Habitat Restoration Events

Thursdays: April 3, 10, 17 & 24; 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Drop in and get your hands dirty while restoring habitat! The Coldwater Spring Restoration Crew meets weekly throughout the year to maintain Coldwater Spring, just south of Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis. Activities include vegetation removal, site exploration, and other outdoor restoration tasks. If you like to be outdoors and create tangible change in the environment, this opportunity is for you!

Saturday, April 12; 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Wednesday, May 7; 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Help us take care of the floodplain forest! The Crosby Crew meets regularly at Crosby Farm Regional Park, which hosts the Adaptive Silviculture for Climate Change study—a long-term research project aimed at helping our forests become more resilient. The Crew will primarily focus on maintaining research plots and collecting data, providing crucial care in the project's formative years. We will also manage introduced species like garlic mustard and burdock throughout the park.

Note: We are shifting to a monthly Crosby Crew during winter/early spring and will resume the bimonthly schedule in May.

Saturday, April 19th; 9:00 AM - 11:30 AM

The annual litter cleanup extravaganza returns! Join Mississippi Park Connection, the National Park Service, and the City of Saint Paul in cleaning up the spaces we love in celebration of Earth Week and the launch of National Park Week.

This is a drop-in, rain-or-shine event, with the equipment provided onsite. Check out the Saint Paul Citywide Cleanup Volunteer Events page for further information.

Volunteers under 18 years old are required to have a minor Volunteer Service Agreement completed by a parent/guardian. Physical copies of the form will be available onsite.

Saturday, April 19th; 9:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Join Mississippi Park Connection, the National Park Service, and the City of Minneapolis in caring for our planet and parks during Earth Week and National Park Week! We are broadening our impact on the Mississippi River to clean up North Mississippi Regional Park this year.

This is a drop-in, rain-or-shine event, with the equipment provided onsite. Check out the Minneapolis Earth Day Cleanup page for more information.

Volunteers under 18 years old are required to have a minor Volunteer Service Agreement completed by a parent/guardian. Physical copies of the form will be available onsite.

Saturday, May 10; 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Grey Cloud Dunes Scientific and Natural Area (SNA) is one of two SNAs in the Mississippi River and National Recreation Area. The site hosts upland dry prairie and lowland floodplain forests and is a valuable habitat for wildlife such as the North American racer and Henslow’s sparrow. MPC and NPS, in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MN DNR), are hosting habitat restoration events throughout the season to preserve the prairie. Join us as we remove garlic mustard and narrowleaf bittercress to restore the site.

There are no maintained trails or facilities onsite. For further information about Grey Cloud Dunes SNA, read the MN Department of Natural Resources’ webpage for a map and site description.