Watershed Heroes Blue Tie Gala ~ October 26
The 40th Anniversary event series culminated as a ‘Blue Tie’ Award Gala at the Lafayette Club on Lake Minnetonka, on October 26. Local residents, local governments representatives, citizens, lake associations, non-profit organizations, Wanda and Wally Water droplets all joined us to celebrate citizens ’jumping in’ and getting involved in protecting and improving our precious water resources. The Watershed Heroes Blue Tie Gala raised funds to help support our work with lake associations and other citizen groups. The award ceremony honored people with a Watershed Heroes Award who have helped protect the quality of water and quality of life in the Minnehaha Creek Watershed. |
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Award Recipients Excellence in Development Award- Locust Hills Innovation in Government Award-City of Orono Outstanding Partner Award-Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Youth Naturalist Award-Gleason Lake Environmental Ambassadors Citizen Engagement Award-Nokomis East Neighborhood Association Outstanding Contribution Award-Raymond Haik Lifetime Stewardship Award-Richard G. Gray, Sr. and Richard R. Caldecott
To conclude this great event we had music and dancing with the pop-rock-reggae band Zydeco Blue. Thank you to all who ‘jumped in’ and joined us to celebrate a few of the many heroes among the Watershed District. |
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Gideon Glen Grand Opening ~ October 13
Minnehaha Creek Watershed District and the City of Shorewood celebrated the completion of the Gideon Glen water quality improvement and wetland restoration project. At the celebration, children and families walked on the interpretive trail, adventured through the hay maze, and played in a hay stack looking for prizes, and named sapling trees. To conclude the event Mayor of Shorewood Chris Lizee and MCWD Board President Jim Calkins dedicated a tree to commemorate the hard work of the individuals and the groups that establish this natural area. Gideon Glen, located just north of the intersection of Hwy 19 and Smithtown Road, features ''grit chamber,' a stormwater pond, and a restored wetland which act together to clean up runoff pollution from hard surfaces in the area, specifically Hwy 19. The site includes a permanently protected two acre tract of maple-basswood forest. The project includes trails and interpretive information about the site. The trails will give people an opportunity to have a more passive natural experience and to learn something along the way. |
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SafeJourney Garden Tour on Lake Minnetonka ~ July 28
Pontoons and Petunias On July 28th SafeJourney, Crystal-Pierz Marine, the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District and fellow gardeners joined for the second annual SafeJourney Garden Tour. This unique tour started out at the Bayview Marina where participants rode in comfort and in luxury on a Bennigton pontoon to all the gardens. The garden tour consisted of four different types of gardens, including an English style, a water garden, a vegetable garden, and a native shoreline restoration. During the boat ride participants enjoyed Lake Minnetonka, wildlife, and a café style breakfast. SafeJourney advocates served as the host of the tour providing information about each garden as well as telling their own survival story from domestic abuse. This event was chance for people to realize how beautiful life is through the gardens and the stories of SafeJourney advocates. This event was a huge success, raising over 3,000 dollars for SafeJourney, a North Memorial Health Center program which provides 24-hour advocacy and support for the victims of the domestic abuse. Everyone had wonderful time enjoying the best of Minnesota’s gardens, and a luxury pontoon ride. Thank you to all our sponsors, the home owner’s and all who came to help raise money for SafeJourney. |
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Minnehaha Creek Clean up ~ July 7
MCWD and REI sponsored a creek clean up on Minnehaha Creek and Lake Hiawatha. Many attended from MCWD, REI, Lake Hiawatha community, and the Twins Cities Area. The event started with a free pancake breakfast. MCWD’s Julie Westerlund, and REI’s Don Begalle welcomed volunteers to the event, explained the background of the two organizations, and the details of the day. After breakfast, volunteers grabbed gloves and bags and headed towards the creek. Many volunteers walked along shoreline of the creek and along Lake Hiawatha, while others canoed down the Minnehaha creek. Volunteers retrieved large items from the area including; an air mattress, coach cushions, a large tarp or curtain, a 6 foot metal pipe, and much more. Because of all the participants we were able to clean the creek from Lake Hiawatha all the way to Minnehaha falls. Everyone had a great time in and along the water. The creek clean up is another example of MCWD's success in preserving and protecting water quality. Minneapolis City Parks are very grateful for our help as well as the community around Minnehaha Creek and Lake Hiawatha. Thank you for all who came and participated in this event! |
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Headwaters Park Grand Opening ~ June 7
Minnehaha Creek Headwaters Park is great place to visit for, bird watching, fishing, canoeing, kayaking, and to relax and have some fun! Connect with nature on the boardwalk and learn about the history of the site and walk the wetland interpretative trail. Come and Explore! Headwaters Park is located at Grays Bay Dam just off of hwy 101 on Lake Minnetonka. Community members and area organizations joined together to celebrate the Grand Opening of Minnehaha Creek Headwaters Park. This event was attended by representatives of MCWD and City of Minnetonka, Lake Minnetonka Garden Club, residents of Grays Bay Dam area, Twin Cities Bike Clubs, and other local residents. Minnetonka Mayor Jan Callison , and MCWD Board president Jim Calkins, planted a native hackberry tree to commemorate this event. They recognized and honored individuals and organizations that contributed to the formation of this park. Families canoed and kayaked on headwaters of Minnehaha Creek! Children and adults explored the head waters by taking a nature walk, learning how to fish, racing minnows, kayaking or canoeing along the creek and wetland area, learning about a watershed and storm runoff, and, planting a sunflower seed to take home with them. Those who rode their bikes or walked received a free water bottle. Everyone enjoyed door prizes, ice cream, root beer floats, and bubbles. This event was a huge success bringing the Minnetonka area community together. Many discovered the headwaters of Minnehaha Creek for the very first time. |
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State of the Waters Summit ~ May 24
Area leaders convened on Thursday, May 24 for the 'State of the Waters' Summit at Minnetonka City Hall. The Summit was attended by mayors from cities in the Minnehaha Creek Watershed, state legislative leaders, and representatives from the Lake Minnetonka Conservation District, Three Rivers Park District, the Lake Minnetonka Association, and the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District.
Mike Wyatt, MCWD Planner, spoke about lake water quality and the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District's 2006 Lake Grades. Jay Rendall, DNR's Invasive Species Program Coordinator talked about the threats from zebra mussels, aquatic plants, and other organisms that have the potential to enter district waters and disrupt ecosystems, and Leah Peterson, Minnesota Waters Watershed Organizer, gave a presentation about citizen involvement in the watershed. Following the presentations, participants took turns speaking about water - related issues in their communities. The threats from zebra mussels and other invasives was a recurring theme, as was the need to better manage stormwater with new development and redevelopment by using Low Impact Development techniques such as raingardens, shoreline buffers, and wetland buffers. Area legislators reflected on this sessions successes in the area of the environment and promised continued efforts at the state level towards protecting water resources. The Summit ended on a very positive note, with participants all expressing a desire to work together to find solutions to common problems. The Minnehaha Creek Watershed District plans to keep the positive momentum moving forward by continuing the dialogue on these important topics. Link to Lake Grades and Press Packet Press Coverage: West-metro leaders discuss improving lake water quality Grading the Lakes |
