The History of Springbrook Nature Center's Wetlands

Introduction:Hello everyone and welcome to my tour! My name is Natalie and today we are at Springbrook Nature Center! On this tour, we will be exploring Springbrook, discussing its history, and specifically looking into the impacts of the Clean Water, Land & Legacy Amendment. We will be examining how the Legacy Amendment introduced in 2008 exposes environmental disparities and  environmental racism in Minnesota. Although Springbrook is a very environmentally rich and biodiverse site, I chose my topic because it is crucial to focus on a wide variety of environmental issues affecting our communities. Springbrook is located in the inner suburb of Fridley, Minnesota, and is a place I remember visiting frequently as a child with my family, on school field trips, and where my interest in this site came from. You may wonder how an amendment that seems to be positive and environmentally beneficial could expose the environmental inequities in our communities. This talk will help you to learn about how these inequalities came to be, including the OHF (Outdoor Heritage Fund) spending breakdown by county, compared to the diversity of each county (Alfaro, 2021). We will also explore how the heavily supported amendment’s funding may need to be reconsidered through public participation. SourcesAlfaro, Benjamin D. (2021). A 10-Year Assessment of Equitable Geographic Inclusion in Minnesota's Legacy Amendment. Retrieved from the University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/225049Sound - Wetlands sounds effects free MP3 download. Mingo Sounds. (2021, July 5). Retrieved from https://mingosounds.com/wetlands-sounds/.