Grounded and Growing is an ongoing multimedia project launched by the Metropolitan Council in 2025 to better understand people’s experiences of parks and trails over the past 50 years. By pairing key moments from history with the present-day experiences of those from marginalized communities, we seek to surface root causes of visitation disparities and ground efforts to advance equity in shared understanding. By finding ways to acknowledge this past, Met Council, Park Agency Partners, and communties of our region, can build a more empathetic, inclusive, and equitable regional system together.