Traveling to a meeting about climate change presents an existential challenge for many, which is why each Forum EcoAdapt donates money to a local organization that undertakes climate adaptation activities. These donations serve as a way to support on-the-ground adaptation action in our host city.
Wakaŋ Tipi Awanyankapi
A message from Wakaŋ Tipi Awanyankapi:
Wakaŋ Tipi Awanyankapi (WTA), formerly known as Lower Phalen Creek Project, is a Native-Led cultural and environmental conservation nonprofit in St Paul, Minnesota. Founded in 1997 by community activists with a project area that stretches from Lake Phalen to the Mississippi River and throughout the East Side River District of St. Paul, Minnesota. Our mission is to engage people to honor and care for our natural places and the sacred sites and cultural value within them.
WTA’s work is place-based and emanates from Wakaŋ Tipi – a Dakota sacred site at what is now called Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary. We engage the community in our work through three program areas, Cultural Connections and Healing, Environmental Education, and Urban Restoration and Conservation. In 2023, we rolled out our new organization name: Wakaŋ Tipi Awanyankapi. It means “those who care for Wakaŋ Tipi” to better reflect our evolving purpose. For generations, Dakota people have cared for and been cared for by this land. That relationship and knowledge is the foundation for our conservation and restoration projects. Guided by Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and our Dakota values, we partner with the City of Saint Paul to steward Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary to help us remove displaced plant relatives, conduct wildlife and habitat surveys, and plant trees, wildflowers, grasses and seeds to mitigate the effects of climate change by building ecosystem resilience.
