Volunteer for St. Anthony Park's annual Earth Day Kasota Ponds Cleanup on Saturday, April 24, 2010 from 9am-12pm. The Kasota Ponds wetlands are one of our most precious environmental resources. Volunteers of all ages are welcome and aquatic exploration and education will be offered for kids. Equipment and refreshments provided. We meet at the parking lot west of Hwy 280 on the south side of Energy Park Drive. For more information and to sign up to volunteer please contact Renee.
Over the last 12 years, SAPCC has worked to protect and preserve the wetlands, habitat corridors and ponds in District 12. The sites are utilized by a wide range of species, including migratory waterfowl and birds in the Mississippi/Central Flyway. In particular SAPCC has dedicated its energy to protect and preserve the Kasota Ponds, which are historic wetland remnants found at the intersection of Trunk Highway 280 and Kasota Avenue/Energy Park Drive. There are multiple ponds at this location, in addition to underground springs that once fed this matrix of waterways. In 2003, SAPCC received a grant from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to undertake a major clean-up of the wetland sites, install a variety of bird and bat boxes, improve herpetological and aquatic habitat, plant a large number of native plants, and have continued water and ornithological monitoring and observations. Additionally, we conducted a study of the historic Bridal Veil Creek Watershed, which concluded in 2006. Please see our BVC page for more details.
The Kasota Ponds continue to serve as an important habitat and ecologically functioning part of our neighborhood, so the SAP Environment Committee continues to provide opportunities for neighbors to get involved. Every spring there is a Kasota Pond Cleanup, traditionally held close to Earth Day. Children are welcome and there is always an interesting treasure revealed from the spring thaw. At the north pond, folks can do some bird-watching in the comfort of our homemade Bird Blind, complete with an abbreviated field guide. We also offer an interesting environmental education opportunity at our cleanup. Please contact Renee at 651-649-5992 or renee@sapcc.org for more information on the ponds, the watershed, or local environmental issues.
Thank you to 2009 Cleanup Volunteers
The SAPCC extends a huge thank you to all the volunteers who came to the Kasota Ponds Cleanup on Saturday, April 19th, 2008. Not only did we clean all three ponds, but we also managed to clean both sides of the Highway 280 embankments, which definitely needed the help. Special thanks to the Hampden Park Co-Op, Subway on University Ave, Dunn Brothers on Como, Bruegger's Bagels on Energy Park Drive, and Speedy Market for the food donations. In addition to all the individual neighbors and families who made it out, we also were lucky to have teams from Rock-Tenn, Concordia High School in Roseville, the Summit-University Rec Center Teen group, and a local boy scout troop.
