East Central Energy planning state park<BR>improvement projects for GreenTouch Day

Posted 4/25/01

East Central Energy planning state park
improvement projects for GreenTouch Day

East Central Energy (ECE) employees and customers will conduct improvement projects at two state parks during the second annual Touchstone Energy GreenTouch Day on Saturday, May 5. Projects are planned at Father Hennepin State Park on Lake Mille Lacs and Banning State Park near Sandstone.

At Father Hennepin State Park volunteers will have the option of planting trees and grass or removing downed branches along park trails and roads. There will also be an opportunity to do some raking and picking up trash along the lakeshore.
Banningís State Park staff have developed a habitat restoration project. The project involves planting about two acres or 4,000 hardwood saplings to help restore the native habitat of the area. The planting project is an experiment to assess the damage deer would have on a more extensive planting project. Part of the two-acre plot will be fenced in to keep the deer out and park staff will monitor the rest of the trees to see how much damage is done by deer browsing on the young trees.

Work hours are scheduled from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., but volunteers may work hours that best fit with their schedule. ECE will provide lunch and a State Park GreenTouch T-shirt for all volunteers. The park service provides all the necessary tools and equipment. The projects at Father Hennepin and Banning State Parks are suitable for both adults and children.

Everyone is welcome to join in the improvement projects at both parks on Saturday, May 5. You do not need to be an ECE member to volunteer. For more information or to volunteer, call ECE at 1-800-254-7944.

The GreenTouch program is directed by Minnesotaís electric cooperatives that are Touch-stone Energy partners to help improve state parks through community service projects. In 2000, 38 Touchstone Energy Cooperatives held improvement projects with their customers at 40 Minnesota State Parks.

Last year, 55 ECE customers and employees completed improvement projects at Father Hennepin, Wild River and St. Croix State Parks.