Coldwater Spring Restoration Crew is dedicated to enhancing and maintaining Coldwater Spring/Mni Owe Sni. If you want to participate, please sign up for a shift! Email volunteer@parkconnection.org with any questions.
Thursday Morning
(9AM - 12PM)
The various stations for Big River Journey are shown below. For all volunteer shifts, meet at the Padelford Riverboats Landing at Harriet Island Regional Park (205 Dr. Justus Ohage Blvd, St Paul, MN 55107). This field trip runs on volunteer power, we couldn’t do it without all of your help!
Navigation and Mapping
Indoor Activity - Assist students in finding themselves on a local map of the Mississippi River, and then labeling their surroundings on that map. As we travel along the river, volunteers will assist students in identifying natural landmarks (e.g. forest, bluff, confluence), human landmarks (e.g. bridges, buildings, power lines), and navigation infrastructure (e.g. mooring posts, day-beacons, signage). Volunteers will also help with resetting the clipboards between rotations.
Ecosystem Ottersystem
50% Outdoors Activity - Set up/take down a binocular table and assist students in making and recording observations. Students attempt to view the Mississippi River from the perspective of a river otter. Students will record observations relating to habitat, food availability and other factors. Students will discuss how flooding and human interaction affect river otter populations.
Geology Station
Indoor Activity - Assist a park ranger with the presentation of the "Mystery of the Disappearing Waterfall" by passing out and collecting study materials. Assist students in making scientific observations and note taking. In this activity, students examine and describe samples of the three sedimentary rock types (limestone, shale and sandstone) present along the river’s bank. Students will then investigate the movement of Owamniyomni/St. Anthony Falls since the end of the last ice age, and how that migration led to the development of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.
Bird Station
Outdoor activity - Set up/take down a binocular table and assist the program leader in teaching students about birds, habitat and migration. Volunteers also assist students in using binoculars to view birds and other wildlife. This activity is on the deck of a moving riverboat. Working conditions may include cool temperatures, wind and precipitation. Dress warmer than you think!
Mighty Mississippi Mussels
Indoor Activity – Assist students in activities related to river mussels, water quality and life cycle. Assist students in making observations to ID mussel shells. Students will learn the importance of mussels to the ecosystem and how they serve as indicator species. We will discuss how they were once endangered, but now their population is rebounding. Millions now live in the river!
Flex Volunteer
The flex position will be assigned a station the morning of the trip. For those who like variety! Flex volunteers may even be assigned a different station on the morning and afternoon cruises! Volunteers signing up for this position should feel comfortable assisting all stations: Birding, Navigation, Mussels, River Otters, and Geology.
Join staff and other enthusiastic members of the public in welcoming back the herons to their rookery! Check out the available volunteer positions below.
Welcome Back the Herons Assistant
Saturday, March 29th; 9:30 AM - 1:30 PM
Great blue herons start returning to their rookery on the Mississippi River toward the end of March. Join a park ranger at Marshall Terrace Park in Minneapolis to watch the herons rebuild their nests and do a little flirting. If we are lucky, we might see the resident peregrine falcons fly over, or see migrating ducks like buffleheads and goldeneyes. But whatever the birds do, we could use your help with the logistics of this program. We need help greeting program attendees, providing basic information, tracking program attendance, directing attendees to viewpoints, helping with binoculars and scopes, and chatting with visitors about herons. Sign up to help this fun springtime program take flight!
Photo credit: NPS/Edwige Moses
Welcome Back the Herons Knowledgeable Birder
Saturday, March 29th; 9:30 AM - 1:30 PM
Not sure what to do with your passion for birds? Why not volunteer for our Welcome Back the Herons program and share your passion and knowledge with others? Our program attracts hundreds of attendees in a couple short hours, and they have all kinds of questions about the rookery and about birds in general. If you are bird-confident, we could use your help answering those questions from the public and helping them as they use a spotting scope or binoculars. If you have a spotting scope to share, that would be greatly appreciated too!
Photo credit: NPS/Kurt Moses
Save the Date: National Public Lands Day
Mni Owe Sni/Coldwater Spring from 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Grey Cloud Dunes SNA from 9:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Saturday, September 28
Coldwater Spring; 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Grey Cloud Dunes SNA; 9:00 AM - 11:30 AM
National Public Lands Day is the nation's largest single-day volunteer effort for public lands, with this year’s theme being “Together for Tomorrow.” Across the country, volunteers of all ages and abilities will roll up their sleeves and join forces for a common goal—stewarding America’s natural resources for future generations to enjoy.
Join Mississippi Park Connection and the National Park Service in the largest single-day public lands volunteer day of the year! We will have two different volunteer opportunities to restore the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. We will celebrate Mni Owe Sni/Coldwater Spring with a large native plug planting! Additionally, we will have a unique opportunity to collect seed, along with removing introduced buckthorn from the prairie, at the special Grey Cloud Dunes Scientific and Natural Area (SNA). More information coming soon!
In October, volunteers are needed to help park rangers engage 4th-grade students in four educational stations, along with set-up, take-down, and rotating students between each station. This opportunity requires quite a bit of walking and student engagement (park rangers will lead all stations). These activities build a foundation for outdoor camping skills, something many of us learned when we were young and still use today. You can be a part of this learning for young students, sign up below!
Orienteering Station
Volunteers will teach students how to use a compass, read the guided hike directions to the group, and facilitate navigation to predetermined locations in the park.
Shelter Building Station
Volunteers will help support and advise small groups of students while they build a shelter in the woods using found natural materials.
Geology Hike Station
Take a walk back in time as we discover the Hidden Falls that are the park's namesake. We'll explore what used to be a prehistoric sea floor, the fossils still there today, as well as the geology of the cliffs along the Mississippi River.
Fire-Building Station
Volunteers will guide small groups of students to build a fire with provided materials, focusing on student engagement, behavior, and safety.