There are lots of ways you can help improve water quality!
In addition to using good management practices to protect and improve water quality in your home, yard or farm, there are also opportunities for volunteers to help with District projects or events.
STARRY TREK: Annual Event
What: Starry Trek is a state-wide annual event to search for starry stonewort—an aggressive, aquatic invasive algae that can spread easily and grows into dense mats at and below the lake’s surface. PLSLWD will be hosting a training site for the Starry Trek. Volunteers will gather at training sites to learn how to identify starry stonewort and other aquatic invasive species. The newly trained participants then branch out to local water accesses to search for signs of the invasive species.
No experience or equipment is necessary to participate! Training on monitoring protocols and starry stonewort identification will be provided on-site. This event is FREE, but registration is required. Children under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
When: Saturday, August 20th, 2022 from 8:30 – 1:30.
Where: Sand Point Beach Park
To be involved in next year’s event, contact scapron@plslwd.org
Clean Water Clean-Up: Twice Annual Event
Every spring and fall we host a Clean Water Clean-Up event. In 2022, 20 Prior Lake and Spring Lake volunteers and 20 Boy Scouts participated in the Prior Lake-Spring Lake Watershed District’s and City of Prior Lake’s Clean Water Clean-Up Drain Stenciling event on Saturday, September 25. Seven groups set off to three residential areas and the Sand Point Beach area and stenciled nearly hundreds of drains. The stencils provide a visual reminder that nothing except water should go into inlet drains.
Don’t miss an event! Sign-up to receive an email reminder. Email pdronen@plslwd.org or call 952-447-4166 to be added to the notification list for this free, family-friendly event.
Carp Seining Event
When the District does a carp seine to remove carp from the lakes, we often need volunteers to help sort, weigh and measure the carp we catch. Please contact Jeff Anderson at janderson@plslwd.org if you are interested in volunteering or want to be added to the seine notification list.
Occasional Restoration Events
The District has several shoreline and other restoration projects and occasionally needs volunteers to help out with plantings or other items. To be notified when volunteers are needed for restoration events, please email Patty Dronen at pdronen@plslwd.org to be added to our volunteer list.