Join Friends of the Mississippi River (FMR) on June 6 from 6-8 pm to help tend the volunteer-planted demonstration interpretive native prairie at Crosby Farm Regional Park! Crosby Farm Park is a natural oasis in the heart of the city, nestled at the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers.
The three-acre demonstration prairie where we will be focusing our work includes upward of 1,000 native prairie plants and a variety of species markers to educate and inform visitors. Volunteers will help weed and otherwise care for the planting and surrounding areas under the guidance of FMR staff.
As always, FMR will provide all training and supplies needed. All are welcome and encouraged to work at their own skill and comfort level. To learn more and register, visit https://fmr.org/events/2019/06/06/tend-demonstration-prairie-crosby-farm-park

With its tall grass and wildflowers, the Sand Coulee offers a different kind of beauty. With less than 1 percent of Minnesota native prairie remaining, this highly protected preserve is no less than an oasis in a desert of wildlife habitat –— 14 rare plant and animal species call the Coulee home. And with its deep prairie root systems, the Coulee also help filter pollutants from runoff water before it can enter the nearby Vermillion and Mississippi Rivers.
On June 27 from 6-8 pm, volunteers will work with Friends of the Mississippi River (FMR) Restoration Ecologist Karen Schik to identify and help halt the spread of encroaching plants deemed by the Department of Natural Resources as a threat to the health of this important area. Together, volunteers and staff will remove a patch of the weedy invasive, helping to protect the prairie's threatened native plant species and improving wildlife habitat over the course of just a couple hours.
All are welcome, but capacity is limited and registration is required. As always, all tools and training will be provided and volunteers are encouraged to work at their own pace and comfort level. To learn more and register, visit https://fmr.org/events/2019/06/27/tend-rare-prairie-sand-coulee-sna

Join Friends of the Mississippi River (FMR) on Thursday, July 18th, 6 to 8 p.m. to help protect Pine Bend Bluffs Scientific & Natural Area (SNA), an award-winning restoration site known for some of the best views of the Upper Mississippi River.
Working with FMR staff and fellow volunteers we will remove invasive species currently encroaching on the native prairie such as spotted knapweed and hoary allysum. Minnesota's native bees and local wildlife depend on this rare habitat. Plus, with their deeper root systems, the native prairie plants better control erosion and filter pollution that would otherwise run down the bluffs into the Mississippi River below.
As always, all tools and training will be provided and volunteers are encouraged to work at their own pace and comfort level. Volunteers should be aware the Pine Bend Bluffs SNA site contains steep and sometimes difficult to navigate terrain. All are welcome, however, registration is required. To learn more and register, visit https://fmr.org/events/2019/07/18/spotted-knapweed-pull-pine-bend-bluffs-sna