Paddle: Middle Fork of the Crow River

Siri Gossman

2018

New London, Minnesota

Cairn Project Ambassador Siri Gossman smiles wearing a black The Cairn Project shirt

About Siri Gossman

Siri works as an outdoor and environmental educator, a farmer, and chases the Austral summer to work and live in the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, Antarctica. Siri has explored wild places around the world and the US, but got her start in the outdoors as a kid running through the woods of rural Minnesota.

40 Miles of Paddling

This summer Siri will spend a week canoeing the 40+ mile length of the Middle Fork of the Crow River of central Minnesota. Starting at the river’s headwaters rising near Belgrade, MN, Siri will paddle this water trail through Mud Lake, Nest Lake, and Green Lake, before ending at the confluence of The Crow River’s Middle and North Forks. This expedition is an opportunity for Siri to connect with the local communities adjacent to the waterway and to raise awareness for how these waters eventually flow into the Mississippi, Gulf of Mexico, the wider world. Fundraising goal: $2500.

A tributary of the Mississippi River, the Crow River is located in south-central Minnesota with its three forks draining a watershed of 2,756 square miles. Historically covered in “Big Wood” deciduous forests, much of this contemporary landscape now consists primarily of agricultural lands with pockets of residential and commercial land. Land use changes like these have contributed to the pollution and subsequent impairment of more than 40 percent of Minnesota’s waters. Learn more about the work being done by local organizations like The Middle Fork Crow River Watershed District to protect and preserve the Crow River Watershed and find out how you can take action to improve water quality in your own community.

Map of Siri's route on the Middle Fork of the Crow River in central Minnesota
Siri sits in a canoe with a dog and points behind her smiling

Why Get Out and Give Back?

“My interest and deep love for the outdoors was stoked by my fourth grade teacher taking the time to get us outside doing citizen science. I learned through all those activities that the outdoors is everywhere, anytime you go outside you can be observing and exploring and adventuring in nature! I want to be able to share and spread that joy to more young people!”

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