What to expect?

On-the-ground look at Great River Greening's restoration sites

Lunch (catered by Serrano Brothers Catering) at the Oak Savanna Learning Center, and option to shop at the Eagles Nest Nature Store

Guided tour on the famous 7-mile Prairie's Edge Wildlife Drive with great opportunities for birdwatching

About Sherburne NWR

The 30,700 acre refuge was established in 1965 at the urging of local conservationists and hunters interested in restoring the wildlife values of the St. Francis River Basin. Following that, the refuge became and remains the largest public land holding in Sherburne County. The refuge is now a wild remnant at the meeting of the western prairies and the northern woods, with oak savanna, prairie opening, forest, wetland and riverine habitats.

Great River Greening has been partnering with Sherburne NWR since 2010, when we received our first Outdoor Heritage Fund grant for the Anoka Sand Plain Partnership; Sherburne is the largest habitat core in the Anoka Sand Plain ecoregion. In these past 14 years, Greening and Sherburne NWR have teamed up, and continue to team up, on a wide variety of projects including:

controlling woody encroachment on the high quality prairies and oak savannas,
implementing prescribed cattle grazing and prescribed goat browsing,
improving pollinator habitat by improving floral diversity,
controlling non-native invasive plants in the prairies, and
controlling overabundant non-native invasive hybrid cattail in wetlands to improve plant diversity and waterfowl habitat.

Sherburne NWR Field Trip

Enjoy behind-the-scenes access at Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge