Collect native seed + cut cottonwood seedlings at Heritage Village Park [FULL]

Located just 15 minutes south of St. Paul in Inver Grove Heights, Heritage Village Park is a 50-acre site on the banks of the Mississippi River. Now owned by the City of Inver Grove Heights, the site was a former rail yard until the mid-1980s. In 2004, a master plan for the site was prepared that would transform the site from a contaminated waste site, locally used for dumping trash, to a community amenity featuring recreational, cultural, and natural attractions, including abundant natural areas, playgrounds a bike path and more.

In 2005, FMR wrote a natural resource management plan to help guide restoration of the park. Today, the park has over 30 acres of restored, native prairie, as well as areas of floodplain forest along the Mississippi River. FMR will continue to partner with the city of Inver Grove Heights at the site. Long-term restoration will include removal of invasive shrubs in the floodplain forest, as well as the addition of native bur oak trees to the prairie area. This work will help to return the site to oak savanna, its historic natural community. Oak savanna is one of Minnesota's most imperiled habitats, occurring one one-tenth of one percent of its historic coverage. 

Volunteers will work along side FMR Ecologist Alex Roth and Stewardship Coordinator Adam Flett to collect native prairie grass seed and cut cottonwood seedlings. This native grass seed will be replanted at Heritage Village Park and neighboring Rock Island Swing Bridge Park. Volunteers may also be asked to participate in other restoration tasks that are needed to help improve this site.