Participants in the 2025 annual community cleanup gather at the newly completed bridge overlooking Duck Lake. Photos by Madelyn Peyer
Volunteers fanned out on foot and by boat around Eden Prairie’s Duck Lake on Saturday, April 27, as part of the second annual “Pluck the Yuck from Duck” cleanup event, organized by the Eden Prairie Duck Lake Association.
Rod Fisher, a Duck Lake Association board member, gives instructions to volunteers.
The three-hour event, held near the Duck Lake Road bridge, focused on removing shoreline debris, invasive buckthorn, and trash from the water and surrounding areas. Cleanup tools were donated by the Riley Purgatory Bluff Creek Watershed District. Kowalski’s provided cookies for volunteers, and Cub Scout Troop 342 participated in support.
The cleanup was held in conjunction with Earth Month and is part of an ongoing local effort to protect Eden Prairie’s natural resources. Many of the volunteers were neighborhood residents taking part to support their local environment.
The event also marked the lake association’s new involvement in the DNR’s Fisheries Innovation Network (FIN) program, which aims to improve fish habitat and remove invasive goldfish from the lake. Future efforts will include restocking with native species and improving lake access.
Tom (center) and Marilynn Torkelson, of Friends of Eden Prairie Parks, explain the need for buckthorn removal as an additional concern for the lake and surrounding area.
Trash collected was picked up by the city on the north side of the lake near the public access point.
Rod Fisher (left) and his grandchildren, Olive and Levi Brocesky, cleaning up trash via kayak.
