Strengthening Community Connection to the St. Croix and Namekagon Riverway
The Hmong community is a large user of the rivers due to their natural connection to nature and participation in outdoor activities like fishing and hunting. We’ve collaborated with passionate local Hmong outdoor leaders to continue to increase access and create opportunities for the Hmong community to experience and establish a positive relationship with the rivers. We launched the Hmong Ambassadors Program to facilitate activities along the river for and led by Hmong community members that will foster a deeper love and care for the rivers and land and enhance environmental education around water quality, land conservation, and watershed stewardship. Through strengthening and uplifting our relationship with the Hmong community, we’re supporting the next generation of diverse river users to be caretakers of the St. Croix and Namekagon Riverway.
Our vision of a thriving watershed, forever accessible, scenic, and wild, simply will not happen without the support of a diverse community of riverway supporters.
2023 Ambassador Program Events
Stitching with Nature through Mixed-Media Embroidery
July 12, 2023 | 5:00 - 6:30 PM
Cost: Free
Audience: Hmong Americans, Intergenerational Families, Artists (Ages 3-55+)
Get creative with mixed-media embroidery and explore the St. Croix River and Namekagon Riverway. Let nature and the river be your inspiration where you’ll learn to create a mixed-media art using embroidery techniques and a range of materials from threads and beads to leaves and flowers.
Hmong Educator Paddle
August 16, 2023 | 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Cost: Free
Audience: Hmong Educators
Have you seen someone paddling a kayak and thought it looked fun?
Ever wondered what you need to get started on a kayak adventure of your own?
We’ve got you covered with a beginner kayaking experience that will give you all the essential skills you need and build your confidence on the water! Once you’re in your kayak on the water, you’ll get the chance to practice your new skills along the beautiful St. Croix River Connect with each other and share how you can incorporate what you learn in your own curriculum and classrooms.
Monarch Discovery
August 26, 2023 | 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Cost: Free
Open to everyone and all ages. Everyone is welcome.
Learn about Monarch butterflies! Let's dive into their habitat, life cycle, the threats they face, and how they are monitored by biologists.! The program will provide information on how to identify a monarch egg on a milkweed, stages of monarch caterpillars to butterflies, local organizations to purchase pollinator-friendly seeds or flowers, and how to release them so they can migrate to the warmer weather.
PRIDE Paddle
September 16, 2023 | 12:00 - 6:00 PM
Cost: Free
Audience: Hmong LGBTQ+
How are you connected to the river? How does the river connect all of us?
Join us in connecting with ourselves, each other, and the St. Croix River through a fully supported kayak experience and end with a community meal. Explore your relationship to water, find healing and connect with community. Connecting with ourselves and the land we occupy, what does our culture’s relationship with large bodies of water look like or mean to us on Turtle Island?
Exploring St. Croix through Culture, Art, and Storytelling
October 14, 2023 | 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Cost: Free
16+ (Anyone 16 years of age to 18 must have guardian onsite of event)
This program focuses on experiential learning by pairing an exploration hike with conversations about the life of participants, as well as the life of natural relatives living in the green spaces of St. Croix State Park/St. Croix Riverway. The program introduces Urban Roots youth to a different type of wilderness than the landscapes they’re used to working in within the cities. During the exploration, we will use our senses to spot and identify the life and growth of natural relatives living in the park using both English and Hmong languages, practice photography, listen to and share stories with one another about experiences in nature, and reflect on how and why multiple narratives are essential in conservation work.
The outdoor opportunities provided by this ambassador team have been made possible with partnership from
