Mississippi Park Connection

Youth education:we continue to support long-standing programs that give youth a national Park experience and introduce them to the Mississippi river. Take me to the river, canoemobile, and big river journey together with our youth service learning projects, serve more than 18,000 3rd-12th graders from the minneapolis-st. paul metropolitan area each year. With cutbacks in school funding for field trips, our "ticket to ride" scholarship fund provides impactful financial support for our existing education programs. Covid allowed us to expand youth education programming to engage school virtually. Through virtual field trips and online classroom visits, we are able to now engage students from across the state in river-based programs. Online resources are a tool to strengthen learning that happens at the river. More information can be found at parkconnection.org/learn.

Community engagement:mississippi Park Connection has established itself as a leader in helping people experience the Mississippi river and the national Park. Public programs build relevancy for the Park and act as the best way to engage large numbers of people in our work. As a visible partner in public programming, we are building a constituency for future volunteers, donors, and Park lovers. Upper st. anthony falls lock visitor center:since 2016, Mississippi Park Connection has helped the national Park service operate a summer visitor center at the lock and dam. In addition to providing funds to nps for seasonal operations, mpc also provides its own staff to assist with daily operations and special events. Mpc plays a leadership role on special events at the lock for the public to activate the space. Last year, we served nearly 20,000 visitors.bipoc in the outdoors centers the experiences of bipoc community members and their relationship to nature, land, and each other along the Mississippi river. The programs provide intentional spaces for bipoc community members to engage with parks in ways that are empowering, restorative, and joyous. Mississippi Park Connection builds capacity for bipoc in the outdoors by investing in a full-time program manager and coordinator and bipoc event leaders who create stewardship, recreational, and educational events in the Mississippi national river and recreation area. We design this program with a community co-creation model that aligns with the needs and requests of bipoc outdoor enthusiasts in the twin cities.events in 2023 included hikes, tree plantings, kayaking, mushroom foraging along the river, and more. Looking ahead, we are excited to strengthen the program by increasing participation, continuing to steward relationships with partner organizations and community leaders.in 2022, Mississippi Park Connection hosted 18 bipoc events for more than 400 participants. 98% of bipoc participants that we surveyed expressed they felt more knowledgeable about the natural environment, the river, and more connected to nature.in addition to bipoc specific events, mpc has been hosting a summer fellowship program for nine years. In 2023, three fellows had a 10-week, paid experience that provides an opportunity for diverse and underrepresented young adults ages 18 25 to explore career fields with the national Park service and other outdoor focused groups in the twin cities. Nearly 30 people have graduated from the program. Examples of work include: supporting habitat restoration events leading education activities conducting wildlife surveys staffing visitor centers and public programs in the Park

Environmental stewardship:mississippi Park Connection partners with the national Park service to restore river habitat and protect natural spaces within the Park corridor and beyond. Volunteers, land managers, partners, and our Mississippi river crew play a vital role in our efforts.mississippi river crew consists of youth outdoors americorps member leaders (ages 18-25) and conservation corps Minnesota & Iowa youth (ages 15-18), who engage in meaningful, hands-on conservation projects throughout the year. Their restoration efforts include clearing acres of buckthorn and planting trees, shrubs, and plants for greater biodiversity in the river ecosystem. They also support remediation in the forests related to emerald ash borer.through this partnership, youth gain job and career-planning skills and learn about natural resource management, ecology, science, technology, forestry and Minnesota natural and cultural history. They also learn to plan and execute community service projects and lead volunteers. In addition to the Mississippi river crew, much of the work of the plant for the future campaign is accomplished by the use of generous community volunteers. In 2023, 3,500 volunteers were a crucial component in many areas of our work. This year we also continued one of our most ambitious projects to date: the adaptive silviculture for climate change (ascc) study at crosby farm regional Park. The project stems from the difficult truth that we are losing significant tree canopy due to the emerald ash borer. In response, with our project partners, we created 24 research plots throughout the Park, each hosting 50 trees. Some, like cottonwoods, are familiar friends in the floodplain, while others, like southern pin oaks and sycamores, are newer arrivals projected to do well in a warmer and wetter Minnesota. In 2023, we collected the third year of data for the project, which is providing valuable insight into the establishment of climate-adapted trees. Born out of collaboration with local land managers, scientists, and research institutes, ascc is a testament to the fact that we are resilient when we work together. The work does not end now that these 1,200 trees are planted, either. Today, volunteers maintain fencing, collect data, and connect with other Park visitors every week. While we wait to discover which trees will thrive here in the future, we are grateful to dedicated volunteers who have become champions of the Park.

River learning center / national Park headquarters:mississippi Park Connection has partnered with the city of st. paul, the national Park service, and two area nonprofits to launch a capital project along the river in st. paul's crosby farm regional park.located at the watergate marina site at crosby farm regional Park, the Mississippi river learning center will transform this area into an easy-to-reach hub that strengthens the community's Connection to an incredible natural resource and foster generations of Park users and river stewards. The Mississippi river learning center builds on a 40-year legacy of reorienting st. paul to the Mississippi. By connecting our city's two greatest assetsits people and the riverwe can bring the river back from the edge to the center of public life and community identity.in 2023, Mississippi Park Connection was identified as the primary partner for the city and began working on a development agreement that will address the roles for mpc in fundraising and programming at the center. Mpc will hold sub agreements with great river passage conservancy, the national Park service, and other program partners.

Paddle share:the river is increasingly being seen as a world class recreational resource but it is often difficult to access, particularly if you do not have your own canoe and rack on your car. Additionally, because paddling on the river is most enjoyable point a to point b from upriver to downriver with the flow of water, paddling often requires two cars to make a successful outing. Because of this, we worked with the national Park service and numerous community partners to create paddle share. Paddle share is a summer program that consists of several kayak share stations on the Mississippi river. Each self-serve kayak share system includes boats, paddles, and life jackets. Users make their reservations online and access the boats through a combination. Bike share bikes and docks near these locations enable roundtrip bike and accessible paddle opportunities on the Mississippi river between these destinations that include a regional Park, water access, bike/pedestrian trails, and nearby transit. By giving access to recreational equipment along the Mississippi river, we encourage new audiences to find and experience their national Park. In 2022-23, we created a new program: paddle with a ranger in partnership with the national Park service in order to engage emerging audiences and beginners in kayaking and canoeing along the river. This program complemented the self-serve aspect of paddle share and also allowed us to begin to book groups for recreational tours and activities. More than 3,000 people paddled the Mississippi river with us in fy23.