Join your friends and neighbors
Thursday, May
3, at 6:30 pm
for the 2012 Annual Meeting and
Celebration
at Pearl Park!
Special Guest Speakers:
Minneapolis Parks Superintendent Jayne Miller will talk about what is going on around Diamond Lake and future plans for protecting and preserving the lake and its ecosystems.
Rainbow Tree Care President Greg Krogstad will talk about the Emerald Ash Borer invasion and what can be done to save our Ash Trees if communities act swiftly.
What is Friends of Diamond Lake?
Friends of Diamond Lake is a nonprofit, proactive, citizen-led organization dedicated to restoring, protecting and improving the natural resources of Diamond Lake and its watershed. Founded by a group of neighbors in early 2008, it is led by residents from the neighborhoods in the Diamond Lake area in South Minneapolis.
The Diamond Lake watershed includes major portions of the HPDL, Tangletown, and Windom neighborhoods in Minneapolis.
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| Approximate Watershed | Watershed & Storm Drain System |
Click maps for more detailed views.
Among our goals:
• Learn more about the health of Diamond Lake and its watershed
through research.
• Educate our neighbors and government representatives about
issues that affect Diamond Lake.
• Deliver engaging and educational programming on
water quality, natural habitat, and environmental preservation for
children and adults.
• Provide stewardship for the environmental well-
being of Diamond Lake residents of all species.
• Centralize leadership for working with local
and state government on all matters that concern the Diamond Lake
watershed.
How can you help?
Become a Member!
Most important, join! One of the easiest ways to show your support for the work of Friends of Diamond Lake is to become a member. For a minimum donation of just ten dollars, you can become a member of Friends of Diamond Lake. Your gifts above the membership donation are welcome and needed and will go toward restoring, protecting, and improving Diamond Lake.
Volunteer
Put your hands and experience to work for good. Friends
of Diamond Lake can use volunteers for activities including lake
enviroment research, waterfront cleanup, education, outreach, and
fundraising.
Learn more >>
Attend
Bring your friends and family to a Friends of Diamond Lake Program or Community Meeting. Planned activities include Earth Day clean-up, water quality education, bird counts, an annual celebration, children’s workshops, and numerous nature activities for people of all ages.
Practice
Learn what you and your family or business can do to help preserve and improve the Diamond Lake watershed, as well as the enviroment around us. Among the many things you might consider: conduct a family critter count, care for your yard organically, compost, set up a rain barrel, recycle, build a bat house, use lake friendly landscaping, install a rain garden, and talk with your neighbors.
Stay Informed
Bookmark us and visit FriendsOfDiamondLake.org frequently to keep up on Diamond Lake and watershed information, programming, and special events. Sign up for the Friends of Diamond Lake e-newsletter.
Get in on the discussion and be sure to give us a "like."
The fall/winter newsletter is now available!
Thanks to all Buckthorn Busters!
Thanks to all the volunteers, including the youth CC, we had another successful bust November 5.
Special thanks to Diamond Lake Hardware for their generosity in helping us afford to buy branch cutters and bow saws needed to keep the buckthorn at bay
Minnesota Environmental Initiative
Award:
goes to Go Blue! project
The Go Blue! Community Makeover for Diamond Lake was honored with the prestigious Minnesota Environmental Initiative Award. Our thanks to the Environmental Initiative and the award sponsor, Aveda.
In Memoriam:
Dan Heine
Friends of Diamond Lake mourns the loss of our friend and founding board member Dan Heine. Dan passed on November 23, 2010.
Dan was an active and inspirational board member since the very early days of Friends of Diamond Lake. His background as a master naturalist, along with his artistic talents have been invaluable to the growth of Friends of Diamond Lake. Among his many contributions, Dan designed the Friends of Diamond Lake logo and served as the board secretary.
We remember Dan for his thoughtful discussions, exceptional care for Diamond Lake and the world's eco systems, his gentleness, and good-natured way of being. We miss him immensely.
Dan is survived by life partner Don Kaiser and many friends and family members.
NEW!
Diamond
Lake Guide Available
Friends of Diamond Lake has just published a new Guide to Protecting Diamond Lake with the help of Minnesota Waters.
The guide offers 50 informative pages of articles on Diamond Lake health, history, and actions you can take to protect it.
It is available as a printed, bound booklet (donation requested), or you can download the PDF version.
If you would like a printed copy, please contact Dave Oltmans.
Guide Chapters:
•
Minnesota’s Unique Landscape
• Friends of Diamond Lake
• Diamond Lake Watershed
• The Power of Citizen Action
• Watershed Ecology
• Protecting Our Shorelines
• History of Our Lakes
• About the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District
Acknowledgements
Many thanks
go to those Friends of Diamond Lake who worked on
the guide:
Erin Surdo
Leah Oltmans
Dave Oltmans
Melanie Countryman
Thanks, also, to Minnesota Waters and Eli Condon for assistance in producing the guide, and to Minnehaha Watershed District for contibuting information.
What is GoBlue!?
Since June 2010, nearly 100 raingardens, permeable paver projects, rainbarrels, trees, and rainwater capture & reuse systems have been installed at about 46 sites in the Diamond Lake Watershed. >> Learn more
Go Blue! Project Team Receives Watershed Heroes Award
October 8, 2010
The Minnehaha Creek Watershed
District (MCWD) presented the Watershed Heroes award
to Tina Plant of Hedberg Aggregates and the Go Blue!
project team at its annual awards banquet October
8. The Go Blue team also includes Julie Westerlund
from the MCWD, Gail Schall from Hedberg,
Melanie Countryman from HPDL & FoDL, and Mary
Martini and Shelley Johnson from FoDL. More
info >>
Loon Monitors Needed
• Minnesota uses volunteers to help monitor its loon population, and the agency is looking for volunteers in specific areas. For information, see www.tinyurl.com/dnrloons
Gulf Oil Spill Info
The National Wildlife Federation has created a website that includes updates on the oil spill, at vanishingparadise.org
Lake Management Plan Completed
October 2009:
Friends
of Diamond Lake (FoDL) created history when
the Lake Management Plan for Diamond Lake was
approved by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation
Board Wednesday, October 21. Developed by
the FoDL Lake Management Plan Committee, it is
the first management plan for any lake in the
Minneapolis system.
learn more >>
Friends of Diamond Lake Receives Watershed Heroes Award
September
2008:
Friends of
Diamond Lake and its Board President Dave Oltmans
were honored with the Watershed Heroes Award
for Citizen involvement
The awards, sponsored by the Minnehaha Watershed District, recognize organizations and indivduals for outstanding contributions to protecting and improving areas of the Minnehaha Watershed.
Other award recipients included Bachmans Floral & Garden, The City of Minnetonka, and Methodist Hospital.
Water Quality Report Card: Diamond Lake Gets F Grade.
Learn more about the Water Quality Report Card from the Minnehaha Watershed District.
Friends of Diamond Lake | PO Box 19436 | Minneapolis, Minnesota 55419 | CONTACT US
© 2008-2009 Friends of Diamond Lake. All rights reserved.
