Great River Passage leads guided tour of East Side River District

Tour explored complex stories of the East Side landscape

Earlier today, more than 50 stakeholders joined the Great River Passage team for a bus and walking tour of the newly dubbed East Side River District in Saint Paul. Participants included  elected officials, city and county representatives, business and nonprofit leaders, and community members in the early stages of building a combined vision for the area bound by the Mississippi River on the south and west and the bluffs to the east and north.

Today’s tour included stops at Indian Mounds Regional Park, Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary, and Pig’s Eye Regional Park. It included remarks from locally and nationally acclaimed experts to provide perspective on the landscape, history and culture of this complex part of Saint Paul. Click here to learn more about the East Side River District.

Environmental artist Mel Chin returns to Saint Paul

In 1990, internationally renowned artist Mel Chin created Revival Field, an environmental art piece aimed at testing bioremediation at the Pig’s Eye Superfund site on St. Paul’s east side along the Mississippi River. A small plot planted and harvested over three years, Revival Field was an experiment as well as an art project, and its findings proved that certain plants could remove toxic heavy metals from polluted soil.

Now 27 years later, Chin returns to visit the site of Revival Field and share its story and impact. Join us for this free public lecture with an artist who continues to intrigue audiences and critics, and whose work gave momentum to the environmental art movement.

Great River Passage is co-sponsoring the event with Public Art Saint Paul, University of St. Thomas, Minneapolis College of Art & Design, Macalester College Department of Art, and Walker Art Center.

Revival Field Revisited
University of St. Thomas O’Shaughnessy Education Center Auditorium
Thursday, October 19 at 7 p.m.

Our #STPriver August winner

Photo by Instagrammer @jcannon1940

Congratulations to @jcannon1940. Their beautiful photo of the riverfront was selected as the winner of September’s social media photo contest.

We select a contest winner each month, so make to enter, simply post your best pictures of the Mississippi River in Saint Paul on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram using the hashtag #STPriver. Participants must also follow the Great River Passage on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Visit the Great River Passage website for more information.

About the Great River Passage

In 2013 the City of Saint Paul developed the Great River Passage Plan, a comprehensive framework for creating vibrancy in the city’s 3,500 acres of parkland along the river. The Saint Paul Parks and Recreation Department is now implementing the next phase of the Great River Passage – a bold, strategic vision to steward and tap into the potential of the 26 miles of riverfront in Saint Paul. By implementing the plan, the city will create places and activities that strengthen existing connections and create new ones along the Mississippi. Learn more at GreatRiverPassage.org.