Park Volunteer of the Year for 2004 Grit Youngquist
Grit Youngquist helped organize volunteers to do park clean-ups several times a year at Lilydale Park and has helped assure that the park’s natural and historical resources are protected for the enjoyment of the broader community. She helped lead a planning group to promote and host monthly park events which highlight a different feature/quality of the Park. She has hosted bird hikes and fossil digs several times each year and worked with the Parks and Recreation staff to present the Lilydale Bike Path Extension Proposal to the Capital Improvement Budget Committee. She started an awareness campaign to teach community members the benefits to human health and water quality by avoiding lawn chemicals. She also organized a monarch Butterfly Project.
Other Citizen Awards:
Cliff Timm
Cliff Timm was recognized for his work to provide a fishing area for neighborhood children at Pickerel Lake, for donating money to the Department of Natural Resources for aerations at Pickerel Lake, and for his work at Lebanon Hills Regional Park and Rogers Lake to promote fishing.
Jacob Dorer
Jacob Dorer began his volunteering as a youngster growing up in Saint Paul and he has continued his work as an adult. His Boy Scout Troop has annual clean-up events at Kasota Pond and he helped develop a bicycle campground in Great Bluffs State Park in southern Minnesota. He secured a pilot grant for buckthorn removal from private property in Mounds Park and recruited volunteers, organized a training session and canvassed 800 homes notifying residents of buckthorn infestations.
Dennis Thompson
Dennis Thompson is an active member of Friends of Swede Hollow Park and has helped guide the restoration of the native vegetation. He was a member of the Great River Greening Steward Pilot project for Swede Hollow Park and helped organize the event with students and teachers at Cleveland Middle School and the Friends of Swede Hollow.
