Seeing the Big River: In Our Hands

In Our Hands #1: Break Free - During a Friends of the Mississippi River storm drain stenciling afternoon with students from Sunny Hollow Montessori School, a young river steward rescued this cigarette package from the street and therefore prevented it from ending up in the Big River. She brought me to her favorite spot on the school campus where we made this photograph with a pine tree.

Photo: Peter L. Johnson

In Our Hands #2: Buckthorn Specimen - Buckthorn may be the poster child invasive species along the banks of the Mississippi River in the Twin Cities. As we removed buckthorn to make room for native plants in Riverside Park in Minneapolis, one of the volunteers — Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board Commissioner Scott Vreeland — showed me this piece of buckthorn just after removal.

Photo: Peter L. Johnson

In Our Hands #3: Root Trophy - One of the ecologists in charge of the restoration of Riverside Park in Minneapolis, Cynthia Lane, was proud of ripping up this invasive species root. Her hard-earned prize is pictured in front of a bed of soil being prepared for the native plants we put in the ground overlooking the Mississippi River.

Photo: Peter L. Johnson