Nathan Campeau is the Vice President & Senior Water Resources Manager at Barr Engineering Co. who blends technical precision with a deep love of public space, sustainability, and storytelling. He is also one of the Minneapolis Parks Foundation’s dedicated board members! His work can be seen — and felt — throughout the Twin Cities; from stormwater infrastructure to resilient green spaces, Nathan’s work integrates engineering with ecology to shape more sustainable parks and public spaces. In this month’s Community Profile, Nathan shares how green infrastructure can enhance livability, how community engagement transforms design, and how his work keeps him grounded.
Your work with flood risk management, stormwater modeling, and green infrastructure is fascinating — and vital. How would you explain its impact to people who may not be familiar with this field?
“I think the most important part to understand is that green infrastructure is woven into the fabric of our parks and into our public realm. It is a way that we can layer in natural systems that have incredible benefits to our local water resources; think in terms of cleaning polluted stormwater. But it’s more than that too — the multi-benefit aspect of green infrastructure is the most exciting part, because we can really make improvements to people’s daily lives by making significant environmental improvements. When we do this work right, it makes neighborhoods more livable and more beautiful.”
Do you have a favorite project you’ve worked on?
“A project near Folwell Park stands out — it was a neighborhood dealing with frequent flooding, so we were looking for ways to reduce flooding and make improvements for the area… We had to get creative, and so we eventually came up with the idea of putting underground storage underneath local streets. Today, the stormwater from the roads and homes in that area flows into green infrastructure—like rain gardens that filter out pollutants—before being stored in underground tanks. From there, it slowly makes its way to Crystal Lake, which is an impaired water body.
That project allowed us to bring nature into a very dense, built-out community. It also brought about the opportunity to put in a half mile long bike trail that connects the neighborhood to Folwell Park. I think the community perceives that they have more nature and space, but they also have more protection from flooding, and we’re cleaning the water before it is stored. Seeing all the different benefits that could come out of just how we manage our water was really inspirational.
We did several years of community engagement on that project, and I think that’s what made it so successful. Hundreds of residents were able to shape the design of what was ultimately built. I believe in making space for the community to show up — not just to react to a plan, but to influence it. That makes the result more authentic and lasting.”
Given the increasing impacts of climate change — heavier storms, extreme weather — how do you see parks playing a role in building more resilient communities?
“Absolutely—and I think it works in both directions. As climate change continues to increase the intensity of storms and flooding in our neighborhoods, we simply need more space to manage stormwater and clean it before it enters our waterways. Historically, we haven’t done much of this until the last 20 or 30 years, and many developed areas still lack strong water treatment. In a lot of places, polluted stormwater still flows untreated directly into lakes and rivers.
Parks offer space and opportunity. We can design stormwater features into parks without sacrificing meaningful recreational space. In fact, these features can become amenities—things like water channels, rain gardens, or wetlands—designed beautifully so they enhance the experience of the park.
Plus, because water management can tap into different funding streams, it can actually help us expand parks. Maybe instead of a five-acre park, we end up with a seven-acre park—where two acres include a stormwater feature that also functions as a community asset. Even if that added space isn’t traditionally developed for recreation, it still increases what I call the “felt” or perceived space of the park. Think of Bde Maka Ska—people walk around that lake and it feels like an enormous park, even though much of it is water.
A great example of this kind of integration is Bridal Veil Gardens, near the Prospect Park light rail station. It’s one of Minneapolis’ newest parks, and it weaves stormwater infrastructure—like biofiltration basins and an underground cistern—into the design. With a community garden, picnic areas, and walking trails, people use it just like any other part of the park. Even when it’s serving its flood management purpose, it enhances the park’s feel and function. It shows how we can design for both utility and beauty—making parks feel bigger and more vibrant while managing climate impacts. “
Do you see Green Infrastructure as a more modern development?
“Weaving green infrastructure into parks is fairly common now, but ten years ago, it was far less widespread. While it’s not brand new, it’s still evolving—enough so that the City Parks Alliance made it a national priority in 2023 by launching a Green Infrastructure initiative to accelerate its integration into park spaces. The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board has been ahead of the curve, incorporating green infrastructure since the 1990s to protect water resources in ways that also enhance the beauty and function of parkland.”
With our Walk & Talk at Graco Park coming up — can you tell us about Barr Engineering’s role in reimagining this space?
“I primarily worked on the first phase, which was Hall’s Island itself. I didn’t actually do any design work on Graco Park—that’s been led at Barr by Patrick Brockamp, who’s worked on the whole project for the last 10 years—but I have done some river modeling for it. Barr has been involved since very early on, during the RiverFirst initiative, helping to come up with a vision for the former Scherer Bros. Lumber Yard.
The initial idea the team developed was to restore Hall’s Island, which had been lost in the 1950s and ’60s. It had been pushed into the shoreline to create more yard space for the lumber operation. We wanted to bring the island back in a more resilient way.. The island was designed and constructed in 2016 or 2017, with the understanding that the rest of the park would eventually be developed. For the first phase, we left the adjacent park area incomplete. There was a lot of brownfield remediation throughout the site. Like much of the Mississippi’s shoreline, it had been a dumping area—so while not hazardous, there was a lot of contaminated debris and soil. We had to either remove it or cap and protect it in place.
We also designed the green infrastructure for the site, including the rain gardens, in close collaboration with Jason Aune & Carlos (CJ) Fernandez from AFLA Landscape Architects and Snow Kreilich, the architects behind the building. Throughout the project, our firms worked closely together, and in the earlier phase, alongside Ten X Ten and Tom Leader Studio Landscape Architecture at various stages, contributing to a truly collaborative design process.
This project has been almost 13 years in the making, and the Walk & Talk on May 20 will be informative for everyone—including me! I’ve been to the site many times, but this will be my first time exploring it this way since its completion and hearing from some of the other guides leading the walk, I’m looking forward to it.”
You’re a runner and an engineer — two very different ways of experiencing a park! How do those experiences differ for you and has being a runner shaped the way you approach designing or improving spaces?
“I’ve used almost every square inch of the Minneapolis parks in some way or another. Being outdoorsy and a user of our parks helps me, I think it makes me a better designer. I’m a water resources engineer, but I’m not just thinking about how we’re managing water, how we’re treating water, or how we’re protecting infrastructure from flooding. I also think about how this work integrates with other disciplines, such as urban design or landscape architecture, to create beautiful and interconnected park spaces.Take the Highland Bridge Project in Saint Paul for example. I worked on that for almost 20 years and it was my dream to create a long water feature through the middle of that development, and I really wanted to connect it to the Saint Paul Grand Round, both from an ecological perspective, but also selfishly from a recreational perspective. I want to be able to enjoy the spaces that I design, and I’m probably going to enjoy them if I can run through them! I’ve also had the pleasure of working on a lot of Minneapolis projects that have integrated into larger trail systems, so as a runner and an engineer it has worked out pretty well.”
What is your favorite Minneapolis Park or outdoor space?
“It’s one I’ve never worked on—Theodore Wirth! It’s just got a little bit of everything. Some of the best trails in the Twin Cities are there. There’s the Quaking Bog, which is such a special spot, and I love seeing the Tamarack trees any time of year. You really have to visit in the spring, when they sprout that light green, and again in the fall when they turn a beautiful light brown. It’s such a unique place—one of the few remaining Tamarack bogs in the area. It’s hard to beat Theodore Wirth, but there’s not a park in Minneapolis that I don’t love and appreciate. “
Nathan will co-lead the Graco Park Walk & Talk on May 20, alongside Barr colleague Patrick Brockamp, Jason Aune and Carlos Fernandez from AFLA Landscape Architects, and other special guests. Registration for this Walk & Talk is currently full, email adavison@mplsparksfoundation.org to be put on the waitlist!
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Featured Image: Nathan Campeau, Barr Engineering Co.