by Erin Johnson
Thisweek Newspapers

Friends of the Eagan Core Greenway presented the Caponi Art Park Board of Directors with a check for $3,000 last Thursday to help preserve the park for the future.

The check was presented at an informal wine-and-cheese gathering for the public at the park Sept. 30, during which participants were treated to golf cart tours of the 60-acre property.

Friends of the Eagan Core Greenway raised the money by collecting 100 donations from Eagan residents.

ìPeople like to have a little greenery around,î said Friends member John Ward.

The money will go to the larger effort of purchasing the property for future preservation.

But the donation also marks the beginning of the capital campaign, said Cheryl Caponi, wife of art park founder Anthony Caponi. The donation will help show potential funders that the land is important to the community, she said.

ìItís wonderful that the community is behind us in that way,î she said. ìIt was a great thing that they went and did that for us. It puts us one step closer to reaching our goal.î

Caponi has been working for years to make sure his land is protected in the future. He has partnered with the city, county, Trust for Public Land (TPL) and Macalester College to preserve 30 acres of the land, and the parkís board of directors is working on purchasing 20 acres. The Caponis will donate the remaining 10 acres.

Ward said that Friends is always happy to help preserve open space.

ìWeíre absolutely delighted,î Ward said. ìWe very much want to protect the Eagan Core Greenway both for the citizens now and especially for the future.î

Friends has identified the park as an important part of the Eagan Core Greenway, a two-mile length of open space in central Eagan that Friends is working to preserve.

If permanently protected, the land will create a green corridor extending to the 2,000-acre Lebanon Hills Regional Park, Ward said, which is important for wildlife, people and environmental integrity.

ìGreen space will be even more important in the future, simply because no more green space is being created,î Ward said. ìBut much green space is being used up creating houses, developments and businesses. Itís important we save it now.î

The Caponi Art Park and Learning Center was founded 50 years ago by Anthony Caponi, a sculptor, retired professor and chair of the Art Department at Macalester College in St. Paul.

Erin Johnson is at eagan.thisweek@ecm-inc.com.

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