Happy National Volunteer Week! Collectively, our incredible volunteers have contributed over 480 hours since January in their efforts to support several projects at Ney. Of course, National Volunteer Week is a great time to celebrate all that they have accomplished so far this year. Let’s take a closer look at some stand out projects!  2025 Read more »

The Mississippi River drains water from about 1.2 million square miles of land according to the National Parks Service. Unfortunately, water is not the only thing that makes its way from land into the river. Garbage such as plastic bottles, tires, plastic bags and anything else you can imagine make their way into the Mississippi Read more »

Our Maple Syrup season is finally in full swing! After a rainy weekend and temperatures creating the perfect conditions for the sap to flow, we collected over 60 gallons of sap at the beginning of this week. Our very first sap boil of 2025 is just around the corner, and soon, we will have syrup Read more »

As the weather gets warmer, we love seeing all of the visitors at the park, including our 4-legged friends! We know that it can be tempting to let your furry friend roam free of their leash to get some exercise, but we ask that you resist the temptation for the sake of the park. This Read more »

Emerald ash borer (EAB) is an invasive insect that has made its way through much of southeastern Minnesota, including the park here at Ney, and continues to spread across the state, killing as many ash trees as it can along the way. These invasive insects lay their eggs directly into the bark grooves of ash Read more »

With the cold temps this week, and the forecast showing warmer temps in the coming days, We are seeing all sorts of things in our winter birds.  We know that some people participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count this past weekend, and we of course hosted a Winter Bird Count here at the nature Read more »

You may have seen mysterious vein-like tendrils in the snow before, do you know what they are? Roots covered by snow? Perhaps a symbol left by aliens?  While some lumps are just snow-covered objects on the ground, these pathways are left by small mammals like mice and voles as they hunt for food in the Read more »

This Valentine’s Day, our staff has been reflecting on everything we love about working at Ney. From sauna sessions, to crafting with young learners, and even the little bit of snow we’ve gotten, there are plenty of things that fill our hearts with joy. Over the past couple of months, my personal favorite heartwarming moment Read more »

Right off the bat, you may be thinking, why would I ever put on a bathing suit when it’s below 30°F outside? To be fair, you’re right! It sounds a little chilly…  However, Minnesota’s sauna culture is rooted deeply in Finnish heritage, with sauna enthusiasts seeking warmth and community during colder and darker winter months. Read more »

I want to talk about zoos today.  They were a standard of my childhood, and I continued this tradition with my children.  Zoos come in a variety of different kinds, and span a surprising amount of our history.  Let’s go ahead and dive right into it. Zoos started out as private menageries of the wealthy Read more »