Approximately 100 Dakota Electric Association members volunteered their time on May 3 at Lebanon Hills Regional Park in Eagan as part of the 15th annual, state-wide, Touchstone Energy GreenTouch day.
The volunteers did strenuous work and helped get the park ready for the summer season. A large group covered the play area with fresh wood chips, some removed buckthorn, other did trail work, another group worked on erosion control, several volunteers did foundation work for recycle bins while others picked up trash.
“Dakota Electric’s volunteers accomplished a lot for Lebanon Hills,” Katie Pata, park operations coordinator, said. “We want to thank all the volunteers for their help.”
Dakota Electric’s effort to organize volunteers at the park is part of a larger statewide program started by electric cooperatives in 2000. Since its inception, the GreenTouch event has attracted more than 8,000 volunteers statewide who have completed more than 29,000 volunteer hours benefitting Minnesota parks.
This was the third year Dakota Electric rallied volunteers to work at Lebanon Hills Regional Park, and overall Dakota Electric has been organizing its members to volunteer at parks since 2002.
“We had beautiful weather and a great group of volunteers,” said Joe Miller, event organizer for Dakota Electric. “They had fun, worked hard and completed significant projects for the park.”
Those interested in helping in 2015 can watch for an insert in their bills next March or April. The event is usually held the first Saturday in May.
