We had another great year on Bush Lake, many thanks to all of our members and volunteers from the community that make it all possible. Here is a brief recap of our activities, outreach and programs this year.
We started the year teaching folks about how to use less salt in the winter to protect our waters at the Richardson Nature Center Ice Harvesting Day. We followed this with our annual Wood Duck Days on Normandale Lake and Bush Lake. We have around 40 wood duck houses we monitor and maintain on these two lakes- join us this winter- if the ice ever gets thick enough!
On Earth Day, we made Bush Lake a little bit better by cleaning up trash and litter in and around the lake (click here for a video). As always, we found way too much trash! You can help keep Bush Lake by picking up litter when you see it, and leaving single use plastic and home, and checking the beach and grounds before you leave to make sure you and other left only footprints!
We hosted the Minnesota Division Izaak Walton Board of Directors for a meeting in April. After the meeting, we did a tour of the grounds, showing Ikes from across the state the great work we have been doing removing invasive plants, planting native plants, and providing habitat for pollinator and other wildlife. In May we had our Chapter spring clean-up, new member orientation, and potluck.
June was a busy month with 4 events! We once again partnered with the Bloomington Optimists and the Pollution Control Agency’s Get the Lead Out Program for the Annual Bloomington Kids’ Fishing Fair. This is always a great event that brings in many kids and families for a fun day of fishing on Bush Lake. Our focus is not only getting kids outdoors fishing, but also raising awareness and getting people to Get the Lead Out and replacing their lead tackle with non-toxic alternatives.
We had a whole bunch of members come out and plant our new rain garden in June. This rain garden will both protect our beach from erosion, and also protect the water quality of Bush Lake- and provide habitat for pollinators and other wildlife. It was made possible by donations from our members and a grant from Nine Mile Creek Watershed District. Volunteers planting and taking care of the raingarden are critically important to get the job done- and also count as our match for the grant.
We also hosted two programs in June- a Monarch Butterfly Program that was thanks to Chapter Member Vienna Volante, and an Aquatic Invasive Species workshop, that was in partnership with Hennepin County and Bolton and Menk. At this workshop we taught people how to look for Aquatic Invasive Species and what to do if they find them (click for video). Have you taken the Lake Pledge yet?
We wrapped the year up with the Annual EV Expo at Oak Grove Presbyterian Church, and held our Annual Member Meeting, with awards, potluck and canoe race. Chapter members got the grounds and lodge ready for winter at our Fall Clean Up and removed buckthorn at our fall Buckthorn Bust. Let's not forget the incredible blog series- "Bring Nature Home" by board members Vicki Bonk and Sue Van Baerle, where they walked us through the steps of adding native plants to your yard. See an earlier blog entry all about it,
We closed the year with our Christmas Bird Count. See an earlier blog entry all about it and previous year's counts.
We want to thank all of our members for making this year a great success! We do appreciate your contributions that make our conservation organization a strong one.
