The Grass Lake Restoration Team was busy September 12, 2026 with our first buckthorn bust of the season! We had group of 14 scouts and their guardians, 2 birders, and 6 neighbors join together to take out a big area of mature buckthorn on the west side of Grass Lake Wetland.
We hold these busts because buckthorn is an aggressive introduced species from Europe that crowds out native plants around the lake. If you’re interested in the Grass Lake Restoration Team, read more and consider joining: bit.ly/GrassLakeRestorationTeam
After the buckthorn bust, there was also an ink-making workshop where participants picked berries off the cut branches, and along the lake. They received instruction on how to make ink and will return to share their inks and sketch the landscape on September 19, 2026.
While all of this was happening, we also had a volunteer planting new native shrubs on the east side of the lake where we had done extensive buckthorn removal during fall 2025. These new shrubs have wire cages around them for protection from hungry bunnies during the winter.
About Grass Lake Wetland, Minneapolis
Grass Lake is a 27 acre wetland, and although surrounded by an urban environment, it attracts a large diversity of wildlife. Grass Lake is a DNR protected water body and is under the jurisdiction of the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District. The land around the lake is owned by the City of Minneapolis and is under the management of Public Works. Grass Lake, Richfield Lake, and Wood Lake, while separate entities today, were once a single system. There is currently a connecting pipe between Grass Lake and Richfield Lake.
The entirety of Grass Lake Wetland falls within a Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) Habitat Corridor, highlighting the location’s importance when considering planning efforts. Additionally, MPRB’s comprehensive plan, “Parks for All, 2021-2036,” describes a goal (Goal #6) to strengthen ecological connections of higher quality ecological areas and minimizing the effects of habitat fragmentation. Grass Lake serves as the southernmost body of water in Minneapolis nearest to a noted biodiversity hot spot at the intersection of Bryant Avenue South and Minnehaha Creek, thereby functioning as an important connector and protective refugia for the animals that shape our local ecosystems.
Planting a variety of native plants at Grass Lake helps prevent buckthorn re-establishment, contributes to soil health and stability, provides food and shelter throughout the life cycles of pollinators and wildlife, and builds resilience for the future.
