Surprise! You’ve probably driven by this beautiful area many times, but many people don’t know the General Mills Nature Preserve exists. I probably wouldn’t know about were it not for the condo complex next to the preserve at the southeast corner of Highway 169 and Highway 55… by General Mills and near KARE11-TV.
I have driven by this nature preserve countless times without appreciating its significance and location… without recognizing how rare it is to have a significant nature preserve recently created in an inner-ring suburb just minutes from downtown Minneapolis.
General Mills Nature Preserve was dedicated in 2007, the result of a collaborative effort between the City of Golden Valley and General Mills, which is headquartered in Golden Valley, Minnesota. The preserve was developed on 19 acres of land General Mills had purchased in 1950 for future office development. They donated it to the city to create the nature preserve to help improve drainage and control flooding through floodplain storage and wetland mitigation.
More than 50 different native species were planted and seeded to create deep marsh habitat, shallow marsh habitat, wet meadow habitat and floodplain forest habitat. A permanent conservation easement through the Minnesota Land Trust guarantees this site will be forever preserved as a nature area.
As I saw the condo complex peeking behind the trees across the wetlands years ago I couldn’t help think about what a wonderful gift it is to the people who live there. Not only do they have nature views…not only can they walk out from their parking lot to the trails of the preserve…they are also guaranteed that the General Mills Nature Preserve will always be there. This natural and scenic heritage will be preserved for generations to come.
By the way, another Golden Valley hidden treasure is the General Mills Research Nature Area. This private nature preserve has no signs or parking lot, just a beautiful 57 acres with walking trails which General Mills generously shares with the community.
Sharlene Hensrud, RE/MAX Results – shensrud@homesmsp.com
