Lake Harriet Environment Council

Help us raise $3,000 to care for Lake Harriet and have your gift matched by our board!

If you walk or bike around Lake Harriet, swim or sail in its waters, watch birds along its shores, or bring your kids, grandkids or pets down to explore, you know how much this place adds to life in our city.

The Lake Harriet Environment Council is an entirely volunteer-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit that brings neighbors together to care for the lake and its natural environment. We are dedicated to restoring, protecting and enhancing the natural environment at Lake Harriet for generations to come. 

This Give to the Max, LHEC board members will match donations dollar for dollar, up to $350. Your $25 gift becomes $50 to support our work.

Working Around the Lake Year-Round

If you walked around Lake Harriet this summer, you may have spotted Jim’s bike and trailer beside a “Volunteers at Work” sign. Throughout the season, Jim and fellow LHEC volunteers have been removing buckthorn and seeding cleared ground to help keep invasive plants from coming back.

It takes patience, a lot of pulling, and good people willing to return week after week. Read more about Jim’s dedication in Southwest Voices. 

LHEC volunteers also waded into the lake to collect trash from the water and shoreline. We worked with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board to address missing sand at South Beach and hosted educational events, including a dock talk with University of Minnesota researchers about native aquatic plants and efforts to restore them.

Help Keep the Work Going

Last Give to the Max, our community raised $1,120 to help plant native seeds around Lake Harriet. Volunteers have already spread most of the seeds, with the remainder ready to sow when weather conditions are right. Thank you to everyone who helped us take this next step in restoring native habitat around the lake!

This year, we’re building on that support to fund the ongoing work of caring for the lake. Your gift can help provide tools and supplies for volunteer projects, support habitat restoration, and bring people together to learn about and care for Lake Harriet.

Donations support LHEC’s overall mission, allowing us to put funds where they’re needed most throughout the year.

Our goal is $3,000, including the board match. Would you help us get there with a gift of $25, $50, or whatever works for you?

Thank you to our volunteers, donors, and neighbors who make this work possible. We hope to see you around the lake!