Pond enhancement project to repair and expand an existing man made pond to improve outdoor recreational opportunities for park visitors that use the pond for fishing, boating and wildlife viewing.
The OOG Adult Immersion Academy and Immersion Language Nest have created valuable opportunities for learners to practice well-spoken Ojibwe and prepare to teach it to others. Program participants have hailed from every Ojibwe band in Minnesota and several in Wisconsin and Canada. We do not study the language as a subject but produce capable practitioners of it. From the beginning, our program has met the key goal specified in Dakota and Ojibwe Language Revitalization in Minnesota (2011) “…to include immersive language experiences and leadership roles for fluent speakers” (pp. 7, 12).
The OOG Adult Immersion Academy and Immersion Language Nest have created valuable opportunities for learners to practice well-spoken Ojibwe and prepare to teach it to others. Program participants have hailed from every Ojibwe band in Minnesota and several in Wisconsin and Canada. We do not study the language as a subject but produce capable practitioners of it. From the beginning, our program has met the key goal specified in Dakota and Ojibwe Language Revitalization in Minnesota (2011) 'to include immersive language experiences and leadership roles for fluent speakers'(pp. 7, 12).
Given access to resources & training, educators are in powerful positions to share stories of the people living on the land we call Minnesota. Through the work of Dr. Mato Nunpa, a team of Indigenous scholars & community interviews, Speaking Out Collective will examine how mass murder, wholesale land theft, enslavement and extermination were justified and taught in schools. By centering silenced Indigenous narratives, this project invites students, educators & districts to reconsider MN history.
We will characterize environmental drivers contributing to the decline of wild rice using lake sediment cores to reconstruct historical wild rice abundance in relation to lake and watershed stressors.
This project is planned in the Skunk Creek subwatershed, which empties into the turbidity impaired Nemadji River. The goal of the project will restore the stream and stabilize the bank where a 30 year old sediment retention structure failed, releasing sediment into the Nemadji Watershed. In addition, remaining structures within the watershed will be prioritized and a discussion between land owners and permitting organizations will be initiated. This project will prevent an estimated 80 tons of sediment from annually entering into the Nemadji River.
High sediment levels in streams are prevalent throughout South Eastern Minnesota. Installing proven and cost-effective conservation practices that collectively reverse these impairments while also meeting flood protection and ecosystem support goals are needed. The purpose of this project is to design, construct, and maintain two retention structures and restore approximately one mile of failed stream bank. This project integrates objectives of Olmsted County, the Department of Natural Resources and City of Rochester into a common project.
