MissionOur mission is to work with the City of Minnetonka to ensure that all park visitors can experience high quality, biodiverse places that provide a multitude of positive nature-based interactions, thereby improving the quality of life and the sustainability and ecological resiliency of our parks, park system and community.
We will accomplished this by:
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Jidana Park Preserve
Values
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We value a park system that:
We consider our natural landscapes to be an amenity that can be enjoyed and appreciated by everyone, and also needs to be protected from negligence, misuse, overuse, and overt or benign degradation. Each park and/or preserve in the city may have its own unique, natural, biodiverse features and should have its own unique restoration management plan and guidelines for use guided by a comprehensive, city-wide vision and plan for our park system. Friends of Minnetonka Parks Nonprofit FormationThroughout our organizational meetings, our founding members discussed the pros and cons of organizing as a 501(c)3 nonprofit. Discussions included that the City's current (old) NRMP states that a group such as the "Friends of Minnetonka Parks"could help fundraise and coordinate volunteer activities, and the limitation of nonprofits to endorse candidates. Our ultimate conclusion was that the ability to raise funds for all parks under one entity (rather than each individual park group) and eligibility to apply for grants clearly fit our mission. One of our members had recently founded a nonprofit for the shareholders of their employer and volunteered to coordinate the effort.
We also saw strength in numbers. With FoMP, our individual parks groups can tap into the volunteer availability of other groups, help each other by offering a consistent approach with city staff, and coordinate our efforts so as not to compete with each other. As a result, we have provided the City with volunteer buckthorn removal "blitzes" in numbers beyond their imaginations. We hope to continue this trend with significant and meaningful projects for each of the friends of parks groups that will launch the City of Minnetonka into a productive restoration mode. Restore Minnetonka! |
We had another eventful year and celebrate our collective efforts to restore high-priority areas within our parks, in collaboration with the City of Minnetonka. FoMP strives to be a catalyst of positive change in the community, playing an integral role in reversing the trends of environmental degradation in our park system. We are creating a verdant and vibrant community in which ecological stewardship, and community connectedness and partnerships thrive.
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Friends of Minnetonka Parks Recipient of Conservation Award
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The Friends of Minnetonka Parks was honored with the Bush Lake Commitment to Conservation Award at the Bush Lake Chapter - Izaak Walton League Of America's annual meeting on September 16th. The award is given to an individual or organization inside or outside of the organization that has contributed to restoration, habitat, and conservation in Minnesota. |
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Friends of Minnetonka Parks
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Annual Reports
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2021
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