BRAHAM, MN-East Central Energy (ECE) members and employees will work together Saturday, May 3 to help get Father Hennepin State Park near Isle, MN ready for the rush of visitors that comes with warmer weather.

The volunteer event is known as project GreenTouch. Now in its ninth year, the ECE-sponsored activity at Father Hennepin State Park is part of a larger project conducted by Minnesota Touchstone Energy Cooperatives in parks throughout the state. Touchstone Energy is a co-brand used by cooperatives across the nation to promote what local electric cooperatives stand for, integrity, accountability, innovation, and commitment to community.

Volunteers will work from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. They will plant trees, assemble wire guards to protect the new trees from the park's deer herd, clear brush from trails, rake the beach and perform other vital tasks.

ECE will provide morning coffee and lunch. People of all ages are welcome to participate, whether or not they are ECE members. The event will be held rain or shine. All tools and materials will be provided.

The GreenTouch partnership between the Touchstone Energy Cooperatives and Minnesota State Parks has brought thousands of volunteers together to care for one of the state's finest resources, its state parks. In addition to volunteer time, the sponsorship also gives the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources $40,000 each year to help fund the State Park Guide and the Junior Park Naturalist program.

To sign up for the GreenTouch event, call Cindy Rolain, public relations representative, at 763-691-2022.

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