Gabby’s Story

Gabriele Menomin (she/her/kwe), Environmental Restoration Manager, Wakan Tipi Awanyankapi

The most valuable seed that Urban Roots has helped us grow is the opportunity for youth to build a relationship with the land and help steward and care for our sacred and culturally significant sites.

Urban Roots has been such an amazing partner to Wakan Tipi Awanyankapi over the years. They’ve been an integral part in the ongoing restoration at Wakan Tipi (Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary) as well as providing us with space for our medicine garden, Owozu Maya Akann. This past year Urban Roots staff and youth helped us plant over 300 plants and dormant roots to help re-naturalize an old foot trail at Wakan Tipi as well as co-host the annual Seeds and Snowshoes where we spread over 20lbs of native grasses and wildflowers with volunteers. At the medicine garden, our environmental team shared traditional plant knowledge with the youth and worked on removing weeds. Urban Roots youth and staff also came out to our Daylighting of Phalen Creek event and shared valuable feedback and support on the current design and plans for the creek restoration. We are looking forward to continuing to partner with such an amazing organization!

–Gabriele Menomin, Environmental Restoration Manager, Wakan Tipi Awanyankapi

Seeds and Snowshoes Volunteer Group.