GF

Apple Valley, Minn. – October 06, 2026 -- Great River Greening, GF and the Minnesota Twins are expanding their multi-year water restoration partnership to a 31-acre site at Wood Lake Nature Center in Richfield, Minnesota, marking the second year of a joint sustainability initiative targeting high-impact locations across the Twin Cities metro.

Volunteers target 31 acres of buckthorn-degraded forest at Wood Lake Nature Center

On Oct. 7, volunteers from the three organizations will plant native forbs into a moist prairie within the 150-acre nature reserve, which features three miles of trails and boardwalk used for wildlife observation and environmental education. The restoration addresses forb diversity loss and buckthorn encroachment that has crowded out native shrubs and threatens the forest's understory layer, a condition partners say puts local water quality at risk.