• Wilderness in the City

    Dedicated to preserving and enhancing urban natural areas for ourselves and future generations.

  • Lebanon Hills Regional Park

    “We call it Boundary Waters South,” Katie Pata, operations coordinator for the Dakota County parks.

  • Volunteer

    Natural resource volunteers are vital to the health of our urban regional parklands and watersheds.

    Donate Now

  • Donate & Join Us

    Support our work to enhance and preserve natural resources in Lebanon Hills and other Regional Parks across the Twin Cities.

    Donate & Join Us
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Volunteer!

Help us plant a pollinator garden!

Theodore Wirth Park
September 15 and 23 from 9am-12pm
Learn more and register here.
Lebanon Hills

September 29  from 9-11am
Learn more and register here.

WITC Pollinator Planting Party!

Join us at the Holland Lake Trailhead to support pollinators and have some fun!

Sat, Sept 30
Planting 9-11am
Socializing & Snacks to follow
Learn more and register here.

Lebanon Hills Regional Park

Get outside and have a positive impact on our world. Volunteer with Dakota County at Lebanon Hills Regional Park to do some important natural resource stewardship.

  • Dragonfly Survey
    Sept 22, 1:30-3:30pm
    Help collect information about our local dragonfly populations by collecting specimens with nets and identifying the dragonflies you catch.
  • National Public Lands Day
    Sept 23, 8:30am-noon
    Plant and seed native prairie grasses and wildflowers to further restoration efforts at Lebanon Hills Regional Park.
  • Landscape Steward

Student Internship

Build Leadership | Gain Work Experience | Earn Service Hours

We’re looking for students to serve as Youth Representatives on our Board of Directors. Click Learn More, fill out the application and email it to Maryann.

Learn More
Follow a manual added link

We’re replacing environmentally degrading turf with pollinator-friendly demonstration gardens in six regional parks across the Twin Cities. We hope this will inspire park visitors to incorporate native plants into their outdoor spaces! Each garden will feature all Minnesota-native plants and highlight their use in a variety of site conditions. Learn more!

Minnesota Environmental & Natural Resources Trust Fund, Wilderness in the City, & Metro Blooms

Our project manager is Metro Blooms, the Minneapolis based non-profit with a reputation for working with communities to create resilient, environmentally-supportive native gardens. Funding is provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund (ENRTF) as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR).

Turf to Pollinator Garden project logos

 

Legacy of Nature Alliance (LONA)

LONA was established in 2021 to bring together individuals and organizations from throughout the metro region with a uniting mission:

“To ensure ecosystems are restored and preserved within the metropolitan regional parks system and throughout the entire region by providing high-quality habitat for wildlife and year-round Nature-based opportunities to inspire the next generation of environmental stewards.”

Organizations and individuals who support this mission are encouraged to join LONA.  We will be stronger together preserving and protecting lakes, prairies, wetlands and woodlands.

 

 

Newsletters

We monitor issues in Dakota County, Met Council, and the Legislature that affect Lebanon Hills Regional Park and other Nature-based regional parks in the metro area.  To receive a hard copy or for additional copies to distribute, simply send a request with your name and address to info@wildernessinthecity.org.

We monitor issues in Dakota County, Met Council, and the Legislature that affect Lebanon Hills Regional Park and other Nature-based regional parks in the metro area.  To receive a hard copy or for additional copies to distribute, simply send a request with your name and address to info@wildernessinthecity.org.

Newsletters

Fall 2021  | Fall 2019  | Spring 2019 | Winter 2019 | Fall 2018 | Spring 2018 | Winter 2018 | Fall 2017 | Summer 2017 | Spring 2017 | Winter 2017

Support Wilderness in the City

Photo courtesy of Benjamin Olson

Becoming a Wilderness in the City Member is vitally important to support our work to preserve urban green spaces for ourselves and future generations. Your donation to Wilderness in the City , a 501c3 non-profit is completely tax-deductible. Annual Membership is valid through November, 2023.

THANK YOU for your Support!

Wilderness in the City is a completely volunteer 501c3 non-profit and all proceeds support our natural resource stewardship, outreach, and advocacy for our urban green spaces, especially our nature-based Regional Parks System.

 

We are Wilderness in the City – dedicated to preserving and enhancing urban natural areas for future generations.

Newsletters

Wilderness in the City’s informative newsletters are published quarterly and include timely information on issues relative to Lebanon Hills and the regional parks system.

Volunteer

There are many ways to volunteer Wilderness in the City.  Depending on your interest, you can participate in a natural resources work night, volunteer to work at a community event, or attend hearings and meet with Legislators to discuss A Legacy of Nature.

Lebanon Hills

Learn more about Lebanon Hills Regional Park and the controversial 2015 Master Plan, and what we are doing to help preserve the wilderness character of this beloved park, which is its greatest character.

Met Council

The Metropolitan Council’s 2040 Regional Parks Policy Plan establishes criteria that regional park implementing agencies must follow in order to be eligible for funding.  Learn more about how the process works. [This section is under construction and will be available soon!]

Dakota County

Find information relating to Dakota County Parks Department, the implementing agent for Lebanon Hills, including links and information related to natural resources, parks, and trails.

Contact

Contact us to learn more about any issues we are working on, or if you’d like to get involved.