I am an adopted Minnesotan (classic case of “my spouse was born here and living elsewhere with children was never going to happen”), and I am a proud one.
I could list the myriad of reasons, but the most important one is that you all taught me to GET OUTSIDE. In the rain, snow, cold, dark, and even when there are bugs. It has fundamentally changed my life, my personality, and my long-term pursuits.
In the short term, it always makes my day better, especially on the tough ones. It helps regulate my mood and has helped me detach from the notion that it has to be “nice” outside for me to feel nice.
My only regret was not learning this all from you sooner.
Now we all have slam-dunk opportunity to share the power of getting outside more with the next generation, right here in our neighborhood. Kenwood Elementary, spurred on by the beloved Kindergarten teacher Ms. Sullivan, is fundraising to build an outdoor classroom.
Imagine these teachers having the opportunity to get kids outside to learn. Kids working away at standing desks, admiring the existing pollinator garden.
Imagine beautifying your neighborhood walk by turning a dusty patch of grass next to Franklin and Penn with three old picnic tables into an entire forested patio for the community.
Imagine having another reason to walk by Kenwood on your way to another neighborhood institution, The Kenwood, for pistachio pancakes.
We’re all looking for ways to build community and invest in it.
I think we all are yearning to do more local (as we attempt to look away from the blinding sun of the national discourse).
Everyone in the “Hill and Lake” is here because we know this is a beautiful place to be outside, and these kids, learning to meet all the new stresses of life, deserve it as much as anyone.
We’ve got the rendering, we’ve got the people lined up to build this thing. This is shovel-ready. And it’s not anything controversial like a “bike lane.”
You can be a part of building better for a public institution that has been a fixture of the lives of kids for over a century. We just need the money, and maybe a little of your time.
Maybe it's because we know about the wealth in these neighborhoods that we’re always waiting for a big-ticket donor to take care of it. Kenwood Elementary doesn’t need one person to help; it needs the whole community.
Raising kids is a community exercise, and getting outside is entirely non-partisan. If you don’t have kids, or don’t have kids in Kenwood, it’s still your neighborhood public institution, so think of this as “more park.”
Or, if you’re farther afield, find your local school. I bet they need your time and money too.
So please, if you can, donate for this all-around feel-good project, and encourage grandparents and friends to as well.
We’re doing what Minneapolis does best: making space to learn in nature. And start thinking of all the ways you’ll use this space to build your own community.
It’s for all of us to use, and to maintain.
