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NEWSLETTER / APRIL 2025
MWMO’s Spring Guide: Your Eco-Friendly To-Do List
 Spring has arrived, and it's the perfect time to roll up your sleeves and give a little love back to our planet. The MWMO’s annual spring guide offers practical tips and resources to help you enhance your yard and community while supporting local ecosystems.
🌼 Plant Sales: Cultivate Your Green Thumb
Ready to transform your yard into a pollinator paradise? Dive into a variety of native plant sales happening throughout the Twin Cities. These events offer budget-friendly options for adding vibrant, pollinator-friendly plants, trees, and vegetables to your garden. Many sales provide online pre-orders, so you can secure your green goodies in advance.
🧹 Cleanups: Help Clean, Help Green
Join forces with your community in Earth Day cleanup events across the Twin Cities metro area. These grassroots efforts focus on removing litter and debris from parks, streets, and waterways, contributing to a cleaner and healthier environment. It's a simple yet impactful way to make a difference—just show up and help out!
For detailed information on events, workshops, and resources, visit the MWMO’s full spring guide.
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Wait for Warmer Soil Before Planting Jumping the gun on planting can backfire. Soil needs to consistently reach around 50°F for most seeds to germinate properly. A natural indicator? Dandelions blooming. They're not just weeds; they're nature's thermometer! For precision, consider using a soil thermometer.
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Delay Watering Dormant Plants Your plants have been hibernating, and they're slowly waking up. If you don't see new green growth, hold off on watering. Overwatering can lead to root issues.
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Manage Weeds Thoughtfully Early-season weeds like dandelions are a buffet for pollinators. Let them bloom initially to support bees and butterflies. But before they go to seed and take over your lawn, it's time to remove them. Hand-pulling is effective, especially when the soil is moist.
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Assess Soil Moisture Manually Before turning on the sprinklers, do the finger test. Dig a few inches into the soil. If it feels moist, your plants are good to go. If it's dry, especially around new plantings, it's time to water. Remember, overwatering can be just as harmful as underwatering.
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Embrace 'No Mow May' Consider participating in 'No Mow May,' an initiative encouraging homeowners to let their lawns grow during May. This provides essential habitats for pollinators emerging in spring. By delaying mowing, you're supporting biodiversity right in your backyard.
 Every spring, something extraordinary happens above our heads: a massive, feathered migration unfolds along the Mississippi Flyway. This route is one of North America's four major bird migration corridors, guiding over 300 bird species northward to their breeding grounds.
Approximately 40% of North America's waterfowl and shorebirds rely on this flyway. The Mississippi River serves as a natural guide, offering abundant food, water, and shelter along the way. Its uninterrupted path, free from major mountain ranges, makes it an ideal route for migratory birds.
In the Twin Cities, the Mississippi River is more than a scenic backdrop; it's a vital rest stop for these travelers. Designated as an Important Bird Area, the river corridor through Minneapolis and Saint Paul provides essential habitats for birds to rest and refuel.
So, next time you're near the river, look up! You might witness a small part of this incredible journey. It's a reminder of the interconnectedness of ecosystems and the importance of preserving natural habitats in our urban landscapes.
MWMO Welcomes Michelle Spangler
Michelle was born in St. Louis, but her childhood took her far beyond the Midwest. Thanks to her father’s career in the Air Force, she spent formative years in both Panama and Colorado. After college, she found her way to Minneapolis, where the familiar presence of the Mississippi River made it feel like coming home—just a little farther upstream.
At MWMO, Michelle leads outreach and engagement efforts, including tours and events at the Stormwater Park, as well as art exhibits and community programming. Her experiences living in different parts of the Mississippi River watershed—and out West, where water is a scarce resource—sparked a deep appreciation for water stewardship. With a background in science education, Michelle earned her Minnesota Water Steward certification in 2018. She's excited to share her passion for connecting people with their natural surroundings—and especially with the River.
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Doors Open Minneapolis
 📅 May 17, 2025 | 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
📍 Mississippi Watershed Management Organization
We’re excited to open our doors to the public as part of Doors Open Minneapolis on Saturday, May 17, 2025!
Produced by the nonprofit Rethos, Doors Open Minneapolis offers a weekend of free, behind-the-scenes access to dozens of iconic and unique sites across the city. It’s a chance to discover the buildings and stories that define Minneapolis—including ours.
At the MWMO’s Stormwater Park and Learning Center, guests will get a firsthand look at how green infrastructure, public art, and innovative stormwater features are used to protect water quality and connect people with the Mississippi River. Learn how our site manages stormwater, supports pollinators, and helps protect the Mississippi River—all while enjoying a look inside our living laboratory.
Last Chance to See Filter Effect by Brighton McCormick!
 MWMO’s latest exhibit, Filter Effect by Brighton McCormick, is open through May 30 at the Stormwater Park and Learning Center! Don’t miss your chance to experience this thought-provoking collection of sculptural works that explore the hidden systems shaping our perception—from algorithmic news feeds to environmental changes. Filter Effect invites visitors to reflect on how we sift, sort, and filter information across both the natural and digital worlds.
📅 Exhibit Hours: Monday – Thursday, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
📍 Mississippi Watershed Management Organization
There’s still time to engage with the exhibit through the upcoming Hot Press Workshop on May 10, 2–5 p.m. While registration is currently full, you can still join the waitlist for a chance to participate!
Stewardship Fund Grants—Due Friday, June 27, 2025, by 4:30 PM CDT
Photo of the Month
 Community members show off their creations at the Art and Science on the River: Carp workshop with artist Kimberly Boustead and Colleen O’Connor Toberman, a local expert on carp in the Mississippi River.
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