Through the People for Parks Fund, the Minneapolis Parks Foundation is supporting 15 community-led projects for getting diverse communities into the great outdoors
Frequently rated one of the country’s best cities for biking, Minneapolis’s cycling infrastructure is about to get another boost this summer thanks to Bold Styles. Safe Miles. Real Ties., a new program from the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board.
Designed to serve kids and teens in North and Northeast neighborhoods, where youth face barriers to fully accessing the city’s biking opportunities, Bold Styles. Safe Miles. Real Ties. will provide week-long Learn to Ride camps, a roving mobile bike library to offer and teach minor repairs, and specialized equipment and supervision for the booming sport of pump track riding at Perkins Hill. The program will also distribute culturally responsive bike helmets, designed to keep young cyclists safe while accommodating a wider range of headwear and hairstyles, from turbans and hijabs, to locs and box braids. Bold Styles. Safe Miles. Real Ties. is just one of the community-centered projects for the parks supported this year by the People for Parks Fund, a selective microgrant program that invites nonprofits and other community groups to share their best ideas for building belonging through the parks.
“This year’s People for Parks Fund grantees are a great demonstration of how new communities and creative thinking are shaping what’s possible through the parks,” says Martin Wera, executive director of the Minneapolis Parks Foundation. “While we’re pleased to provide repeat support to great organizations like the Urban Birding Collective, Baztec Fishing, and Huellas Latinas, who’ve demonstrated their commitment and impact helping diverse communities see themselves in the parks, We’re also thrilled to support organizations like 826 MSP, who are nurturing creativity and resilience through nature-based writing workshops, and Friends of Minnehaha Park, who are growing a community of volunteers dedicated to restoring native landscapes.”
Congratulations to the community groups and nonprofit partners who shared the following great ideas for getting more Minneapolis parks users to explore the great outdoors:
826 MSP: Outdoors Outspoken
After a winter at the epicenter of Operation Metro Surge, youth from Cedar Riverside’s largely East African community will be invited to write from the heart at Currie Park this summer in a free series of four nature-inspired writing workshops. Through sensory experiences in the outdoors, and storytelling guidance from 826 MSP, a nonprofit youth writing and tutoring center, the goal is to create a printed summer zine that celebrates nature, healing, and the resilience of Minneapolis communities.
Amanah Recreational Project: Hiking Hijabie
Empowering Muslim women to reclaim their connection to nature, Amanah’s Hiking Hijabie program creates culturally safe, modesty-positive hiking and cycling programs throughout the parks. By integrating mindfulness practices and eco-therapy techniques from community facilitators, the project aims to promote connection and confidence in our city’s green spaces.
Baztec Fishing & Outdoors: 10,000 Ice Anglers Project
Following years of successful programs introducing Latinos and other immigrant communities to the sport of fishing, Baztec Fishing & Outdoors is launching the 10,000 Ice Anglers Project, providing free ice fishing field trips in local parks for Minneapolis youth.
Corazón Caminante: Dia de los Muertos
Lake Nokomis Park will become the destination for Dia de los Muertos, Mexico’s vibrant “Day of the Dead” celebration. Hosted by Corazón Caminante, a nonprofit committed to connection through nature, the Nokomis Community Center event will feature cultural education and food, traditional Catrinas and related crafts, and community gathering for guests who celebrate the holiday, or who are experiencing it for the first time.
Friends of Minnehaha Park: South Plateau Plantings
With a conservation-minded corps of more than 200 “Buckthorn Slayers” and other volunteers committed to restoring the oak savanna of Minnehaha Park’s Lower Glen, Friends of Minnehaha Park aims to enlist even more support for sustainability with large-scale native planting to begin in the park’s South Plateau in 2027.
Huellas Latinas: Latino Park Stewardship & Leadership Initiative
Huellas Latinas, a nonprofit that hosts hiking and nature experiences for Minneapolis’s Latino community, will offer 10 bilingual events at popular parks aimed at activating new parks users, inspiring stewardship, and cultivating a more diverse community of care and leadership for our parks and public spaces.
Loppet Foundation: Ȟaȟá Wakpádaŋ Loopet Loppet
This fall trail running and walking event will celebrate Dakota culture along Ȟaȟá Wakpádaŋ, the Dakota name for Bassett Creek, the sacred waterway that connects Medicine Lake to the Mississippi River. Designed in collaboration with Native communities and cultural advisors, the event brings together Native partners, youth, families, and community members to experience Theodore Wirth Park and surrounds through recreation and cultural learning.
Minneapolis Sailing Center and the Sierra Club North Star Chapter
Bde Maka Ska’s Minneapolis Sailing Center and the North Star chapter of the Sierra Club are combining forces to connect children and veterans to the wonders of sailing. Through free sailing experiences and trips, their goal is to foster a more diverse and inclusive community of sailors in the City of Lakes.
Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board: Nature Inside Out
Nature Inside Out expands equitable outdoor learning for underserved Minneapolis students through field trips, interdisciplinary lessons, and teacher training that provide access to nature, strengthen environmental literacy, and long-term stewardship. Through engaging programs at North Mississippi Park’s Carl W. Kroening Nature Center, Nature Inside Out is leveling the playing field, ensuring youth from neighborhoods of concentrated poverty enjoy the emotional, physical, and mental health benefits of being in nature.
Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board: Bold Styles. Safe Miles. Real Ties.
The Minneapolis parks want to make biking more inclusive with culturally appropriate helmets to keep riders safe, while protecting bold hair styles, hijabs, extensions, and more. The “Bold Styles” program removes barriers to participation, providing helmets designed to support belonging in our parks.
Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board: Save Our Summer with Swimming
With the Northside’s beloved North Commons Park now under construction, youth in Minneapolis don’t have to wait for the waterpark’s reopening to dive into the fun of swimming. Through “Save Our Summer with Swimming,” MPRB is providing free swim lesson scholarships and swimming opportunities at Lupient Water Park for North Minneapolis youth to continue building confidence and competency in the water.
Northside Residents Redevelopment Council: Devotion Recovery
Devotion Recovery will host its free, peer-support meetings for survivors of sexual trauma outdoors in the Minneapolis parks, supporting remembrance and mourning through meditation, yoga, and time spent in nature.
Northside Residents Redevelopment Council: Northside Gymnastics Club
Making access to the sport of gymnastics more accessible, the Northside Gymnastics Club is recruiting a new generation of tumblers, vaulters, and acrobats from North Minneapolis through this summer and fall program, centered at North Commons Park.
Urban Bird Collective
Urban Bird Collective is on a mission to help BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities see themselves in nature. Through guided walks, community bird counts, and other events in the Minneapolis parks, the BIPOC-led organization promotes outdoor recreation and healing, while building skills for the fast-growing pastime of bird watching.
Vietnamese Social Services: Elders in the Parks: Flowers, Butterflies, and Friends
With outings to parks, zoos, and other public places, Vietnamese Social Service connects immigrant and refugee elders to new opportunities in the Minneapolis parks, combating social isolation with time spent together in nature.
The People for Parks Fund has helped to invest nearly $300,000 in community-led projects for making the parks more accessible and inclusive, from supporting new parks events and cultural celebrations, to providing swimming lesson scholarships for underserved communities. Paid for through proceeds from the Minneapolis Parks Foundation’s Posters for Parks event and from private donations from parks supporters like you, this year’s People for Parks Fund will invest $71,570 across 15 programs and projects to serve Minneapolis parks users.
If you’d like to make a gift to the People for Parks Fund to continue supporting community-led initiatives across Minneapolis parks, you can do so here.
Feature Image Credit: Minneapolis Sailing Center
Slideshow Image Credits: Baztec Fishing, Huellas Latinas, Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (Save Our Summer with Swimming, Nature Inside Out,) Urban Bird Collective