Check out all that is happening

Kennedy High School Courtyard Project enters construction stage

Based on final construction documents, we are nearly ready to begin construction this Fall. This summer Green Club students, KHS teachers and staff, and community members were busy preparing the courtyard for this Fall’s construction. Solarization was used to kill the weeds and limited turf, many wagon and wheelbarrows full of dead vegetation was removed, the degraded water feature was removed (including a 6 inch mat of decades of cattail roots), and hundreds of rip rack rocks were dug up and piled. Great effort.

The District is currently in the contract development stage, with a goal of beginning Fall construction in early November. The work planned for this Fall includes the contractor completely regrading the site to meet the new layout, removal of stumps, and the installation of the path pervious path and the stormwater features. After this, we will work with the Green Club to sheet mulch the entire site.

This Winter the Green Club will assist us in finalizing the planting plan, and then in the Spring it will be planting time. Watch for upcoming announcements and join us next Spring for a great planting event.   

New Project Alert – Tree Planting at Poplar Bridge Elementary School

Based on the successful model at Kennedy High School, we received a Hennepin County Tree Grant to complete a tree planting project at Poplar Bridge Elementary School. The $10,000 grant will support our effort to work with parents, students, teachers, staff, and community members to plant more than 50 trees at the school.

We are excited to be partnering with the PTA to grow the tree canopy at the school. Fall tree education and selection activities are being planned which support a Spring planting event, followed of course by 2 years of watering. We even received a donation of fun colored shovels to support the project. Check out the Project page and watch for upcoming announcements to join in the fun.

Forest Glen Park Project continuing efforts are celebrated as this year’s City Buckthorn Bust event site

The last trout stream in Hennepin County (Ike’s Creek) continued to see great efforts to remove the buckthorn surrounding it. Volunteers cut and stacked piles of buckthorn, opening the skies for young oaks and future native plantings. The effort caught the City’s attention and the site will be the location for the City’s Annual Buckthorn Bust on September 25, 2025. If you have not yet, check out an upcoming event and enjoy this great Bloomington treasure.

Great news…….

Our partnership, voice and work with the city helped create, within the city, a program that allows local non-profits to secure grants and manage projects to help in city parks, opening many opportunities for new restoration efforts. We are currently identifying opportunities and seeking grant’s in order to take advantage of helping within Bloomington on more projects.

A number of projects are in the planning and development stage - stay tuned. Have a project idea for restoration of a natural area in your neighborhood? Drop us a line and let's talk.

Quick Look at a Successful 2025

Kennedy Courtyard Project

Busy year, as the Green Club’s efforts engaged students in developing the Final Concept Design to create a Courtyard that is a sustainable environmental education and student space.

Work was also completed to prepare the courtyard for Fall of 2025 initial construction, in support of a Spring 2026 planting.

Tree planting efforts

Kennedy High School (KHS) Photos

Fall of 2025 marks the successful completion of the Kennedy High School tree planting project. The final phase involved the KHS Green Club along with BNNN members conducting weekly watering over the last 2 years. Great effort!!

Restoration efforts at Marsh Lake Park and Olson Schools Nature Area continued to transform these sites. The hard work of removing significant amounts of invasive plants as well as overly prolific trees offered glimpses of the potential of these sites.

Marsh Lake Park Photos

Volunteer and city efforts beginning to the glimpses of what the restored area will look like. Second year of significant native grasses and flowers growth.

Over the summer, the city mowed the area to support the growth of the native vegetation and help prevent weeds from crowding out the recently seeded areas.

Buckthorn removal efforts continued to the south and west, revealing remnant native plants and new views.

Olson Schools Nature Area Photos

Olson Schools Nature Area project bloomed brightly and received another grant. The hundreds of native plants planted and pounds of seeds sowed over the past year provided for a very colorful Summer and Fall, attracting many birds, butterflies, and pollinators. Work continued to remove the invasives and grow the native planting areas. The effort received a Hennepin County Good Steward grant that will aid in restoring badly degraded shorelines.

This Fall we are completing a Fall planting and preparing for next Spring/Summer’s shoreline work.  

Winter saw large dead tree removal through donated services. Spring saw the planting of more than 1,000 native grasses, sedges, and flowers.

Forest Glen Park (Ike’s Creek) Photos

Forest Glen Park Project continuing efforts are celebrated as this year’s City Buckthorn Bust event site. The last trout stream in Hennepin County (Ike’s Creek) continued to see great efforts to remove the buckthorn surrounding it. Volunteers cut and stacked piles of buckthorn, opening the skies for young oaks and future native plantings. The effort caught the City’s attention and the site will be the location for the City’s Annual Buckthorn Bust on September 25, 2025.

Nine Mile Creek -

The City’s restoration planning kindled a partnership with BNNN to assist with the continuing restoration efforts started by the County last year. Talks are occurring for growing this effort.

Winchester Pond

Updates

The restoration of the 102nd Street side saw significant progress, with dead tree and invasive brush removal, as well as well weeding and expansion of native plantings areas.

BNNN Volunteer Opportunities

Restoration Projects -

Help remove invasive plants, planting new plants, hauling brush, cutting brush etc. Tools provided. (Events)

Marsh Lake Park - Monthly Second Saturdays events - mornings

Olson Schools Nature Area - Monthly Third Saturdays events - mornings

Forest Glen Park (Ike’s Creek) - check our events page for upcoming events

Nine Mile Creek (near 106th and Humboldt Ave) - Monthly Third Saturdays events - mornings

Outreach -

Assistance is needed in spreading the word and involving others. Volunteering opportunities include:

Dropping flyers in areas adjacent to projects prior to events

Staffing a tables at events to talk to volunteers and answer questions

Social Media -

Additional help is needed in growing our social media presence - know someone who’s good at social media? Posting, updating, engaging, making TikTocs or Facebook/Instagram reels? Would not require many hours, and could be a great way to support us if not interested or able to do physical outdoor restoration work.

Photo Organizer -

Collect photos taken at events or projects, date, label, sort, and store for use in media, website etc.

Tree Watering -

Summer watering of trees at any of the following: Valley View Park, Maplewood Park, Barthel’s Pond Park and Kennedy High School.

Remembering Carl Estey…

On May 18th, a dear supporter Carl Estey died. He was always a firm and enthusiastic supporter of our mission and efforts.  We started working on restoring Winchester Pond by his house about 7 years ago. Carl loved that it pulled the neighbors together, and made the pond look better (a work in progress).  Although he was not able to participate in the physical activities, he supported us in many other ways, like letting us frequently fill up his green bins, always joined us at celebrations of the pond, and was quick with a kind word!  He loved nature, and had many places he visited that he loved, but his family thinks he would be honored to support our Winchester Pond restoration efforts close to his home of several decades.  We are honored to accept any gifts in his name, and will put them to good use with new trees, or flowering plants at Winchester Pond.  We will miss him dearly, his laugh and precise smart questions, and his willingness to embrace new information about changing times to be more in line with natural processes.  Thank you Carl for all your support!  We will listen for your laugh when the wind plays in the branches!

We are a 501(c)3, any donations are tax deductible! Carl would want you to take the tax break :)