Forwarded on behalf of the park board. -- David Brauer, list manager --
Annual Minneapolis Arbor Day Celebration May 4 Combined With Dedication Of North Mississippi Regional Park Interpretive Center Arbor Day At North Mississippi Regional Park Begins at 10 a.m Dedication scheduled for 1 p.m. Minneapolis, MN...April 20, 2002...North Mississippi Regional Park, a riverfront park that is part of the renaissance of the Upper River, is the site of this year's citywide, official Minneapolis Arbor Day May 4. Nearly 200 trees, native to the area, will be planted in this new park by neighborhood volunteers from 10 - 11:30 a.m. Following a program at noon, volunteers will walk along the river to the nearby North Mississippi Park Interpretive Center for a dedication beginning at 1 p.m. The public is invited to participate in both events. Park Board Commissioner Jon Olson will act as the master of ceremonies for the Arbor Day program at 11:30 a.m., which includes a ceremonial tree planting and music by the Minneapolis Police Band. Free food for volunteers will be served at noon at the picnic shelter. Elmer, the elm tree, will be on hand along with members of the Park Board's Horse Patrol. Aerial bucket rides will be offered, and tool and equipment demonstrations will be given. Following the Arbor Day event, volunteers and Park Board staff will walk to the nearby interpretive center where dedication ceremonies will begin at 1 p.m. with Minneapolis Park Superintendent Mary Merrill Anderson and Doug Bryant, who heads Three Rivers Park District (formerly Hennepin Parks). The interpretive center is a partnership between the two organizations. The new center interprets the natural and cultural history of the upper Mississippi in Minneapolis and is the site of environmental education programs. Arbor Day sponsors are the Park Board, People for Parks, Committee on Urban Environment, Three River Park District (Hennepin Parks), Camden Garden Club, Bottineau Citizens in Action, Mississippi Corridor Neighborhood Coalition, Mississippi Corridor Community Alliance, Victory Neighborhood Association, Lind-Bohanon Neighborhood Association and the City of Minneapolis. The North Mississippi Interpretive Center is located at 4900 Mississippi Court. It is at the corner of I-94 and 49th Street. Parking and entry to North Mississippi Regional Park are free. Background: Early in the 1990s, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board acquired the 70 acres for North Mississippi Regional Park that extends from the Camden bridge north to 53rd Avenue (the Minneapolis/Brooklyn Center city line). The park is a mile long along the river. Improvements since 1995 include trails, reinforcement of the bank with landscape rock, picnic tables and grills, and a boat launch/fishing dock. After 1999, a wading pool with rock waterfall and rock walls, a state-of-the-art playground, the Park Board's largest picnic shelter and a restroom/maintenance building were added. The groundbreaking for the interpretive center was in December 2000. The 5,100 sq. ft. building features sustainable, renewable resources. Plastic used in the building is made from polyethylene pop bottles and milk jugs. Tiles are concrete. Decorative materials are made from wheat fiber. Cabinets in the program rooms are made from sunflower seed hulls. Light sensors automatically dim the lights. Fans keep the air warm and cool. Windows can be opened. Interpretive exhibits talk about the logging industry, brickyards and truck farms that used to be in the area. It uses an interactive game to show the effects of the freeway. Another exhibit traces the quality of the drinking water from the river. Nearby classrooms can be used for labs for environmental education on site. # # # Emily Jo Nancy Ero-Phillips Manager, Public Information Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board 400 South 4th Street Suite 220 Minneapolis, Minnesota 55415 612-661-4874 (phone) 612-661-4777 (fax) [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
