We experienced another successful year at Bush Lake. We extend our sincere appreciation to all members and community volunteers whose contributions made this possible. Below is a summary of our activities, outreach efforts, and programs for the year.
We began the year with a bang by hiring Tony and Denise Brough as our new Chapter caretakers. Tony and Denise succeeded the Erdmanns after their 15 years of service. The Broughs are only the third caretakers in over 25 years. The transition from the Erdmanns to Broughs presented an opportunity to fix up the Caretakers’ cottage. The folks who led hiring the Broughs and improving the cottage will be recognized during our award ceremony.
In January, several Board members attended the Annual IKE Division meeting at the nearby Minnesota Valley Chapter. A highlight of the meeting was when our own Jill Crafton was reelected to a National Director position. During the month, a lot of tree work was done on the Chapter grounds. Special thanks to Tony who hauled multiple wheelbarrows of wood chips to cover our nature trails.
In February we held the annual Wood Duck Days on Normandale Lake and Bush Lake. We have around 40 wood duck houses we monitor and maintain on these two lakes. Join us again this winter after the ice thickens.
The Board’s Strategic Planning session took place in March. Many initiatives are complete, while others still require additional time and funding. Also in March, two Bush Lake Water Quality Input Sessions were conducted by Nine Mile Creek Watershed District. One session was here in our lodge for our members. The other was at Richardson Nature Center for area residents. The takeaway is that Bush Lake is a beautiful resilient lake but not immune to human pressures.
In April, we tabled at the Richardson Nature Center's Spring Scavenger Hunt, where we shared information about our Chapter and promoted the importance of pollinator gardens. On Earth Day, we made Bush Lake a little better by cleaning up trash and litter around the lake. 28 adults and 10 kids participated. As always, we found way too much trash! You can help Bush Lake by picking up litter when you see it, leaving single use plastic at home, and checking the beach and grounds before you leave to make sure you and others leave only footprints. Finally in April, our Chapter became a proud sponsor of the Tod Pod. Tod Pod is a free playgroup for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers who are accompanied by caregivers. They are celebrating their 5th birthday party this Saturday, September 20, 9-noon at Moir Park. 150 to 200 children are expected to attend with their families. You are all welcome to join them.
Saturday May 13th was a busy day at the chapter. The day began very early with a migratory bird watch, led by member, Stephanie MacPhail. After that we held our annual Chapter Spring clean-up, new member orientation and potluck. Before we rolled up our sleeves and got to work, a special presentation was done. Vienna Volante was awarded Judge John W. Tobin Chapter Volunteer Appreciation Award. The Tobin is an annual national award recognizing an outstanding member.
In June, we once again partnered with the Bloomington Optimists for the annual Bloomington Kids' Fishing Fair. This is a great event that brings in many kids and families for a fun morning of fishing on Bush Lake. Our focus is not only getting kids outdoors fishing, but also raising awareness and getting people to '"Get the Lead Out" by replacing their lead tackle with non-toxic alternatives. Also, in June some of our members volunteered with Nine Mile Creek’s Electrofishing survey as part of Nine Mile’s study of Bush Lake. The study is a good reminder for us all to take The Lake Pledge. It’s a fun, free way to partner with Hennepin County to demonstrate our commitment to keeping Bush Lake free of new Aquatic Invasive Species or AIS.
The IWLA National Convention was held in Green Bay, Wisconsin, in July. Our Chapter was represented at the convention by Jill Crafton, our Board Treasurer and National Director. At the convention our Chapter received the 2025 IWLA National Defenders Chapter Achievement Award. The League's 2026 convention will be in Minneapolis.
Over the summer we resurfaced the dock. Paul Erdmann held weekly plant posse work. A new martin house was put up. Tony made several beautiful new benches (with more to come) and made plaques on two sections of our nature trails, to honor our last two caretakers, the Erdmanns and Gregg Thompson.
Our upcoming events include:
Chapter Fall Clean Up- Saturday, October 25, 10 am-Noon
Buckthorn Bust-, Saturday, November 15, 1pm-3pm
Christmas Bird Count- December TBD
Thank you to all our members for making this year a great success! We sincerely appreciate your contributions that make our conservation organization a strong one.
