Hello – As the end of year approaches, I think it’s a good time to celebrate the many accomplishments of the Friends of Lakeshore State Park thus far in 2022. Here are highlights:Facilitated enrollment of volunteers under Milwaukee Riverkeeper’s Adopt-a-River program for two Park clean up days

• Assembled grant funds to purchase over 4,500 native forbs and prairie grass plugs for Fox Prairie, and participated in the three-day volunteer effort to get these plants in the ground in late May

• Hosted the first ever Brunch on the Beach food truck event on a beautiful July summer day

• Promoted the Park at multiple events:  Family Day at Northwestern Mutual Community Park, the Air & Water Show, Wilderness Inquiry’s Canoemobile, “Indeed We Can” at Indeed Brewing, The Dragon Boat Festival and Harbor Fest

• Raised grant and donation dollars to pay for three new picnic tables in the Park and facilitated the addition of two benches and another table

• Used grant dollars secured in 2021 to pay for park naturalist and diversity intern hours and supplies devoted to developing and leading educational tours and programs in the Park

• Secured a grant and sourced matching funds to cover updated signage and tools for the fishing programs. Awarded a grant to cover similar educational services in 2023

• Awarded a grant to cover the cost of a Park Educator in 2023

• Used grant dollars to pay for Park bike racks

• Completed the second year of environmentally safe goose mitigation spraying using a grant secured in 2021, resulting in a year-over-year drop in the goose population count – and cleaner paths

• Used grant dollars for supplies and helped recruit a volunteer group to complete painting of harbor railing along the south approach to the Park

• Significantly increased our presence on social media and news reporting including TV on-site coverage of Brunch on the Beach

• Moved ahead with planning for the Visitor & Education Center by completing engineering studies for bringing water and sewer infrastructure into the Park

• Began a collaborative project to develop a conservation and education program using student-designed pollinator houses to be installed in the Park in 2023

All this from your all-volunteer Friends of Lakeshore State Park – your donations make this and more possible! Please consider today making a donation.

And new this year, we’re excited to join with dozens of other non-profit organizations on the “Giving First” initiative on November 22nd. Up to $2,000 of donations raised on that date will be matched dollar for dollar by two anonymous donors, a 3-for-1 benefit we’d love to maximize. Please look for more information about this program later this month.

I hope you can take time to enjoy these fine fall days we’re having. The Park prairies are beautiful now with late blooming asters aglow in the late afternoon sun – so come out to the Park!