Cedar Riverside Youth Council service learning program wrap-up

Service-Learning in Cedar-Riverside

Friends of the Mississippi River worked with the Cedar-Riverside Youth Council (CRYC) on a series of service?learning projects in Riverside Park and the surrounding neighborhood from May through July 2012. The Youth Councils work culminated in the production of River Awareness Day, a celebration and panel discussion at the Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis. The effort was consisted of three water?quality education workshops and two habitat restoration events, in addition to the River Awareness Day presentation.

The effort was funded by an Action Grant from the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization (MWMO), with additional financial support from the McKnight Foundation, MillerCoors, REI and Xcel Energy. The Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund paid for professional crew work and site prep to complement the habitat restoration work conducted by the Youth Council and community volunteers.

Project description

FMRs partnership with the CRYC began in May of 2012 with a service-learning pilot program designed to engage youth and the broader community in the stewardship of Riverside Park, to which many local residents already have strong connections.

The program started with three educational workshops that introduced CRYC members to the Upper Mississippi Watershed and current water-quality concerns in the Twin Cities. Through discussion and hands-on activities, the youth learned about topics such as urban runoff, stormwater management, nonpoint source pollution, and pollution prevention and mitigation.

These subjects were all brought home as youth hit the streets to investigate water features in their neighborhood. A water-wise scavenger hunt turned up potential sources of stormwater pollution such as litter, sediment and lawn chemicals, but also showed local residents and businesses efforts to protect water quality with features such as rain gardens, rain barrels and recycling or compost services. The youth also marked nearby storm-drains with the message Please dont pollute – drains to Mississippi River in English and Somali.

After the introduction to local water-quality issues, Council members participated in two habitat restoration events at Riverside Park, working alongside ecologist Carolyn Carr and volunteers in FMR's Gorge Leadership Team. Their first project was to remove invasive species such as buckthorn and garlic mustard, which tend to crowd out native plants, thereby reducing biodiversity and often harming ecological health. Their second project involved planting over 200 native prairie plants on one of the parks steep hillsides. In addition to creating a beautiful park border, these plants will offer multiple ecological benefits, from increased diversity and wildlife habitat to reduced erosion and runoff into the Mississippi River.

The Youth Councils work culminated in River Awareness Day, which the youth produced as one of six evening events comprising their annual Youth Awareness Week festivities. In addition to celebrating the Youth Councils work with FMR, this event also included discussions about water conservation and justice in the U.S. and Somalia.

From Minneapolis to East Africa: Each Drop Is Precious

On July 13, 2012 Friends of the Mississippi and the Cedar-Riverside Youth Council (CRYC) hosted the first-ever River Awareness Day at Mixed Blood Theatre, engaging almost 100 participants in a celebration of community stewardship for the Mississippi River and its watershed. Produced as part of the CRYCs 3rd Annual Cedar-Riverside Youth Awareness Week, the event included a photo presentation, youth testimonials and a panel discussion with water-resource experts from Minnesota and Somalia. FMR interns and CRYC co-founders Mary Metchnek and Mohamed Jama organized the evenings activities.

Panelists included Abdulkadir Warsame, executive director of the Riverside Plaza Tenants Association; a representative of Haan Relief; Scott Vreeland, Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board Commissioner; and FMRs own River Corridor Program Director, Irene Jones. The discussion centered on the importance of protecting our water resources – both here in water-rich Minnesota, where our waterways face threats from pollution and invasive species, and in drought-stricken Somalia, where access to clean water can literally be a matter of life and death.

History of the project

Since 2010, FMR has worked with the West Bank Community Coalition and the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board to restore the ecology of special places within the park, under the guidance of local ecologist Carolyn Carr of Ecological Strategies.

This spring, supported by a Stewardship Fund Program grant from the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization, CRYC members and FMR staff embarked on this journey to explore the Cedar-Riverside neighborhoods connections to the Mississippi River and to involve these young leaders in the restoration of this unique city park.

FMR also held two public events at Riverside Park in the fall of 2012. The first was a planting event, at which almost 30 FMR volunteers participated in planting native trees and shrubs on a slope in Lower Riverside Park. The second was an interpretive park tour with presentations by ecologist Carolyn Carr, FMR Program Assistant Katie Clower, and translator and cultural liaison Abdirizak Bihi. Park restoration is ongoing, and additional volunteer events will be held in 2013.

The Cedar-Riverside Youth Council

The Cedar-Riverside Youth Council, was founded by youth in 2007 as a way to engage and empower young people in a neighborhood where they felt there was too much violence and too few activities for young adults. The Councils mission is to bring about change, adopt community cultures, have self- reliance, engage in volunteerism and become the new leaders for the next generation.

And they are well on their way! With approximately 25 members ranging in age from 13 – 21, the CRYCs projects range from neighborhood safety to youth employment initiatives, and mural painting to sports tournaments. Their members may also be found on local advisory boards or political committees, demonstrating their commitment to being active participants in the decisions affecting their community. However, for the majority of the youth, working with an environmental organization like FMR was a brand new experience.