ST. PAUL, Minn. – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District staff at Lake Ashtabula, on the Sheyenne River near Valley City, N.D., is one of two Corps of Engineers sites selected to receive a grant for National Kids to Parks Day event this year on May 16.
Elementary students from the Valley City schools will help plant trees and a native prairie garden near the Baldhill Dam office. The children will also participate in water safety activities and be treated to a tour of Baldhill Dam, which impounds the Sheyenne River to create Lake Ashtabula.
This year’s event is funded by a $970 grant applied for by local kindergarten teacher, Nicole Powers. The money will be used to pay for the trees and plants that will be planted as well as the students’ transportation.
National Kids to Parks Day is organized by the National Park Trust and is held annually, the weekend prior to the official start to summer. The National Park Trust encourages children to explore neighborhood parks and discover the history, nature and adventure in the environment around them.
The nearly 700 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, employees working at more than 40 sites in five upper-Midwest states serve the American public in the areas of environmental enhancement, navigation, flood damage reduction, water and wetlands regulation, recreation sites and disaster response. Through the Corps’ Fiscal Year 2011 $175 million budget, nearly 2,800 non-Corps jobs were added to the regional economy as well as $271 million to the national economy. For more information, see www.mvp.usace.army.mil.
-30-
Website: http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/usace.saintpaul
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/usace-stpaul/
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/usacemvppao
Twitter: https://twitter.com/StPaulUSACE | @StPaulUSACE
Release no. 13-062