ECOLOGIAL RESTORATION
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AT CEDAR LAKE POINT BEACH (AND BEYOND)
Yesterday, there was a program on the radio www.wbur.org/onpoint/2024/04/25/public-safety-police-dallas-texas-crime that included how effective "cleaning and greening" was toward crime prevention in Dallas, Texas. It lead me to do some quick research about this quippy phrase to learn more. It didn't take much effort to find volumes of research published in an array of publications that ranged from "Landscape and Urban Planning" to the "British Society of Criminology" and even a presentation "Reducing Crime One Trail at a Time. Fighting crime through design." by American Trails. www.americantrails.org/resources/reducing-crime-one-trail-at-a-time Published research studies provide evidence to one of the several principal reasons of why I began now more than four years ago the clearing the dense Buckthorn from Cedar Lake Point Beach peninsula. Absolutely, our natural areas need our protection for ecological survival. And also critically, urban parklands need to function as safe and welcoming places for all of us. Neglected and unmanaged, they create great hiding places that function as barriers of entry. We need and want healthy environments for humans and natural ecosystems. We need to strive to clear more and more acres of unmanaged natural areas in our city's park system making them safer, healthier, and more welcoming So it's pretty exciting to see what used to look like the photo above, which was largely dominated by invasive Buckthorn and Mulberry, to what we see today as shown in the top photo. The seedbed of native plants to create a healthy place has been there all along, but until now buried and concealed by invasive plants. The native plants including Solomon's Seal and Dutchman's Britches are starting to pop up and see the light of day.
The cleaning and greening of Cedar Lake Point and beyond will make our parks safer and more welcoming places for us all.
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My wife and I just enjoyed the most fortunate two weeks of a road trip into the west to appreciate and be a part of nature. Part driving, part biking, part hiking, it was just one of those treks where we planned enough and left enough of the schedule open to be open to what opened up to us. And what nature offered us was definitely awesome. It is said that experiences in nature primarily deliver one of two core feelings, awe and serenity. Visually being amidst wide open spaces, and pacing our way by foot and wheels allowed us to touch and be touched by both the sense of awe and peaceful serenity. But mostly awe. Nature's signsThis wasn't supposed to be a travel blog, so I'll spare getting into all of the awe that can hardly be represented by photos in a blog post. Rather I'll get to some observations as they related to our own urban park's natural areas. What fascinated me was the realization that some of these natural areas get millions and millions of visitors each and every year, and for so many years. Yet, they are so incredibly well maintained. Despite visiting more than a half-dozen national parklands, we barely spotted a damaged sign post, a rotted fence, or a defaced tree or rock. Our public messagesThe well maintained places and spaces on this road trip was notable in contrast to the public messages communicated here around Cedar Lake Park. We have so many signs of damage and neglect. I constantly remind myself to see them every day so they don't become invisible. When I stop seeing these signs of neglect, I will have become a part of the problem too. These photos were created yesterday. Communicate what is envisionedToday, I went through a series of emails with fellow citizens and our park board commissioner about some renegade mountain bike trails being created in the woods of Cedar Lake Park. We discussed the need to communicate that this effort is destructive to nature and of the place we are trying to protect. We discussed ways to protect it, including the use of signage. When the discussion of signs arises, I am all for good clean communications, but that song from my high school immediately pops into my head. "Signs, signs, everywhere's there's a sign. Do this. Do that. Can't you read the sign?" And I think about the signage I saw on the trails in the national parks. They were always simple, kind, informative, and maintained well enough that never appeared defaced. I hope we can get to improving the messaging we project to the public about our park's natural areas, starting with the idea that we care enough about these areas to take care of them. We will take care of our natural areas when we stop sending messages of neglect and lack of maintenance. All that does is communicate that these areas don't matter. They do matter, so let's say that!
Thanks to this past week's snow, the MPRB Natural Resources team was able to get out today to conduct controlled burns of piles of invasive cuttings. The path around the peninsula of Cedar Lake Point Beach was virtually lined with cuttings collected since last June. Thanks to the snow cover, the staff has probably just about four day window to conduct burning of this type throughout the city. That's why they brought in contract help from the Conservation Corps. Have to admit, I got pretty fired up to see so many resources concentrated on today's work. It was great to be able to chat with two of our three Natural Resources department staff about our collective efforts and visions for the area. we have great opportunities to observe what kinds of plants will spring up in the next few weeks now that many areas have been cleared and replanted. We talked about where we can plan some more shrubs and the thoughts of some larger tree plantings such as Swamp White Oak and Burr Oak high canopy trees mostly at the higher grounds. And how Serviceberriy, Nannyberry and Hackberry shrubs will continue to serve to offer mid-tier level growth. We discussed how we will continue to plant Dogwoods along the shoreline. And to address the density of Mulberry that we still want to deal with over the long-term, we will watch the extent of routing of them, which will encourage or discourage us from believing they may be eradicated and replaced with native trees and shrubs. Cedar's north shore and woodsWe looked over northward over the lake to the north side ion Cedar Lake to review the cutting that was accomplished over there past few months. Both Natural Resources mentioned to me independently that there are explicit plans to use the light rail easement funds to initiate clearing of Buckthorn in the wooded area north and east of the lake. I had not heard anything official on that, but out sounds like the wheels are turning to imitate that work. That really brightened my outlook that Cedar Lake is getting its overdue attention for restorative care.
Oh, the treasured morning walk around Cedar Lake on this beautiful early spring morning. The sunshine, the birds singing from the trees, the geese squawking from there shoreline, and the silhouetted shadows of trees cast upon the wilderness walk. To be present in the moment is one of nature's gifts. That's one part of the experience. As like many weekend mornings, to be among the first human tracks through this "unmanaged natural area" as the Minneapolis Park Board designates it, is also to experience part of last night's past. Three nodes of activity seemed to be really happening last night. "Sunset Bench" seemed most popular, followed by Memorial Grove, and then the mound. I'm trying to envision the fun it must have been roast almost two packages of hotdogs over a campfire. Half of package were left untouched and left behind. And those more than a dozen cans pf Hamm's beer must have tasted so good that it seemed like fun to toss all the cans into the marsh. At Memorial Grove and the mound, campfires must have been more about creating ambiance. Chipotle and beers and vodka were feast favorites. At the mound, it was like last week, toss down the throat and then down the hillside a half dozen Modellas. What do we expect? The thing I can't seem to understand is, how can we expect anything other than this kind of behavior when we have done so little to say what this area should be? Of course it would be nice if those who were using the park were not abusing it. But wouldn't it also be nice if we had posted hours of when the park is open and closed? Wouldn't it be nice if we could have the area patrolled to provide a sense that this kind of behavior will not go unchecked? In reading and re-reading the history of establishing this area, it's always been community led. In 1986, the community created the Cedar Lake Park Association to purchase the land keeping it from being developed, "to establish a nature park in the heart of the city." Since they donated the land to the Park Board, most formal expressions of the park's experience with nature have been urged by the local community. East Cedar Beach wasn't even named until a few years ago. The wooded area to the south of 21st Street was incredibly accomplished by two women and their legions of community volunteers. The wooded area to the north created Memorial Grove, planting a spiral tree design was created by volunteers. The prairie along the Cedar Lake Regional Trail wouldn't be there if it were not envisioned and driven by community volunteers. We're at a time where we could use a little help from the MPRB. This area needs to be elevated beyond "wilded" as it was referred to in the Cedar Isles Plan before the community pushed back saying this was just placing a positive spin on the reality of the area actually being neglected. It is formally called an "unmanaged natural area" meaning it faces special challengers even getting on the radar and attracting funds to support its needs. Welcoming more to the nature park in the heart of the city More visitors, brought on by there warmer months and the oncoming light rail with two adjacent stops, will mean it's never more important to clarify and establish the identity and nature of this natural area. If we don't reinforce and remind and communicate the original intent of why this area was created, it remains vulnerable to being defined by those who can unknowingly and unintentionally destroy this nature park in the heart of the city.
It's certainly happened to most of us, and hopefully more than a few times. It's the sense of discovery of a whole new world of knowledge with a single word. Last week, the word that word was "biophilia". Biophilia is a hypothetical human tendency to interact or be closely associated with other forms of life in nature. Of course, if I was paying closer attention to my musical side, I could have discovered this word much sooner, thanks to Bjork's 2011 album. I'll now listen to it while writing. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biophilia_(album) Biophilia is expansive and covers an array of topics and perspectives, that each and all point to the intersection between humans and other (non-human) members of nature. I've struggled with how to conceptualize how we as humans interact with nature. Maybe it was best illustrated in a previous blog post "But Why?" but-why.html that shows "ego" versus "eco". We as humans are one of many species of nature. But our behaviors and language suggests otherwise. We live with federal, state and local public departments of natural resources. The Wikipedia definition of a resource, "refers to all the materials available in our environment which are technologically accessible, economically feasible and culturally sustainable, and help us to satisfy our needs and wants. (My emphasis added.) The biophilia hypothesis www.britannica.com/science/biophilia-hypothesis is a human experience about sense of connection with nature. It's the intersection of the Venn diagram between the needs, wants and desires of human interests and all other non-human beings. Here in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities, and statewide, we are gifted with an abundance of opportunities to connect and have a relationship with nature. Best relationships are reciprocal where each party gives back and forth. Where some places are respected and reserved and protected for their own needs, wants and desires. A Nickel of a Dollar to Nature?How reciprocal is our relationship with nature? How much does our Park Board dedicate to the environment? Topline review of the MPRB budget shows that two departments have funds that go to our natural resources. The 2024 Environmental Management budget is $4.7 million, or 4.6% of the total General Fund. That budget is actually less than 2023, which was $5.2 million. I expect there are nuances and reasons for this decline, such as funds are also from other places other than the General Fund. And I am asking those questions. But the figures from the past three years reveal that the Environmental Management budget has consistently hovered around 5%. Maybe we should consider the Forrest Department when looking at budgets that serve nature. Their budget is about $10 million. But I was a bit discouraged when my conversation with a Forest Department field staffer about their role in natural areas. His reply was, they don't do work in the woods or natural areas, they focus one boulevards and trees in neighborhood parks. So it would be a stretch to suggest that the Forest Department's 10% of the General Fund went to protecting nature. One Million trail users are arriving . . .A Cedar Lake Park Association representative reported yesterday that the Light Rail development involved installing the metal plates for the at grade crossing of the Cedar Lake Trail and the LRT. They are planning for 220 trains per day, and one million trail users, using this crossing. . . . to a vulnerable natural areaCedar Lake Park remains under the Park Board's definition, "unmanaged". Whatever ecological restoration that has occurred in the area has been initiated by citizen Park Stewards and their teams of volunteers. The efforts have been Herculean, but it won't be enough to manage the million treads of visitors, who by foot, wheels, or whatever moves them into this place that for years volunteers have been trying to restore and protect the natural environment. |
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I'm Steve Kotvis, volunteer Park Steward for the Minneapolis Cedar Lake Point Beach peninsula who has a newfound love of restoring this natural area and more. I'm learning as I go, and enjoy sharing that with those who have an interest. I'm also a photographer, so the photos in this blog are mine unless otherwise labeled.