July 2025 Newsletter

This month, our hearts have been heavy. As a team grounded in community and connection, we know how much our work is shaped by the people who bring it to life—those who plant seeds of change, tend to community with care, and remind us what it means to show up with purpose and love. No one did that better than our dear colleague and friend, Melvin Giles.

Melvin’s work and presence touched so many lives, including our own, and we’re honored to share a few words in remembrance of him below. We feel fortunate that many of us were able to connect with him one last time at our annual fundraiser on June 26, proving yet again that there is so much power in gathering and in community.

Remembering and Honoring Melvin Giles

On July 1, we lost our wonderful friend and colleague Melvin Giles. Melvin joined the Renewing the Countryside staff in 2021 and had previously served as a community advisor for our St. Paul based Farm to Early Care program.

One of the many lasting legacies he leaves behind is the joy he brought to early childhood centers, where he delivered boxes of produce from local farms every week.

Through his work in urban agriculture, community gardens, mini-forests and farm to early care, Melvin helped root our mission in real places and with real people.

His presence made our team stronger and more thoughtful, and his absence is felt in every corner of our work. We are so grateful to have known and worked alongside him. He changed our lives and this organization for the better, and we will carry his spirit forward in all we do.

There will be a Celebration of Life for Melvin on Saturday, August 2 at Como Park High School from Noon-4 p.m. Doors open at 11 a.m. The Celebration of Life Program runs from Noon-2 p.m. and will be held in the auditorium, with a food, social, and reflection time from 2-4 p.m.

In the spirit of Melvin, share a smile, laugh a lot, wear purple, blow bubbles, and grow peace and flowers. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you donate to the Melvin Giles Community Legacy Fund. This will allow the memory and work of Melvin to continue to permeate our communities.

Greening the Gap: The Potential of Mini Forests

Renewing the Countryside, in partnership with organizations, schools, students, churches and more across the Twin Cities, has been planting mini forests to improve air and water quality, mitigate drought and flooding, provide natural cooling effect and more.

RTC intern Gavin Edwards recently wrote an article on his experience with us, planning and planting mini forests with Hannah Lewis and Melvin Giles. His article ran as Melvin's last column in the Midway Como Frogtown Monitor. Here's a sneak peek:

Greening the Gap by Gavin Edwards

As a college student commuting through the Twin Cities each day I began noticing little things that I had never considered before, forgotten things. Patches of grass wedged between traffic lights, a barren strip of land alongside a parking lot, or a field of mowed grass that’s always empty, never being touched.

These overlooked spaces became a quiet obsession of mine during my previous semester at the University of Minnesota, where I study Environmental Sciences at the College of Food, Agriculture, and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS). I moved to the Twin Cities in 2023 leaving behind my hometown of Grand Rapids, Minnesota.

Three hours north of the Twin Cities, space feels abundant alongside trees that dominate the landscape. In Itasca County where Grand Rapids is located, over 80% of the land is covered by tree canopy with over 10% density (Global Forest Watch, 2010). Back home I grew up surrounded by nature. Coming to the Twin Cities I didn’t realize that I had taken this for granted until I began noticing just how differently land is used in an urban environment.

Read Gavin's full article HERE. You can read all of Melvin's past articles at the Monitoronline.

The Conservation Connections program has been hitting the road hard in the month of July, already completing five of its eight summer events all around the state! The event series Unlocking Conservation Resources for Communities & Farms runs through August 7.

The remaining events include:

Owatonna (Steele County), on Tuesday, August 5 at the Owatonna Public Utilities Building
Jordan (Scott County), on Wednesday, August 6 at Ridges at Sand Creek Golf Course
Fairmont (Martin County), on Thursday, August 7 at Red Rock Center for the Arts

Each event runs from noon-2 p.m. and includes a panel of local speakers, learning how conservation benefits Minnesota’s rural communities, resources, the ability to network with other farmers, neighbors, and conservation professionals, discovering available NRCS farm bill programs and the economics of on-farm practices, and a complimentary lunch.

These events are free and people are encouraged to RSVP at renewingthecountryside.org/conservation.

Join Renewing the Countryside's Urban Agriculture team and farmers/gardeners in Northeast Minneapolis on August 12 from 4-6 p.m. to learn about collaborative land/market access and home-scale worm composting. Farmers/gardeners, NE neighbors, and kids are welcome!

This field day will feature Deborah Brister, Executive Director of the Audubon Neighborhood Association, who will describe the growing space, the program's history, and vision for the future; Desmond Pfeffer, owner of Firebug Farm, who will share his journey as an urban farmer and involvement in the NE Market Garden; and Shari Cueto, Program Coordinator at Urban Farm and Garden Alliance, about worm composting through a demonstration.

Renewing the Countryside, along with the Urban Farm & Garden Alliance, Pilgrim Baptist Church, Friends of the Mississippi River, and the City of St. Paul, are hosting free mini forest workshops for people to learn how mini forests can provide shade, peace, cleaner air & water, and receive educational materials.

Melvin Giles was an integral part of planning these mini forest workshops and was set to be a presenter as well. He will be greatly missed during the process of this work. Huge thank you to Garden Educator Nate Galloway for coming in as a presenter.

For more information and to sign up for these workshops email[email protected].

Our friends at Climate Land Leaders recently released the booklet "Land Legacies: Stories from Landowners for Landowners" featuring 11 Climate Land Leaders' reflections on planning for the future of their land. Renewing the Countryside is honored to have been a part of designing this booklet.

It includes firsthand accounts of legacy planning from a wide array of landowners, interactive prompts and exercises to help people reflect on their own land legacy, and perspectives on justice, kinship, and becoming a good ancestor. Please read, share, and start imagining how your land could thrive beyond this lifetime!

RTC is prepping for another great year in the Eco Experience Building at the Minnesota State Fair. This year's theme: Plant Protein Power!

Our interactive exhibit will offer a close look at some of Minnesota’s bounty: beans, specialty grains and seeds, tree nuts, mushrooms, and their role in the landscape of plant-based food. Stories, photography, hands-on demonstrations, and, of course, delicious samples, will get visitors of all ages interested to learn: How can soybeans turn into a silky block of tofu, oats make for a smooth and creamy latte, or peas become the secret behind those uncannily meaty plant-based burgers?

And, we still have volunteer spots available! Volunteers get a free ticket into the fair and will help with things from handing out samples, facilitating activities, or lending a hand with food prep. Sign up for a volunteer shift HERE and learn more about this year's Plant Protein Power! exhibit HERE.

Q: What is the new initiative led by Renewing the Countryside that includes kids and local foods?

Hint: We posted about it on social media!

June's Trivia Q&A:

Q: Where does Renewing the Countryside host a two week long eco-experience exhibit that includes cooking demonstrations, kid activities and more?!

A: The Minnesota State Fair!

Email your answers to mikel l@rtc info.org and/or look for the chance to answer on Renewing the Countryside's social media. Give us a follow below!

Follow RTC on social media for even more updates!

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July 2025