Sarah Day NATURE WALK — Groups of people walk through Steinberg Park in Blue Earth Saturday morning. The park officially opened this weekend with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

BLUE EARTH — Vera Steinberg had a love of nature and a dream.

That dream came true when Steinberg Nature Park officially opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday.

Steinberg donated 33 acres of land for the park and did much of the footwork.

Though she passed away July 2007 at age 88, before the park could open, many of her friends and family traveled to see her legacy.

On Saturday morning, many spoke of Steinberg’s efforts, as well as tales of her tenacity.

Steinberg had come to City Administrator Ben Martig and former Community Development Director Rick Juba about her vision for a park. Martig was hesitant at first, thinking it would involve significant dollars from the city.

But that wasn’t the case. Steinberg told him she wanted to give something to the city. Funding for the park also came with a grant from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.