Virtual Programs

​Dakota County Parks is working to offer free, virtual programs to the public to enjoy at home. All available virtual programs will be listed on this page as they become available.

Wild Inside Facebook series

Join Dakota County Parks naturalists on Facebook for a nature adventure. They will introduce a new topic each week with nature activities you can try both indoors and out. See the Wild Inside Facebook series.

Watch previous episodes:

• Find your sit spot
• Create your own binoculars  
• Create a nature journal
• Citizen science
• Practice your observation skills
• Weather week
• Make your own rain gauge
• Cloud observations
• Weather citizen science
• Make your own forecast
• Wind/Barometric Pressure Table
• Tabla del viento y de la presión barométrica
• Animal signs
• Open your senses in the outdoors
• Squirrel citizen science
• Know your trees
• Birdwatching
• Using Binoculars for Birding
• eBird Citizen Science
• Spring Ephemerals 
• Minnesota Pollinators 
• Minnesota Bee Atlas Citizen Science 

Immerse Yourself video series

Enjoy a two-minute immersion in Dakota County Parks for a relaxing mental break:

• Spring Lake Park Reserve
• Miesville Ravine Park Reserve 

Outdoor education classes on YouTube

• Spring Wildflower Walk
• Beginning Birding
• Pollinator Gardens
• Minnesota Rocks and Minerals

Additional virtual resources

• Interactive Map: Will Bison Return to Spring Lake Park Reserve?
• Video: Dakota County Collection — Learn about our work to monitor bees and how you can get involved from home.
• Video: Tamarack Swamp Restoration Project — Check out a special habitat in the Dakota County Parks and learn how our staff is working to restore it.
• Video: Buck Pond Restoration Project — Learn about our work to restore Buck Pond and remove invasive reed canary grass.
• Video: Restoration in Lebanon Hills Regional Park — Enjoy spectacular views and information about restoration projects at Lebanon Hills Regional Park.
• Video: Parks Pollinators Campaign — Learn about ephemerals that emerge in the spring and their impact on pollinators.
• Video: Before the Park — Learn about history of the land that is now Lebanon Hills Regional Park.
• Video: Native Plants and Pollinators — Learn how you can support the pollinators by growing native plants in your backyard.

 Download the Dakota County mobile application to get a detailed interactive map of your favorite park. Search “Dakota County” wherever you download your apps.