VISIT MN VALLEY NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE'S WEBSITE FOR FULL EVENTS CALENDAR
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
Wanted: Front desk volunteers
With the visitor center expanded hours, we're in desperate need for volunteers to serve at our front desk and Nature Store. This is an exciting opportunity to get to know your Refuge while ensuring visitors from all over the world have a positive experience both here and throughout the metro. For more information, please contact us at hello (at) mnvalleyrefugefriends.org.
Environmental education assistants
Volunteers are needed year-round to assist with Refuge environmental education programs for K-5 students. This fall, volunteers are needed to help students with insect studies, hiking, seed collection and more. Please contact us at hello (at) mnvalleyrefugefriends.org to learn more.
January Events
All events are free to the public but may be canceled due to inclement weather. Events are held at the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge's Bloomington Education & Visitor Center unless otherwise noted. Parking is available but may be limited during high-demand events. The Refuge is easily accessible via the Metro Transit Blue Line at the American Blvd. stop. For more information, call 952-854-5900.
Friday, Jan. 17
Art Shanty Volunteer Training
Join Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge on the ice of Bde Unma / Lake Harriet as a pollinator champion during the Art Shanty Projects on Saturdays and Sundays, Jan. 18-Feb. 9, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Volunteers have the opportunity to choose between a Pollinator Educator and a Pollinator Bike Helper. Pollinator Educators will alternate between working with the public inside the shanty explaining the monarch butterfly migration or providing pollinator facts outside the shanty, and the Pollinator Bike Helpers will be outside the art shanty in the bike corral and are in charge of insect bicycle sharing and safety.
Volunteers are asked to register here for 90- or 60-minute shifts. A volunteer training is also available Friday, Jan. 17, from 6-7 p.m. at the Bloomington Education & Visitor Center. For more information, please contact Thia Xiong at thia_xiong (at) fws.gov.
Saturday, Jan. 18
Doughnuts & Coffee with MN Valley Refuge Friends & Natural Dyes Textile Demonstration
Come to the Refuge and enjoy a hot coffee and doughnut while learning about volunteer activities and upcoming events with Minnesota Valley Refuge Friends and a Refuge staff member. Stay to watch artist Emily Donovan do a natural dye demonstration that includes examples from locally foraged materials, including oak gall and black walnuts, and how natural colors can be manipulated with additives or mordants like iron and aluminum. The Doughnuts & Coffee hour will begin at 9:30 a.m. in Classroom B with the art demonstration to follow at 11 a.m. Visit here to register and to learn more.
Bird Walks at Bass Ponds & Wilkie
Join Refuge volunteer naturalist Craig Mandel for a bird walk to learn about some of the 220 species that stop here during migration. Birders of all levels are welcome to join. Bring along binoculars and a field guide, if you have one. Please dress for the weather. Walks are held Saturday, Jan. 18; Sunday, Jan. 26; and Saturday, Feb. 1, from 8-10:30 a.m. Meet at the Bass Ponds Trails, 2501 86th St. E., Bloomington, MN 55425. A walk will also be held on Feb. 22, from 8-10:30 a.m., at the Wilkie Unit Trailhead, 7701 County Road 101 E., Shakopee, MN 55379.
Thursday, Jan. 23
The Twin Cities Metro Area is home to a remarkable diversity of wild mammals. Though often elusive, they leave behind tracks and signs for us to see. The Minnesota Wildlife Tracking Project is a group of nature enthusiasts who gather to explore the art and science of wildlife tracking. Over the years, the project has identified the tracks and signs of a wide range of mammals in the greater metro area, including river otter, black bear and even grey wolves. Come learn a bit about animal tracks, hear stories about adventures in the field, and find out how to get involved in your own neighborhood with Refuge volunteer and Director of the Minnesota Wildlife Tracking Project, John Popple.
For more information about the Minnesota Wildlife Tracking Project, visit MNTracking.org.
The Minnesota River Valley Audubon Chapter hosts this monthly speaker series. Come at 7 p.m. to socialize over cookies and snacks in the classrooms, and move to the Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. for the presentation.
Sunday, Feb. 23
MN Valley Refuge Friends Members-only snowshoe event
We are planning a members-only snowshoe event on the afternoon of Feb. 23 from 3:30-5 p.m. complete with hot chocolate and cookies. Limited to 15 participants, ages 12 and older, this event will be an introductory, hands-on opportunity to learn how to size, wear and use the snowshoes available at the Refuge and will include a brief hike around the meadow, weather and conditions permitting. This hike will be led by Grant Fleetwood, a great friend of our Refuge as well as the outdoors program and outreach lead at L.L. Bean. Visit here to learn more and to register.
Wanted: Front desk volunteers
With the visitor center expanded hours, we're in desperate need for volunteers to serve at our front desk and Nature Store. This is an exciting opportunity to get to know your Refuge while ensuring visitors from all over the world have a positive experience both here and throughout the metro. For more information, please contact us at hello (at) mnvalleyrefugefriends.org.
Environmental education assistants
Volunteers are needed year-round to assist with Refuge environmental education programs for K-5 students. This fall, volunteers are needed to help students with insect studies, hiking, seed collection and more. Please contact us at hello (at) mnvalleyrefugefriends.org to learn more.
January Events
All events are free to the public but may be canceled due to inclement weather. Events are held at the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge's Bloomington Education & Visitor Center unless otherwise noted. Parking is available but may be limited during high-demand events. The Refuge is easily accessible via the Metro Transit Blue Line at the American Blvd. stop. For more information, call 952-854-5900.
Friday, Jan. 17
Art Shanty Volunteer Training
Join Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge on the ice of Bde Unma / Lake Harriet as a pollinator champion during the Art Shanty Projects on Saturdays and Sundays, Jan. 18-Feb. 9, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Volunteers have the opportunity to choose between a Pollinator Educator and a Pollinator Bike Helper. Pollinator Educators will alternate between working with the public inside the shanty explaining the monarch butterfly migration or providing pollinator facts outside the shanty, and the Pollinator Bike Helpers will be outside the art shanty in the bike corral and are in charge of insect bicycle sharing and safety.
Volunteers are asked to register here for 90- or 60-minute shifts. A volunteer training is also available Friday, Jan. 17, from 6-7 p.m. at the Bloomington Education & Visitor Center. For more information, please contact Thia Xiong at thia_xiong (at) fws.gov.
Saturday, Jan. 18
Doughnuts & Coffee with MN Valley Refuge Friends & Natural Dyes Textile Demonstration
Come to the Refuge and enjoy a hot coffee and doughnut while learning about volunteer activities and upcoming events with Minnesota Valley Refuge Friends and a Refuge staff member. Stay to watch artist Emily Donovan do a natural dye demonstration that includes examples from locally foraged materials, including oak gall and black walnuts, and how natural colors can be manipulated with additives or mordants like iron and aluminum. The Doughnuts & Coffee hour will begin at 9:30 a.m. in Classroom B with the art demonstration to follow at 11 a.m. Visit here to register and to learn more.
Bird Walks at Bass Ponds & Wilkie
Join Refuge volunteer naturalist Craig Mandel for a bird walk to learn about some of the 220 species that stop here during migration. Birders of all levels are welcome to join. Bring along binoculars and a field guide, if you have one. Please dress for the weather. Walks are held Saturday, Jan. 18; Sunday, Jan. 26; and Saturday, Feb. 1, from 8-10:30 a.m. Meet at the Bass Ponds Trails, 2501 86th St. E., Bloomington, MN 55425. A walk will also be held on Feb. 22, from 8-10:30 a.m., at the Wilkie Unit Trailhead, 7701 County Road 101 E., Shakopee, MN 55379.
Thursday, Jan. 23
The Twin Cities Metro Area is home to a remarkable diversity of wild mammals. Though often elusive, they leave behind tracks and signs for us to see. The Minnesota Wildlife Tracking Project is a group of nature enthusiasts who gather to explore the art and science of wildlife tracking. Over the years, the project has identified the tracks and signs of a wide range of mammals in the greater metro area, including river otter, black bear and even grey wolves. Come learn a bit about animal tracks, hear stories about adventures in the field, and find out how to get involved in your own neighborhood with Refuge volunteer and Director of the Minnesota Wildlife Tracking Project, John Popple.
For more information about the Minnesota Wildlife Tracking Project, visit MNTracking.org.
The Minnesota River Valley Audubon Chapter hosts this monthly speaker series. Come at 7 p.m. to socialize over cookies and snacks in the classrooms, and move to the Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. for the presentation.
Sunday, Feb. 23
MN Valley Refuge Friends Members-only snowshoe event
We are planning a members-only snowshoe event on the afternoon of Feb. 23 from 3:30-5 p.m. complete with hot chocolate and cookies. Limited to 15 participants, ages 12 and older, this event will be an introductory, hands-on opportunity to learn how to size, wear and use the snowshoes available at the Refuge and will include a brief hike around the meadow, weather and conditions permitting. This hike will be led by Grant Fleetwood, a great friend of our Refuge as well as the outdoors program and outreach lead at L.L. Bean. Visit here to learn more and to register.
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Minnesota Valley Refuge Friends is a 501c3 non-profit organization committed to the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge. Contributions are tax-deductible.
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