August 8, 2023 Pollinator Paradise Thankfully, we are starting to hear the message, more and more, that pollinators play an irreplaceable role in maintaining our environment and sustaining our food supply. Their protection is paramount, as they are the unsung heroes behind countless plants bearing fruit and seeds, ensuring harmony in our delicate ecosystem. Alas, these essential creatures face an… Read More
July 13, 2023 Jumping Worms, What’s the Big Deal? In 2006, Jumping worms (Amynthas spp.) were first discovered in Loring Park. Since then, they have moved through central and southern Minnesota landscapes at an alarming rate. One reason for this is that jumping worms reach sexual maturity very fast, allowing them to reproduce at a higher rate than other worm species. They also process… Read More
April 26, 2023 Turf Lawn to Prairie: Cost Comparison Each year, an increasing number of people are opting to change their turf lawn to prairie, and for good reason. Consider this: the total area of turf lawn in the US is estimated at 60-65 million acres, more than all the US corn fields combined. In Minnesota, estimates suggest that turf grass covers 15% of… Read More
March 16, 2023 The Top Ten Reasons to Restore your Lakeshore with Native Plants Minnesota is home to over 10,000 lakes, and each one of them is a treasure worth protecting. A key component to preserving and improving lake quality is to restore lakeshores with native plants. High-quality shoreline restorations are an economical tool to reduce erosion, create resilient habitats, add natural beauty to the landscape, and provide countless… Read More
February 15, 2023 Small Backyard Restoration with Big Results Every ecological restoration project presents its own set of unique goals and challenges. For this west metro landowner, soggy and sick turf grass made up a good portion of their backyard. The main project goal here was to take advantage of excess water drainage from a natural wetland and create an amazing backyard restoration and… Read More
January 27, 2023 New Year, Fresh Grant-Funding, and Ample Opportunities to Restore Natural Habitats! The new year is often a time for new beginnings and making positive changes in our lives. And what better way to do that than by creating a beautiful, thriving native plant habitat in your community? A great way to get started is by looking into the many cost-share programs and grants for habitat restoration,… Read More
December 14, 2022 Discovering Minnesota’s Ecology: Notes From The Field As the winter snows start to fall, our crews now have a bit of time to reflect on another super busy and productive field season. One of the most rewarding aspects of our job is the opportunity to observe Minnesota’s ecology, the plant and animal interactions, within the natural areas that we manage. Each year… Read More
July 30, 2022 Project Highlight: Pioneer Creek Park Native Plant Garden There are thousands of local community parks all over Minnesota, many with popular amenities like ball fields, playgrounds, basketball courts, frisbee golf courses, and horseshoes. Parks are parks, right? Well, not so fast. Pioneer Park in Independence, Minnesota, is unique in that it is home to an outstanding native plant demonstration garden. How did that… Read More
May 10, 2022 Top 10 Native Plants for Traditional Urban and Suburban Landscapes So why go native? The answer is pretty simple. While ornamental garden plants may look nice, they are really lacking when it comes to ecological benefits. Minnesota native plants provide traditional landscapes with high quality habitat for pollinators and other wildlife. On top of this, they also look great and are hardy; requiring no fertilizers… Read More
April 11, 2022 Transform Your Wetland with Invasive Cattail Removal! Did you know much of the cattail you see growing around ponds, wetlands, and lakes throughout Minnesota is actually non-native and invasive? In Minnesota, we have both a native broadleaf cattail (Typha latifolia) and an invasive narrowleaf cattail (Typha angustifolia). Unfortunately, these tend to readily hybridize with one another, producing an aggressive hybrid (Typha x… Read More
February 25, 2022 Supporting the Monarch Butterfly: How Native Plants Can Make a Difference During the summer of 2021, our work crews were commenting on the noticeably low number of Monarchs in both larvae and adult forms. For instance, we usually have hoards of monarchs in our greenhouses, munching on the young and succulent milkweed leaves. But last year, most of the milkweed leaving our greenhouses went out onto… Read More
November 15, 2021 Site Preparation: Setting Your Restoration Up for Success Site preparation for prairie and shoreline restoration projects is the most important and sometimes the most challenging component in achieving successful ecological restorations. Site conditions and restoration goals factor into the preparation methods that we employ. Our overall goals are to substantially reduce weed competition, repair areas impacted by erosion, and stabilize sites during vegetation… Read More
