The Mill City Times Interview: Zev Radziwill and Tom Foerster, Stewards of Bluff Street Park

Article by Becky Fillinger

Who takes care of your local parks? Would you be surprised that many Minneapolis parks have volunteer stewards overlooking their care on a more regular and local basis than the city can provide? We talked to Zev Radziwill and Tom Foerster, neighbors in the Riverview Tower Condos, who became very active caretakers of their local park. 

Tom Foerster (left) and Zev Radziwill

Q:  Tell us a bit about your group.

A:  We call ourselves “West Bank Parks” – and our local group provides stewardship and volunteers for Bluff Street Park, Bohemian Flats, and the Dinkytown Greenway. Tom is in fact the official community Park Steward for Bluff Street Park (BSP). We also offer our park steward expertise and experience to other neighborhood volunteer groups. We have a long-term goal of growing neighborhood volunteer involvement in our city parks and green spaces. Our projects include: 

• Cleanups - Spring and Fall in partnership with both parks 
• Planter boxes on the Northern Pacific Bridge #9 and under the Bluff Street Park sign 
• Small gardens – herbs, peppers and tomatoes  
• “Lily Lane” on Greenway and Bridge Number Nine 
• Future plans: Bike station at Bluff Street Park, East side of Bridge #9; more oak trees along the path and Greenway; more beautification – we’re considering Art at the Bridge Base 

Q:  Tell us about your most recent project. 

A:  The lilies have been our current obsession during these strange times. Planted 5 years ago, these plant beds require re-mulching the entire stretch every couple of years – as well as yearly flower replacements.  This year was the mulching year and it has been quite the adventure.  It took 100 bags of mulch and several days of work to get the lane in good shape. We call the area “Lily Lane” for obvious reasons – the Chicago Apache daylilies are beautifully in bloom now.  Someday, we plan to tackle the other side of the lane as well - but maybe with not as many lilies!

Q:  Why was it important to you to beautify these small plots of land?

A:  We both grew up on farms – Tom in South Dakota and Zev in Washington County. So wanting to see beauty in the land – even “City” land (ha!) – comes natural to us. When we got the sign for Bluff Street Park, thanks to Scott Vreeland and others on the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) – that was the first place Tom applied his skills! And it just progressed to planting and tending the park up and along the Greenway area. Prior to this improvement, the area was just rock and scrub. Tom and many volunteers tackled it head-on! But bottom-line, we want the walkers and bikers – and families and couples – and those just out for a daily stroll, to have some beauty and nature in their lives. This little stretch of our park provides a break from the construction and major urban environments all around it.

Aerial view of Bluff Street Park

Q:  What do you know about the history of the Bluff Street Park area? 

A:  This area was a heavily polluted superfund site at one point – known as the Gasworks. Much of the Cities’ gas street lamps from the late 1800s to 1924 were lit by the coal gasification fuel generated and stored in and around the Bluff Street Park area.   

From 1879 to 1890, this area was home of the F.D. Noerenberg Brewery. (Side note: The same family founded Grain Belt Brewery. Do you know Noerenberg Gardens at Three Rivers Park District? Same family). The people living down at Bohemian Flats worked here and at a sister plant near Middlebrook Hall called the Minneapolis Brewery.

Bluff Street was one of the very first streets in the new Minneapolis – one of the first opened up on this side of the river.

And of course, prior to all this, it was Ojibwe land. They would portage on the University of Minnesota side down along the flats there. There are many native plants and herbs we’d love to see reintroduced throughout this area. 

Q:  What plants are in the park?

A:  When MNDot finished the I-35W bridge construction after the 2007 collapse, they planted a seed mix of non-native turfgrass. Our goal was to get back to native bedrock bluff prairie vegetation, which we completed in 2015. We’ve rescued peonies, irises, tiger lilies and sedum plants from park construction sites and replanted those in the Bluff Street Park as well. The sedum is pollinator friendly - butterflies are also attracted to the plants in the park.

Q:  Who were the members of the original Bluff Street Park Task Force?

A:  Cedar-Riverside neighbors, who had lived in neighborhood for years, were the original task force members - Rosemary Knutson, Arthur Renander, Jerry Clark and Anne Webb. Rosemary’s vision for native prairie grasses and a butterfly meadow has been realized. 

The second generation, now called the West Bank Parks, includes the two of us, Jerry, Rosemary, Matt Langland and Mary Mellen. Matt is a resident of Riverview Tower Condos and longtime neighborhood trails and transit guru – he helps at all clean-up days in the park. Mary is a Riverside Park champion and longtime volunteer in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. Jerry Clark is now 85 and still participating – he most recently painted over some graffiti. Zev is President of the Cedar-Riverside Community Council (CRCC) and Tom is the official park steward. We have a broad level of civic involvement and community-minded spirit in our group.

Q:  Do you have sponsors?

A:  We’re received grant monies from the University of Minnesota Good Neighbor Fund, the CRCC Community grant and from individual contributors. We rely heavily upon individual contributions.

Q:  What advice do you have for readers who might like to be park stewards?

A:  Visit the MPRB Stewards page and tell them that West Bank Parks sent you! We can tell you that it is very rewarding work – you’ll meet many neighbors, see the outcomes of your efforts and will be making a difference in our city.

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About Becky Fillinger

I’ve been a resident of the Mill District only since July 2019, but have visited the Guthrie, the Farmers Market, restaurants and friends in the area for many years prior to making the leap to Minneapolis. I’ve lived in many places (and climates) in the US and can testify that our cultural events, bicycle and hiking trails, parks and green spaces, museums, diverse neighborhoods and wonderful restaurants put Minnesota and Minneapolis high on my best places list. I’m a member of the Mill City Singers and look forward to our choir practices and performances.

One of my main interests is community - a very broad concept. For me it means bringing people together with common interests to form meaningful relationships. I look forward to reporting on businesses and individuals in our neighborhoods. Feel free to drop me an email at becky_fillinger@hotmail.com with your thoughts and ideas for stories.