Friends of the Parks and Trails is delighted to be back in action again, with events for our members throughout the summer. Please mark your calendars for the following:
- Como Park walking tour: Friday, August 25, 2023, 6:15 to 8:15 p.m. Join landscape architect and Como Park-area resident Han Zhang for a design-focused tour of some of the most beloved portions of Como Regional Park. “What Is Your Como Moment?” will focus on the spatial design of the Conservatory, the park’s extensive landscaping and more. Participants will have a chance to put their artistic skills to use with reflective sketching and social time, followed by light refreshments. “Almost everyone growing up in and around the Twin Cities area has a fond memory or story to tell about Como Park,” Zhang says. “But did you know that these experiences are intentionally crafted through spatial design by the park planners, founders and gardeners?” Registration limited to 30 people. RSVP for this special event: amy@friendsoftheparks.org or 612-381-4110 (mobile).
- Board meetings: Our board of directors meets the first Thursday of every month from 6 to 7:45 p.m. at various public libraries around St. Paul. The public is welcome! On Thursday, October 5, we will be at Riverview Library, 1 George Street; our meeting on Thursday, September 7, is a closed session for organizational business.
- Past events: Our summer events have included a history-focused bike tour of parts of the St. Paul Grand Round, led by Saint Paul Classic Bike Tour founder Rich Arey, a longtime board member of Friends of the Parks and Trails; a walking tour and trash pickup on a section of Phalen Boulevard, near the Bruce Vento Regional Trail, that could lose green space and trees when dedicated lanes for the Purple Line Bus Rapid Transit are constructed; and a collaborative bird walking tour on the Vento Trail near Lake Phalen, with the Saint Paul Audubon Society and Friends of Swede Hollow.
Party for the Parks honors Friends of the Parks’ board chair
Congratulations to longtime Friends of the Parks and Trails board member — and our recently re-elected board president — Scott Ramsay for being honored on Wednesday, June 21, as our Volunteer of the Year at the Saint Paul Parks Conservancy’s Party for the Parks event.
Scott is a naturalist at Wood Lake Nature Center in Richfield and a volunteer with a number of environmental organizations. He has been a member of the Friends of the Parks and Trails since 1996 and has served as board president for six years.
He hopes to see climate awareness and sustainability become a stronger focus for Friends of the Parks and Trails. He does his part through education of both children and adults. “Science is real; it’s true. Our voices need to be louder than theirs,” says Ramsay of the climate-change deniers. “If we can turn this around within 50 years, we are going to be saving the planet.”
Our thanks to Scott for his service and to Michael-jon Pease at the Saint Paul Parks Conservancy for the inspiring annual event on June 21.
Photo on homepage of our 2023 Annual Meeting by Wolfie Browender