2017 was a record-breaking year. Families and community groups joined us outdoors to dig deep and improve natural areas across the state - not just for today, but for generations to come.

• We engaged 2,800 volunteers  at 63 restoration events across Minnesota
• Restored 2,200 acres of threatened prairie land, wildlife habitat (including pollinator habitat), urban parks, and shorelines.
• Planted 24,500 trees, wildflowers, and grasses; seeded 1,526 acres of prairie and forest floor; and removed 1,358 acres of buckthorn and other invasive plants.
• Inspired 1,150 kids and teens to care for our precious natural world.
• 320 volunteers came out to plant trees on Earth Day.
• Succeeded in collecting One Million Milkweed Seeds.
• Pilot Knob, a long-term Great River Greening restoration site, earned a spot on the National Register of Historic Places.
• Began an oak savanna restoration in the Bridgeview Park Reserve, a 29-acre public park with Mississippi River shoreline  a rare, nearly undisturbed pre-European plant community.
• Began assessing watershed conditions and identifying possible impairments in Deer Lake, in Itasca County and the Mississippi Headwaters region.
• Met with longtime partners and new alliances to discuss opportunities for expanding our geographic reach.
• Received support from The Patrick and Aimee Butler Family Foundation to create a sustainable future for pollinator habitat restoration and conservation by creating local sources of genetically appropriate seed.
• Held events that included pollinator surveys, a midwinter buckthorn burn in Lindstrom, planting along Sand Creek, the Minnesota River,  in a Watertown park and a Saint Louis Park nature center, and a grand opening in Maplewood's Fish Creek Open Space.

Partnerships

RESTORATION:Capitol Region Watershed District, Carver County Water Management Organization, City of Lindström, City of Saint Paul, City of St. Louis Park, City of Watertown, City of Wayzata, Deer Lake Association, Friends of Maplewood Nature, Friends of Wolsfeld Woods, Izaak Walton League, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Ramsey County, Ridges at Sand Creek, Scott County, Sherburne County, Sherburne Soil & Water Conservation District, U.S. Fish & Wildlife, Westwood Hills Nature Center, Xerces Society.7 Mile Creek: Nicollet Soil and Water Conservation District, Board of Water and Soil Resources, Bush Foundation, AgriBank, CHS Foundation, ClifBar Family Foundation, Rahr Corporation, McKnight Foundation.