Conservation Events

At Great River Greening they host a variety of events. Through these events I got to work hands on with members of my community from all ages and backgrounds.

The first event I got to be a part of was to host a table at the Lakeville Earth Day celebration event. Approximately 500 people were in attendance to learn about various Earth Day related topics. I spoke to those that stopped at our table about native plant root systems and pollinator plants. One key take way was learning how to relate a topic to all ages and levels of understanding.

At the second event, Great River Greening partnered with the Hamline Neighborhood Conservation group. This event was held to aid in helping diversify St. Paul's tree canopy. We were at the Friends School of Minnesota tree beds. We aided in removing the existing gravel to make room for pots and additional gravel that would be used for holding the trees temporarily until they were ready to be planted throughout the community. I learned how to work around scheduling conflicts, flexibility in timeline changes, and be able to overcome the planned roadmap yet still be able to keep the work moving and leverage the volunteers that showed up to assist.

Lastly, Great River Greening partnered with the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge to continue their efforts in restoring the Oak Savannah ecosystem that was once present. Spreading of native grass seed was the mechanism to accomplish the restoration efforts. At this project, I had to assess the skillsets of those volunteering, divide them into working group to accomplish various tasks, and encourage and motivate them when the tasks were difficult or physically demanding.