East Harriet

Parks, Environment & Schools Committee (PES)

Parks, Environment & School Committee
The Parks, Environment & School Committee works with neighbors and the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board on a variety of programs to ensure a sustainably healthy environment and a clean, vital, safe, and active system of parks.
Programs and projects include:
•  Bryant/Barton Environmental Awareness Team! (Bryant/BEAT!) 
•  Environmental education
•  Park Board and Minneapolis Public Schools  liaison 
•  "Greening" of the neighborhood 
•  Dutch Elm Disease Treatment Rebate Program 
•  Earth Day Clean-up 
•  Household Hazardous Waste Drop-Off

Contact committee chair Brian Nalezny via email if you have an idea for a parks and environment project or if you would like more information about anything related to our parks or the environment.

Park Approves CAC Recommended Dog Park Site The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) approved the location (site 32) and design for a dog park in the Sixth District at its December 7 meeting. The new dog park will be located along King's Highway in Lyndale Farmstead Park in what is now the lower section of the Southside Operations Center parking lot. This site was the primary recommendation of the Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC), appointed by the board in February to recommend a preferred location and design for an off-leash recreational area on the eastern side of the 6th Park District.  The board also directed park staff, per the CAC recommendation, to develop a system-wide master plan for off leash areas. The MPRB will start work on a design development of the park with a goal to bid the project and start construction by this. A tentative completion date is set for late summer. For more information on the Sixth District Dog Park project, and to review all background information including site maps, concept design plans, budgets and a parking analysis, vist their website at MPRB 6th District Dog Park. 6th District Off-Leash Dog Park Update _The Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) for the 6th District Dog Park was charged by the Park Board Commissioners to recommend a preferred location and design for an off-leash recreational area on the eastern side of the 6th Park District. After a comprehensive process seeking public input and reviewing 31 sites, the last meeting of the CAC was September 12. The final recommendation of the CAC is as follows:   Primary recommendation of Site 32 (Southside Operations Center parking lot, Dupont Ave S & 39th St, 'behind the wall'), with a request to implement at least the draft design presented to the CAC. Backup recommendation of Site 1 (triangle of trees behind Theodore Wirth House, Dupont Ave S & 40th St,'outside the wall'). Create a community body to develop a system-wide master plan for off-leash areas. The CAC's recommendation will be forwarded to the Planning Committee of the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board (MPRB) for consideration at its next meeting. The Planning Committee will use the CAC's recommendation as a starting point for formulating its own recommendation, which will be forwarded to the full Board of Commissioners for action. Interested parties who submitted comments to the CAC should submit comments again directly to the Commissioners. Emailing all of the Commissioners would be most effective. For complete list of all Commissioners see the MPRB website. There will be a public hearing on Tuesday, November 22 at 6:30pm as part of the Planning Committee meeting at the MPRB Administrative Offices, Board Room Suite 255, 2117 West River Road. Check MPRB website for last minute changes to the meeting time or place. More background information can be found on the MPRB website: Sixth Park District Dog Park.  Maps of Site 32 and Site 1 can be found at the top of the page. Concept design plans, budgets, a grid comparing the sites and a parking analysis can be found in the meeting notes and handouts for the September 12 CAC meeting. The Background Materials section has further helpful information, including a map of the search area and the boundary of the historic site designation for the Wirth House and surrounding landscape. Roberts Bird Sanctuary Revitalization The Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board (MPRB), Audubon Chapter of Minneapolis (ACM), East Harriet Farmstead Neighborhood Association (EHFNA) and LInden Hills Neighborhood Council (LHNC) have formed a partnership to create a long term management plan that will revitalize the Roberts Bird Sancuary and preserve its legacy. The MPRB hopes to have a draft of the long-term management plan complete by June 2011. The MPRB will then ask the three involved groups, ACM, EHFNA and LHNC, to review the draft and respond with comments. MPRB staff will present the plan to the MPRB Board on July 6th with a meeting for public input to be scheduled shortly after that. The current timeline would have this project wrapped up by the end of summer 2011. Located in Lyndale Park, the Thomas Sadler Roberts Bird Sanctuary includes about 13 acres of woodland and wetland north of Lake Harriet and south of Lakewood Cemetery. ACM is an Adopt-A-Park partner at the bird sanctury. Projects for 2010 included public bird walks, bird and plant surveys and invasive species removal. Visit the ACM website for more information about the ACM and its role in this project. Remember to Water Trees! The ongoing lack of rainfall is stressful to all trees, especially recently planted ones. Please take some time this fall to make sure your boulevard and yard trees are receiving sufficient water. Here is watering information from the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. Each tree that the MPRB plants on boulevards receives two waterings. After the initial watering, it becomes the responsibility of each property owner.   Here's what you can do to see that a new tree continues to receive the water it needs:   Water newly planted trees thoroughly once every seven to ten days during dry periods in the spring, summer, and fall. Trees less than five years old need at least eight five gallon buckets of water slowly poured its roots once every seven to ten days. Another easy way to water your tree is to put a hose under the crown of the tree and run water gently for about an hour. An inch of rainfall each week is what the tree requires. You do not need to water as often when rainfall has been adequate for your tree. Click here to view more information on caring for your trees.

UPCOMING COMMITTEE MEETINGS The PES Committee meets on the fourth Monday of each month at Lyndale Farmstead Park, 3900 Bryant Ave S from  7 - 8 p.m. Upcoming Meeting: The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, February 27, 2012. Questions? Contact Brian Nalenzy via email Helpful Links Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board ActiveNet Minneapolis Public Schools Lyndale Community School Clara Barton Open School Park Hours _Lyndale Farmstead Park Hours from Labor Day to Memorial Day: Labor Day -  Closed Park Hours Beginning Tuesday, September 6: Monday - Thursday 3-9 pm Friday 3-6 pm Saturday and Sunday - Closed except for special programs CSA 10 Parks _M.L. King Park: Brian Cornell 370-4908 | 4055 Nicollet Ave S Lyndale Farmstead Park:  Ann Lynch 370-4948 | 3900 Bryant Ave S Painter Park: Carole Anderson 370-4911 | 620 34th St W Fuller Park: Mitch Waukau 370-4963 | 4800 Grand Ave S Earth Day 2011 Saturday, April 16 Thanks to all the great volunteers who showed up on Saturday despite the blustery cold weather and  threat of snow. Girl Scout Troup 10439, Mpls Lakes Service Unit Cub Scout Pack 73 from Christ the King (52nd St) Lyndale Community School  Lyndale  School, located at 312 W. 34th St., is the community school for the East Harriet Neighborhood.  For more information, visit the school's website Lyndale Community School or call 612.668.4000. Literacy Tutor Opportunities RSVP Literacy Volunteer Are you 55 and older and have a passion for youth? Become a literacy tutor with RSVP and help children close the achievement gap or others to learn the English language and gain their GED. The RSVP program, sponsored by the Volunteers of America MN, provides benefits and support to people 55 and over. For more information, call Mary Jane Horton, RSVP Literacy Coordinator at 612.945.4163 or mhorton@voamn.org.  K-3rd Volunteer  You can make a difference by volunteering as a Minneapolis Public School K-3 literacy tutor. Training will be available in the new literacy curriculum used by all students in kindergarten through 3rd grade throughout the entire district. For more information and to join or schedule training, email Abe Wofse or call 612.668.3939. Students Paint a Winter Coat for Rose Garden Fountain  Bruce Wadman, EHFNA's Parks, Environment and School (PES) committee chair, worked with MPRB and the art teachers at Barton Open School and Lyndale Community School to transform the drab plywood panels that serve as winter protection for the fountain into colorful works of art. This wonderful example of collaboration between the parks, community and schools will provide winter enjoyment for local residents and park visitors for many winters to come. The project was funded by EHFNA and Guse Hardware. Dutch Elm Disease Rebates Available East Harriet will partner again this season with Rainbow Treecare to do what we can to preserve our neighborhood's majestic elm trees. Rainbow is offering treatments to East Harriet residents at a 10% group discount.  In addition, the East Harriet Neighborhood Association provides a $200 rebate to residents who treat a tree on their property.  There is a limit of one rebate per residence. If you have questions email us at info@eastharriet.org or call the EHFNA office at 612.824.9350. Peace Bridge