Adopt-A-Park Bloomington

Commit to one year of volunteer park maintenance services. This commitment must include:

• Services provided at least 1-2 days per month, spring through fall
  • Additional days may be required during the summer months or after severe weather.
• Maintenance is possible from April to October (weather dependent). 
  • A maintenance schedule must be prepared for each month and submitted to the Adopt-A-Park Coordinator one week in advance.
• Short-term projects may be possible as well.
  • One-time only for a person or group who wants to volunteer but cannot commit to the entire summer.

Everyone is welcome! Anyone can be an active part of Adopt-A-Park Bloomington. Youth under the age of 18 must have an adult supervisor.

Groups could consist of:

• Individuals/families
• Community organizations
• Faith-based groups and organizations
• Neighborhoods
• Service clubs
• Youth groups
• Businesses
• Schools
• State-registered natural resource and non-profit organizations (see policy and application below)

Adopting a park brings many benefits to you and to your community. 

• Adopting a park is a great way to get outside and enjoy the outdoors.
• It is a great way for your group to spend quality time together and feel good about what you are doing.
• You will benefit from the satisfaction of knowing that you are improving your favorite community park/trail.
• Be an additional pair of eyes – report any damage, repair needs, potential dangers, or large items, such as downed tree limbs.
• Volunteering for your city allows resources to be allocated to other projects and programs.

Each year, the adoption commitment begins in April and concludes at the end of October.

• To apply, please review and complete the Adopt-A-Park Agreement and Application Packet, which includes the application, task agreement form, safety guidelines and liability waiver.
  • Send completed packet via email to volunteer@bloomingtonmn.gov or submit via postal mail or in-person to: 
    • ​​​​​​​City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation
      1800 West Old Shakopee Road
      Bloomington MN, 55431
• Applications must be received by May 1 each year.
• Agreements are renewable on a first come, first served basis. You will be contacted by the Adopt-A-Park Coordinator prior to the expiration of your commitment.
• For more information, view the Adopt-A-Park Bloomington Information Packet
• You can also get more information at the Parks and Recreation Department located on the first floor of Bloomington Civic Plaza, 1800 West Old Shakopee Road, Bloomington MN, 55431.

Help keep our city parks, playgrounds and trails clean and safe. Adopt-A-Park volunteers play a large role in maintaining our parks by keeping them clean, safe, and welcoming, and allowing city resources to be allocated and used in other important ways. Community clean-ups can help with basic maintenance of parks and park areas, water quality, and keep Bloomington’s ecosystems healthy and our parks beautiful and safe.

• Commit to clean up parks 1-2 days per month and potentially additional days after severe weather.
• Clean up leaves, grass clippings and other organic materials in our parks.
• Remove dead plant material, leaves, sticks and other debris from gardens, playgrounds, picnic areas, and other park spaces once the snow has melted.
• Rake leaves and other debris away from storm drains.
  • Leaves and grass clippings that fall onto your street are a serious pollutant for our local waters. When these organic materials are washed down storm sewers they are carried to local lakes and rivers untreated and unfiltered. Once in the water, organic debris releases phosphorus. This fuels noxious algae blooms that degrade water quality and harm lake and river ecosystems and aquatic life.
• Involve your neighbors. If you’d like to organize a block-wide cleanup, go to the City of Bloomington’s Sustainability web page for more information on water conservation and Bloomington’s Adopt-A-Drain program. It’s easy, cheap and a fun neighborly way to help local lakes and rivers.
• Be an additional pair of eyes at the park – report any damage, repair needs, potential dangers or large items, such as downed tree limbs, etc.
• Your contributions are important! Please enter all volunteer hours online through the city’s website so your contribution can be tracked and acknowledged. Instructions will be provided. 

What the City will provide:

• Gloves
• Garbage bags

Trash and debris that collects on our streets, parks, playgrounds, and trails can impact our environment and local habitat.

• Commit to litter pick-up in parks 1-2 days per month.
• Walk around your adopted area picking up any loose trash, plastic, or debris with provided supplies.
• Put litter in trash receptacles, or, if receptacle is full, please place trash bags next to it. Notify Volunteer Coordinator for pick-up and location of trash bags.
• Clean-up is needed in open areas, picnic and shelter areas, playgrounds, sidewalk, fields, natural areas, and trails, including the trail shoulder, ditch and the taller vegetation beyond the trail.
• Your contributions are important! Please enter all volunteer hours online through the city’s website so your contribution can be tracked and acknowledged. Instructions will be provided. 

What the City will provide:

• Gloves
• Garbage bags

Creating clean, welcoming, and beautiful environments allows all residents to not only enjoy the parks but take pride in the beautification project they helped build.  In addition, planting pre-approved native species will support our butterfly and bee population and help them thrive.

• Commit to weeding, tending to plant beds, and maintenance of newly planted materials in parks 1-2 days per month, or as often as needed.
• Help weed playgrounds, planters, and city-owned garden areas.
• Maintain mulch coverage in designated areas.
• Remove dead plant material, leaves, sticks and other debris once the snow has melted.
  • Small amounts of material can be taken home or placed in nearby woods to decompose.
  • Significant amounts of material can be reported to the Volunteer Coordinator for pick up by Park Maintenance staff.
• Plant pre-approved native plant species in park planters and pre-approved designated planting areas.  
  • Residents will partner with Park Maintenance to align on the date and time of their planting event, discuss authorized species that can be planted, and collaborate on a pickup time for all necessary equipment and plants prior to their event date.
  • Residents will maintain planted areas by dead-heading plants, removing any diseased plants, weeding, mulching, and watering throughout the growing months as needed.
• Help water planted areas and gardens.
• No trimming, planting, seeding, earth moving, etc. may be performed without specific authorization from the Park Maintenance staff.
• Your contributions are important! Please enter all volunteer hours online through the city’s website so your contribution can be tracked and acknowledged. Instructions will be provided. 

What the City will provide:

• Pre-approved native plant species
• Gloves
• Garbage bags
• Tools(non-electric)
• Mulch (based on need and demand).

Invasive species cause harm to native species in the form of food, water, and shelter competition. Just like cities get overpopulated, so do ecosystems. This competition can cause the native species to face extinction. What is an example of an invasive species in MN? Minnesota's natural resources are threatened by several invasive species such as common buckthorn, garlic mustard, and emerald ash borer.

• Time commitment will be dependent on recommended invasive species removal schedule with Park Maintenance staff.
• Partner with Park Maintenance to combat the most common invasive species – buckthorn and garlic mustard. Park maintenance will collaborate on a date and time of their event and schedule pickup of all necessary tools and equipment.
  • Visit the Ecological Land Stewardship page for more information about invasive species.
• Your contributions are important! Please enter all volunteer hours online through the city’s website (coming soon!) so your contribution can be tracked and acknowledged. Instructions will be provided. 

What the City will provide:

• Tools (Non-electric. Based on need and demand.)
• Gloves
• Garbage bags.

Controlling garlic mustard in Bloomington

1. The parks/trails will be assigned to groups on a first-come, first-served basis to be determined by the Parks and Recreation Department.
2. Each group will receive a waiver form that must be completed on every occasion they are in the parks/trails to keep track of volunteers and their hours worked.
3. All waiver forms must be returned to the Parks and Recreation Office.
4. Work is to be completed during park hours.
5. All participants should be over the age of 18 or accompanied by an adult.
6. Groups are to commit to work in the parks at least one to two days per month.
7. Appropriate clothing for weather and work gloves should be always worn.
8. All participants are to follow all the park policies set by the City of Bloomington’s Parks and Recreation Department. Failure to do so may result in removal from the program.
9. Special projects that go beyond the scope of regular maintenance must be approved by the Parks and Recreation Department.
10. Have fun being part of Adopt-A-Park Bloomington!

BLOOMINGTON PARKS & RECREATION PROVIDES

• Provide trash bags, if needed, for litter pickup, and instructions for disposal of litter filled bags.
• Remove filled trash bags from the adopted park or trail after clean-up is complete.
• Provide information necessary to perform the work including an online training presentation.
• Your organization’s name will be acknowledged in periodic stories in the City of Bloomington’s Newsletter as well as in other City of Bloomington publications.

ADOPT-A-PARK VOLUNTEERS/SPONSORS PROVIDE

• A year-long commitment to Adopt-A-Park, providing services for a minimum of 1-2 days per month, and potentially additional days after severe weather events.
• Provide the name to be posted on the Adopt-A-Park recognition platforms.
• Please enter all volunteer hours online through the city’s website so your contribution can be tracked and acknowledged.
• Provide adequate supervision for groups. Groups work independently, under the supervision of group leaders. Sponsors must ensure that there is one adult supervisor present for every 10 juveniles (under 16).
• Parent Permission for Minors: Groups are responsible for obtaining parent permission of minors under age 18. Individual volunteers must have a permission form on file.
• Review safety considerations and share information with group members. (Adopt-a-Park Training Presentation provided online.)
• Provide additional park area (playgrounds, picnic areas, parks areas) and trail clean-up after a significant wind and/or rain event when leaves and branches litter these areas.
• Procedures:
  • Notify Volunteer Coordinator of clean-up day.
  • Contact the Volunteer Coordinator after you have completed your work for garbage bag pick up.

The City often undertakes larger natural resources projects in its parks, open spaces, and natural areas. These projects generally include native habitat restoration, significant invasive removal, and forest restoration projects that are far more intensive than general park maintenance. 

Over the years, residents and resident groups have sought to both propose and participate in these natural resource projects in the City.  This program seeks to allow such activity, while preserving the City’s ability to manage its parks, open spaces, and natural areas consistent with long-term management plans and to effectively manage City time and resources spent on such projects.

Natural resource organizations or non-profit groups that are registered with the State of Minnesota and are interested in proposing a larger-scale natural resource projects in the City, should review the policy document below and complete and submit the application form. 

• Natural Resources Participation Program Policy

• Natural Resources Participation Application

Learn more about needs in your community and beyond through these additional resources.

• Sustainability
  • Sustainable Bloomington
• Water Conservation
  • Ecological Land Stewardship
  • Water Conservation / Water Conservation Tips
• Invasive Species
  • Minnesota DNR: Aquatic Invasive Species
  • Minnesota DNR: Terrestrial Invasive Species
• Native Species 
  • Pollinators and Native Plants
  • Minnesota Native Plant Intelligence

Ways to be Water Wise