What Can a Dollar Do?

A pledge of...

$10 helps Friends of the Mississippi River produce an action alert to inform Twin Cities residents about important river issues and engage them in active river protection efforts.

$20 engages a Gorge Steward volunteer in trail monitoring and clean-up efforts. Work done by the Gorge Stewards allows all of us to enjoy this beautiful area along the river in Minneapolis and St. Paul.

$40 supports coordination of a volunteer event to remove invasive exotic species like buckthorn and garlic mustard, which helps to restore the natural biodiversity of buffer zones along the Mississippi River and its tributaries. In turn, this improves water quality, wildlife habitat, and recreational opportunities in these areas.

$60 enables Friends of the Mississippi River to conduct a birding hike in the river corridor, led by experienced birders and naturalists. This fosters appreciation for the wonder and beauty of the river's flora and fauna by community members.

$80 provides water quality and pollution prevention education to 50 school children and gives them a hands-on storm drain stenciling experience. Storm drains are stenciled with the message “Please don’t pollute! Drains to River!” to raise awareness of the direct link between storm drain runoff and river pollution.

$250 presents a community-focused Watershed Workshop packed with information about natural lawn and garden care, composting, rain gardens and barrels, native landscaping, car care, and other topics that raise awareness of steps individuals can take to protect the Mississippi River and its watershed.

A pledge goal of...

$300 reaches out to landowners with ways to protect and restore the ecological value of their land. This work is expanding the greenway corridors by restoring land in the Twin Cities area, which helps to improve water quality through natural filteration and increases the amount of habitat available for wildlife, native and migratory birds, and rare native plant species.

$400 supports coordination of and supplies for a volunteer planting event to restore native species to important wetland areas in the watershed. These plantings recreate the natural biodiversity of the wetland, improve its quality as habitat for native wildlife, and recover its ability to filter and purify groundwater sources and water that drains to the river.

$500 helps to convene a community design workshop to plan riverfront development that protects the river while maximizing recreational access and the potential for economic growth. These workshops take a multifaceted approach to river protection and ensure that all stakeholders, including citizens, have a voice in the process.

$1,000 purchases 1,200 trees and shrubs for a streambank stabilization project that can secure over 1,000 feet of streambank. Such projects prevent erosion and subsequent sediment buildup downstream. They also improve water quality by restoring the natural filtration process and enhance aquatic as well as terrestrial habitat. This process, conducted on the Vermillion River, has helped protect this important tributary as a high-quality trout stream for fish and for anglers from across the state.

Contact Heather via our contact form or at 651-222-2193 x20 for more information about what your pledges can support.