As a born and bred Minnesotan, there is nothing better than coming home to Minneapolis, especially in winter. I love the winter wonderland Minneapolis is transformed into aftera huge snowfall. However, as much as I have enjoyed the snow, relaxation, and copious amounts of tea that come with being home for winter break, I keep thinking about how excited I am for Summer of Solutions Twin Cities 2013.

2012 Solutionaries and a beautiful new wood chip path

The Twin Cities Summer of Solutions program 2013 is planning on keeping up the relationships with many people and programs we have previously worked with. We are hoping to expand our bike caravans with Youth Farm to include more campers. We are continuing our work with ARISE and Cooperative Energy Futures to aim for a more sustainable Twin Cities. We are continuing our urban farming in south Minneapolis, with our partners like Lynne Mayo who has some amazing plots, but we are also hoping to get our own plot for this summer! Finally, we are hoping to get a business plan of our own up and running. Last year we had a team which was brain storming business ideas, we ended up selling a cookbook and canned kale pesto. This summer we are hoping to expand this portion of our program and give participants the opportunity to put business ideas to work.

Overall it should be a summer of growth, change and solutions, and I  can’t wait!

Maddie Wilson – Program Leader