The Mission of the Sally Manzara Interpretive Nature Center:

• Stand as a symbol of the Stewardship of our community for its natural surroundings and heritage,
• Serve as a focus of community activities related to outdoor life,
• Provide a place where people of all ages can learn about the unique natural history and ongoing ecology of Sunfish Lake Park,
• Teach general environmental awareness via specific local examples,
• Honor the agricultural heritage of Lake Elmo.

Board Members and Staff

Ami Voeltz-Schakel, Programs Coordinator

Connie Kirk, Board Member, Treasurer, Events

Darlene Regan, Board Member, Summer Camps

Denny Farrell, Board Member, Fundraising

Jarell Kuney, Board Member, Environmentalist

Jean Glaraton, Bookkeeping and Human Resources

Kim Vogel, Board Member, Secretary, Exhibits and Building

Rusty Nereng, Administrative Director

Tony Manzara, Board Member, President, Maintenance

You may contact us via the Reception desk phone 651-408-2838. If no one answers, please leave your name and number and we will try to call you back.

Or Email to info@sminc-lake-elmo.org with the person’s name in the subject line, that account is checked at least weekly.

Or send a letter to Friends of Lake Elmo’s Sunfish Lake Park with ATTN: the person’s name, PO Box 241, Lake Elmo, MN 55042

Building Use Policy – highlights: The Sally Manzara Interpretive Nature Center is a place of Peace and Respect where members of the community can learn or teach about nature.

No Pets, No Smoking or e-cigarettes, No Alcoholic Beverages,  No Cooking, (crock pots ok for scheduled groups), Zero Tolerance for violence, harassment or abuse. Documented Service dogs and Therapy animals are welcome.

NO TOLERANCE – The Sally Manzara Interpretive Nature Center is a place of Peace and Respect, so the following behaviors will not be tolerated. Anyone violating this policy will be asked to leave immediately. The behaviors are described such that a reasonable observer would agree that a violation has occurred. Violence – any actual violence such as hitting, kicking, throwing of objects, etc, or threats of violence. Harassment or bullying – speech or body language intending to intimidate or belittle a person, or treat them with disrespect based on any characteristic they exhibit or opinion they express. Property Damage – any deliberate or apparently deliberate property damage inside or outside the building.

Full text of Building Use Policy:

Friends of Lake Elmo’s Sunfish Lake Park is a Minnesota Non-Profit Corporation established October 10, 2016 to build and operate the Sally Manzara Interpretive Nature Center in the Park. It was granted the status of a 501c3 public charity by the IRS in February 2017, and accepts tax-deductible donations.

Sally Manzara (1944-2015) was a teacher, librarian, community and church volunteer. She believed that everyone should have an opportunity for education. She loved birdwatching, nature centers, gift shops in museums, and Sunfish Lake Park.

The idea of the Nature Center arose after Sally had been diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer in 2012 and given “4 months, maybe 6” to live. With the prayers of many friends and family members, good medical care, and a strong spirit, she survived for two and a half years. Sally and Tony Manzara had saved for travel during retirement, but even before the time she entered hospice care, she was  no longer able to travel. She agreed that the money saved for her travel during retirement should be used as seed money for building a nature center in the park she loved.

After Sally died, Tony offered to build a nature center for the City of Lake Elmo in Sunfish Lake Park. City officials were enthusiastic about the idea of a nature center but did not want to take on the responsibility for operating it.

On April 26, 2015,  Tony attended a Parish Dinner at Guardian Angels Church and one of the servers was Connie Kirk.  Connie, Sally, and Tony had worked together on a church committee in the late 1980’s and got to know each other well. But in the 1990’s we went to different parishes, and Tony had not seen Connie in many years. During dinner Tony told Connie about the idea of the nature center and she was very interested in what programs would take place there. He invited her to come over and see the nature center plans, she made some great suggestions for improvements that would allow the building to “become alive”.  To spare you the details, Connie and Tony married in November 2016! We talk about the fact that the three of us are working together to make a dream come true – Connie is doing the outreach, Tony is doing the construction, and Sally is up there inspiring people.  Some of the most amazingly talented and energetic people have joined in the pursuit of the dream!

An alternative plan was proposed to the City, that Tony would start a non-profit organization to build and operate a nature center if the City would lease the organization an acre of Sunfish Lake Park for the site.  It took about two years to negotiate the details and on April 18, 2017 the City Council voted unanimously to accept the lease agreement. Then a set of architectural plans was drawn up for approvals and permits.

Sunfish Lake Park is protected by a Conservation Easement administered by the Minnesota Land Trust. This legal document enshrines the intentions of the families who originally contributed their land to the City at below-market prices to avoid having it filled with houses. The Conservation Easement drafters envisioned a “nature interpretive center” in Area 2 of the Park – the space adjacent to the parking lot. We went to the Land Trust staff in July 2017 and presented the plans for the nature center, which they approved, after which the City Council also approved the plans on August 15, 2017.  The Groundbreaking Celebration was held on September 10, 2017 with a dedication, a Raptor Center show and a visit by Emy from Carpenter Nature Center.

With the efforts of good contractors and over 2000 hours of donated labor, the Sally Manzara Interpretive Nature Center celebrated its Grand Opening on June 2, 2018.

Please click on the Picture Gallery tab to see the beautiful day we had for the Groundbreaking, a variety of construction pictures, and some from the Grand Opening.

The Media tab has links to videos of the Monarch Butterfly Emergence, Connie’s Prairie Pioneer Tea Party, and the Grand Opening talks.

Emy the turtle was the creation of some of the original Board members of Friends of Lake Elmo’s Sunfish Lake Park.  We were having a discussion of choice of a mascot, and the Blanding’s Turtle (Emydoidea blandingii) was suggested. This turtle is classified as a “threatened species” in this part of Minnesota, and has been seen in Sunfish Lake Park. It has a distinctive high-domed shell and a longish neck for a turtle, bright yellow in front. Ian Dorney and Mary Frick collaborated on drawing the picture of the turtle, and Joan Manzara named her Emy. In Bob Shaw’s article in the Pioneer Press in October 2018, which featured Buckthorn Croquet, he labelled us “quirky” which fits pretty well. As in, we have a half-dozen six-foot birds that take turns roosting at our birdhouse “shed”, we have a nest made of sumac trunks with three eagle figures and two big eggs for the kids to sit on, unique exhibits all created by volunteers, a Buckthorn Removal Festival, and other stuff that is rare for a nature center.

Emy is featured in our logo: