Minnesota Master Naturalist

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ADV - NE - Wild Rice Field Day, McGregor

NE - Wild Rice Field Day, McGregor website

22205 531st Ln
McGregor, MN 55760

Manoomin (wild rice) is a culturally and ecologically significant aquatic plant that has sustained Indigenous communities for generations. The homelands of the Dakota, Lakota, and Anishinaabe (Ojibwe/Chippewa) cradle the last remaining stands of Manoomin in the world, with Minnesota playing an essential role in its continued survival.

This day-long workshop explores the ecological, historical, and environmental importance of Manoomin and highlights ongoing efforts to protect and restore wild rice. Participants will get an opportunity to practice harvesting wild rice from canoes and learn about methods of processing.

Join us to learn and explore a food and tradition spanning centuries, the gathering of wild rice.

Location: Sandy Lake Dam and Recreation Area - 22205 531st Ln, McGregor, MN 55760

If you would like to harvest wild rice, you will need to purchase a $15 one-day permit from the DNR. We will send out more information to registrants in the coming weeks. You are still welcome to attend if you don't want to harvest.

Looking to carpool? Please look for a carpooling email 2 weeks before the start of the program.

Annette Drewes - An experienced educator, environmental specialist, and nature explorer, Annette returned to school later in life to understand who was watching out for wild rice, Manoomin (Ojibwe). With this research, and her work with Leech Lake Tribal College, US Forest Service, Leech Lake Department of Resource Management, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, University of Minnesota Extension and the Nature Conservancy, she has acquired a broad view of what it means to steward the lands and waters of Minnesota. For the past decade she has written about and worked with organizations to protect wild rice and continues to present to audiences around the state on this threatened and native wild grain, Manoomin. After thirty years in the northwoods Annette and her husband now make their home in the bluffs along the Mississippi River - waters cradling wild rice.

In order to protect your financial information, you will be required to create an account for payment. Click "take course" to go to an external site to complete payment. Please note your seat is NOT reserved until your payment is processed. Please review our cancellation policy.

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The course cost is $50 and includes course manuals and supplies.

Course Dates:

Meeting from 9:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. on:

Instructor Information

Kacey Tait

Kacey is an Extension Educator with Minnesota Master Naturalist. Primarily from the Chicago area, she began her Naturalist path in 2007 as a teen wildlife rehabilitation and animal rescue volunteer. From there, she pursued degrees in Wildlife Ecology and Biology at UW-Stevens Point. She has worked as an environmental educator at the Forest Preserve Districts of DuPage and Lake counties in Chicagoland, the Saint Louis Zoo, and Brookfield Zoo. She has also volunteered at museums, including the Milwaukee Public Museum and the Field Museum in Chicago. After receiving her Master's in Biological Teaching from Miami University in Ohio, she transitioned to program management at Riveredge Nature Center in Saukville, WI, and at Evanston Ecology Center. With 8 years of experience in program coordination and over 15 years in the environmental field, Kacey is passionate about connecting people to the natural world around them. She particularly likes the less-loved taxa such as amphibians and reptiles, fungi, and non-dino fossils.

Sponsor Information

Minnesota Master Naturalist

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