Two great 20 Year Anniversary events center on community engagement

Double the fun!

Our 20th anniversary community events were held in tandem to the kick-off two new parks in Saint Paul, where Great River Greening volunteers will work over the next few years to plant flowers and trees.The first event opened the summer at Trout Brook Nature Sanctuary. The second was held in September, at Victoria Park, the site of a “future park” in the West Seventh Street Neighborhood.

Trout Brook Nature Sanctuary

On May 30, The City of Saint Paul held a Grand Opening celebration for Trout Brook, a remarkable new park that realizes a community vision years in the making. Building on this spirit, Great River Greening hosted a community party to celebrate the volunteers that are helping to plant the nature sanctuary. With many more years left to complete the transformation, already more than 600 volunteers, including 200 youth, have planted native grasses, flowers, and trees, cleared the 42-acre site of invasive plants, and learned about the science behind the restoration.

"There is nothing more lovely than Great River Greening choosing to celebrate their 20th birthday by restoring this sanctuary. It is a wonderful doubling up with the opening of  this facility.” -Amy Brendmoen, Saint Paul City Council, Ward 5

Victoria Park: Busting Buckthorn, the first step ...  then, celebrate!

On September 17, the bravest of volunteers worked through heavy rain to remove invasive shrubs and open the vista on five acres of the Victoria Park bluff. Great River Greening, in partnership with Saint Paul Parks and Recreation is adding this much-needed green space to a quickly changing West 7th Street.That evening, Great RiverGreening supporters took a break to raise a glass, and celebrate Great River Greening’s 20th Anniversary, at the Buckthorn Bash, held at Summit Brewery.

“Great River Greening bringing in volunteers to help create this new park will deepen the investment people have in it.” -Longtime West Seventh Street Neighborhood resident

Our history:Great River Greening started in 1995 with a massive volunteer planting project on the Saint Paul riverfront and has grown to be Minnesota’s restoration leader, bringing community members and volunteers together to conserve our most critical natural areas, lakes, and rivers. We’ve already restored 14,000 acres, planted more than 104,000 trees and shrubs, and mobilized nearly 35,000 volunteers.Thank you 20th Anniversary funders: 3M, Fairmount Santrol, and Summit Brewery