”

The islands are good example of upcycling, where waste material is transformed into more valuable, new material. A matrix of recycled, BPA-free plastic is injected with marine-grade foam for buoyancy. Native wetland vegetation will be planted in the structure, allowing the roots to filter the water and provide habitat for fish and other aquatic organisms.

An added benefit: Each 100 square feet of these man made islands keep 3,000 bottles out of landfills.

The maker of the structures, Bio Haven, says the “islands are constructed from a matrix of non-woven PET plastic fibers derived from BPA free recycled plastic drinking bottles, which is inert, won’t biologically degrade and will not leach, which is why it is widely preferred for packaging foods. PET is also inherently more UV resistant than other plastics, like polypropylene, because of its molecular structure.”

The volunteer event at Hallett’s Pond will take place May 18, 9:00 am – 1:00 pm. Volunteers will build the islands, and plant native grasses and shrubs on the shoreline of the pond.

Project partners and funders: FishAmerica Foundation, City of Saint Peter, CHS Foundation, Clif Bar Family Foundation, New Belgium Brewing, Rahr Corporation, and Fréy Salon.