Image of pine forests in Minnesota with a stream running in front of a grassland

Our mission is to inspire, engage and lead local communities in conserving and caring for the water and land that enrich our lives.

Our Values:

Science-Led: We lead with a scientific approach, grounded in data-driven best practices and the expertise of our trained ecologists.

Community-Focused: We commit to a collaborative, community-focused approach, one rooted in mutual, mission-based goals. We bring people together to steward Minnesota’s land and water.

Collaborative: We build strong, community-based partnerships, from our staff and Board of Directors to volunteer groups, donors, municipalities, vendors, schools, and the State of Minnesota. Minnesota’s land and water are shared natural systems, and we rely on the support of individuals and groups to protect them.

A bee on a purple prairie clover in Minnesota

Education: We educate communities of all ages through a hands-on approach to create passionate, informed environmental stewards.

Environmental Justice: We acknowledge systemic barriers of access to natural systems and green spaces for communities of color, Indigenous peoples, and lower-income communities. Diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEI-J) goals are integrated into both our communal work and internal organizational development, utilizing our environmental justice logic model to accountably guide our work. Click here for our full environmental justice plan and logic model.