Contact: Dan Svedarsky, head, Natural Resources Department, 218-281-8129 (dsvedars@umn.edu), Elizabeth Tollefson, assistant director of communications, 218-281-8432 (ltollefs@umn.edu)

Crookston, Minn. (October 8, 2008) – Natural Resources Department faculty and staff members at the University of Minnesota, Crookston recently presented at the annual meeting of the North Dakota Recreation and Park Association (NDRPA). Theme of this year’s conference held September 23-25, 2008, was Healthy Communities from the Inside Out. U of M, Crookston’s Laura Bell, lab services coordinator and naturalist; Eric Castle, M.L.A., assistant professor of horticulture; and Laura Bell Eric Castle, M.L.A. Dan Svedarsky, Ph.D. , jointly presented the paper "Butterflies, raingardens, and nature-scaping: the forgotten urban watershed" at the meeting of the NDRPA, held in Grand Forks, N.D. Over 100 professionals, including city and state park and recreation personnel, from across North Dakota attended the meeting. The NDRPA mission is to advance parks and recreation for quality of life in North Dakota. Brandy (Lietz) Chaffee, a 2000 graduate of the U of M, Crookston, was instrumental in organizing the state conference. Chaffee currently works with the Grand Forks Park District. Today the University of Minnesota, Crookston delivers more than 25 applied-science undergraduate degree programs and 50 concentrations, including several online degrees, in agriculture; arts, humanities and social sciences; business; math, science and technology; and natural resources. To learn more, visit www.UMCrookston.edu.