The first phase of restoring this important forest begins this year.
Saint Paul Natural Resources, a department of Parks and Recreation, was recently awarded $75,000 from the Minnesota DNR’s Conservation Partners Legacy (CPL) Grant Program to help restore and protect the urban forest at Swede Hollow Park. The grant has a three-year time horizon which is more than enough time for this Phase I step of removing invasive species.
Swede Hollow Park is a 25-acre passive park immediately adjacent to the Mississippi River Corridor Critical Area and the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area in Saint Paul, on permanently protected land. It is also the natural heartbeat of the East Side community, which has been an immigrant gateway since the 1850’s.
Surrounded by Metropolitan State University’s greenhouse, Urban Roots urban gardening, food and education programs, Hope Academy and other schools, the forest is an extraordinary learning resource for the community in addition to being critical for mitigating the negative impacts of the nearby high traffic highways and urban density.