In an overgrown tangle of invasive buckthorn, you can find Rocori FFA members wading in mud, garbage bags in hand, uncovering native vegetation and scrubbing graffiti off stone walls. The land they are clearing was once Cold Spring Roadside Parking Area, a 14-acre site overlooking the Sauk River in Minnesota.
The parking area — later renamed Lookout Park — was a project of the Works Progress Administration, built by men who had been laid off from the local granite company during the Great Depression. Over the years, the park fell into disrepair.
Rocori FFA Alum and Co-Advisor Rylan Sabo said, “In 2020, the city did a study to find out what citizens thought they needed, and 60% of them said they needed more recreational space.”
Rocori FFA decided to rehabilitate Lookout Park for their community. With approval from the city council, encouragement from state representatives and local citizens, and support from the Rocori FFA Alumni and Supporters, they started researching how to proceed.
The chapter applied for and was awarded a yearlong National FFA Living to Serve Grant. The funds enabled them to buy the supplies and resources to begin the cleanup.
“Having the funds from the grant was so powerful because we took ‘living to serve’ as a call to action,” Rylan Sabo said.
“We’ve had around 25 members helping with this project,” Tamara Berger, Rocori FFA advisor and agriculture educator, said.
The Lookout Park restoration is an opportunity for members to find their strengths through teamwork, hands-on efforts, and leadership roles.
“Some are happy just to be put to work and do their job, while others are excited to lead a group,” Rylan Sabo said. “Some members don’t necessarily want to be a chapter leader but want to serve in a leadership position on a work site.”
Rocori FFA has been intentional in involving the community, and the project is frequently featured in social media, state and local news, television, and radio.
Brynn Sabo, the chapter’s secretary, said, “We want to show people what FFA does … that we are building communities and doing projects that embody that last line of the FFA motto, ‘living to serve.’”
Members hope to have the park fully functioning for its 90th anniversary in 2026.
