Becoming an LPLA member is a great way to support Lake Pepin, but its not the only way. Here are five creative ways you can spread awareness and support your lake!
1. Spread Awareness with Homemade Yard Signs
LPLA has made custom signs for many of our supporters wanting to spread awareness and rally support for Lake Pepin. If you’re on the water, you might notice the “Boaters <3 Lake Pepin” signs hanging at River Valley Marina (formerly Bills’s Bay Marina), Ole Miss Marina, Red Wing Marina, and Lake City Marina. After seeing these, Smith Brothers Landing in Pepin, WI asked if we would make a sign for their store front. Of course, we were happy to oblige!
LPLA cannot make homemade signs for everybody, but you can have fun making your own yard signs! Looking for ideas ideas of what to write? Our facebook page is filled with facts and phrases that will make a powerful statement!
2. Send Homemade Postcards to Family & Friends
LPLA is hoping everybody who loves Lake Pepin will join our efforts to protect it. Our staff has expertise in water resource sciences and policy, but sometimes a personal nudge is needed to encourage people to join something new. If you support LPLA and our dual approach (sediment reduction + local restoration), tell your friends and family by sending them homemade postcards! You could even have a post card making brunch with other LPLA supporters!
Not an artist or creative type? Use my trick & write a note on the back of a 4x6 photo! Just pop a stamp on the back corner with the address and toss it in the mail!
3. Organize Your Own Member Drive
Are you having a birthday soon? Running a marathon? Hosting a dinner party? Why not dedicate your special day or event to spreading awareness about Lake Pepin sedimentation and LPLA’s growing community of supporters?
It can be as simple as making a social media post directing people to our membership page for a dedicated birthday gift. Or, maybe you prefer to be Pepie for a day or have friends over for a dinner party. There are countless ways to turn your favorite social activities into a member drive.
LPLA has brochures and bookmarks that you can share with friends and family at your event. You can even ask us to be a guest speaker!
We’ll give you brochures to share at your event!
From Pepie to Dinner Parties, there are many ways to create your own member drive!
4. Make an Advocacy Video
The most compelling messaging about Lake Pepin sedimentation comes from the local communities and visitors. Don’t believe us? Check-out all the local voices that we’ve shared on our website.
LPLA will continue to share community stories that document impacts & highlight public leadership, but again, you don’t have to wait for us. With today’s technology, including smart phones and easy-to-use video editors, you can make your own advocacy video.
LPLA partnered with University of Minnesota faculty, Mark Pedelty, and his students to make an instructional video to get you started on your own video. Watch and let us know if you (or maybe your classroom) is interested in making videos about Lake Pepin.
5. Share Your Story
Maybe you have a story to share, but you’re not interested in spending the time or energy making an advocacy video. Fortunately, the written word will never go out of style! Send us an email or write us a letter describing why you love Lake Pepin and how you’ve experienced the impacts of sedimentation. Share it with your friends and we’ll share it with ours too!
6. Bonus Option: Call Your Representatives!
LPLA has tremendous political support for local restoration efforts. We have received a letter of resolution in support of restoration from all the Lake Pepin communities, including: Bay City, Maiden Rock, Village and Town of Stockholm, Pepin, Wabasha, Lake City, Red Wing, Pepin County, & Pierce County.
We have also received letters of support for restoration efforts from: U.S. Representative Ron Kind (WI), U.S. Representative Jason Lewis (MN), U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (WI), U.S. Representative Eric Paulsen (MN), and WI State Senator Kathleen Vinehout.
Call your representatives to thank them and encourage ongoing support for restoration efforts. As we move forward, LPLA will be asking all of the Lake Pepin communities to make financial contributions to the restoration local cost-share, estimated at $3.5 million. We’ve just started fundraising, but have already received the following financial commitments from Red Wing ($100,000), Bay City ($10,000), and Pierce County ($5,000). We hope to fundraise $200,000 locally for this important project!
LPLA Executive Director, Rylee Main, & LPLA members with U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin at Stockholm Pie & General Store last spring.