SEAD seeks to expand on our successful storytelling program by archiving and illustrating first-person narratives from elders in our community. Our proposed program, entitled Collections from Home,will document first-person stories from elders in our Hmong, Viet, Khmer, and Lao communities on topics related to immigration, childhood, homelands, and tradition, which will then be illustrated by emerging artists within our community for publication and distribution.
Pollinators play a key role in ecosystem function and in agriculture, including thousands of native plants and more than one hundred U.S. crops that either need or benefit from pollinators. However, pollinators are in dramatic decline in Minnesota and throughout the country. The causes of the decline are not completely understood, but identified factors include loss of nesting sites, fewer flowers, increased disease, and increased pesticide use. Developing an aware, informed citizenry that understands this issue is one key to finding and implementing solutions to counteract these factors.
Continuing pollinator habitat creation and enhancement on 11 sites from Lakeville to St. Cloud, with public engagement and education centered on youth, schools, and community awareness of natural resource stewardship.
Water quality in Powers Lake is declining. Water monitoring professionals from the Washington Conservation District (WCD), funded by the South Washington Watershed District (SWWD), have determined that average annual phosphorus concentrations are increasing in the lake. Higher phosphorus concentrations lead to more frequent algae blooms and reduced water clarity.Powers Lake is at risk mainly due to increased urbanization within its watershed (the land area that drains to the lake).
Though many parts of the Twin Cities metropolitan area are urbanized, there are also has large areas of natural lands that continue to serve as important habitat for fish, wildlife, and plant communities. However, pressure on these remaining lands continues to intensify as population and development pressures increase.
We propose to integrate Minnesota Wildflowers Information, an online tool for plant identification, with the Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas, to preserve and extend this popular ENTRF-supported resource for future use.
Colors of the North: Preserving Hmong Minnesota Heritage and Paj Ntaub in a Holiday Coloring Book Project, will provide education for student outreach on cultural diversity and celebration that empower the younger generation in building identity and culture within this ever changing and assimilating world through our Hmong Holiday Coloring Project. Our project will bring a sense of belonging and foster wellness in Hmong children and families to appreciate who they are.
This project integrates traditional Hmong healing practices into modern lifestyles and empowers younger Hmong to embrace the wisdom of their ancestors for overall health and well-being.
This project will preserve and facilitate public access to the Northland Poster Collective (NPC). NPC was a print shop in Minneapolis which operated from 1979-2009. The artists who ran NPC created art to represent identities and interests of Latinx, Black, Asian American, LGBTQIA+, and working-class people in Minnesota.
This project helps Minnesota entities that directly or indirectly cause PFAS and microplastics contamination stop the flow of the contaminants by developing strategies to manage solid waste streams.
Expanding COMPAS' Prism Arts, MN Teaching Artists from African, Indigenous, and/or Asian heritages, will develop & deliver arts residencies that teach an art form with roots in their cultural heritage. Residencies will include learning the art form's cultural context, artists from that culture who have influenced it, and creating the art form alongside the Teaching Artist. Artists will select the MN community where their residency will be delivered, focusing on increasing access to the art form.
Collaboration between African and Asian American artists to jointly create/present a new dance drama - Resonance.
Project Resonance orchestrates new creations of music and dances to serve as a communication bridge across cultural/racial lines, to mitigate racial tensions between African and Asian communities, to illustrate the cross-cultural experience, and eventually promote Intercultural Harmony.
Resonance inspires inner/outer connections to create sustainable impacts.