A walking path that Mahtomedi students used to walk to school in the 1970s and 1980s has found new life thanks to a collaboration led by the Saint Andrew’s Environmental Stewardship Team (EST). Other contributors include the Jaques Chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America (Ikes) and the Mahtomedi Area Green Initiative (MAGI).

Back in 2018, a Mahtomedi neighbor attending a MAGI meeting expressed a wish for a safer route to Mahtomedi Middle School. MAGI member John Siekmeier, who is also an EST and Ikes member, helped drum up support from Saint Andrew’s administration and Mahtomedi Public Schools. Saint Andrew’s administration responded enthusiastically and engaged Presbyterian Homes, which jointly owns with St. Andrew’s the land the land the path traverses.

Once permissions were in place, the Ikes provided brush-clearing equipment and volunteers to remove invasive nonnative vegetation. The EST brought in material and volunteers to distribute wood chips and remove trash along path. Tom Lodahl of Lodahl Contracting donated trucking and labor to deliver gravel to the site, and the Ikes distributed the gravel along the path.

Today, the walking path runs east from the crosswalk on East Avenue, along the north shore of Lake Saint Andrew, and up the hill to the water tower near the football field. This safe walking path is now available for students and shared with all our neighbors. Let us know what you think!