Each spring we look forward to the arrival of migrating songbirds in Minnesota as they return to find nesting sites for their young. White-throated sparrows, Eastern bluebirds, and a variety of warblers signal that spring has sprung! Let’s take a deep dive into using native plants for songbird habitat, impacting the ecology of the avian…

As our calendar year turns over into a new beginning, we all ponder the thought of a “New Year’s resolution.” January presents an exciting opportunity to begin fresh, inviting a clear pallet of thoughts as luminous as a fresh Minnesota snowfall. A great resolution usually involves the opportunity to expand our thoughts and learn new…

 As the snow begins to fall and winter finally sets in, our staff pivots from field work and focuses on indoor activities, such as putting the greenhouse to bed, servicing tools, revamping the trucks and organizing the shop.  However, one of the most important tasks isn’t about vacuuming the dirt from between the truck seats…

 Well, it was inevitable, but we just received a few inches of that white stuff that is such a part of our hearty Minnesota social fabric. Yes, winter will be soon upon us. In the cities, it was a pretty wet and heavy snow, enough so that our taller prairie plants started to tilt and…

Each day at every site we visit, our crews observe an amazing variety of insects in our ecological restorations. For instance, we see butterflies, dragonflies, moths, ants, bumble bees, mason bees, carpenter bees, grasshoppers, aphids, ambush bugs, and many others, all of which play key roles in the ecosystem, and clearly show the importance of…

If you are anything like us here at Natural Shore, we are totally obsessed with native plant restoration. Driving around the Twin Cities, we often comment to one another about how an area infested with invasive plants or a turf grass shoreline could be restored with an amazing native plant community. We are sort of…

Natural Shore is all about ecological restoration, which includes creating and improving a wide variety of Minnesota habitats. It’s fun to pause and think about what “ecological restoration” is, and how we best define and communicate what this word means to us. In the purest sense, practitioners and enthusiasts may consider “ecological restoration” bringing back…

We often run into people that want to contribute to pollinator conservation by adding natural habitat, but at the same time, are leery of the idea of inviting more bees to their properties. No doubt bee stings hurt, and it’s totally reasonable to have a bit of fear of getting stung. However, if you know…

One of the greatest joys of an ecological restoration, whether it be a perennial garden or a natural shoreline, is observing plants as they grow from tiny sprouts to tall, mature flowering plants each year.  Our maintenance crews get a front row seat to this yearly transformation in our restorations, working to apply seasonally appropriate…

Around this time of year, everyone starts to get spring fever. Last week, we had strong southerly winds blow in our first 60 degree day. Like clockwork, we see people wearing shorts and T-shirts doing summer activities with a frozen lake in the background. The winter warm-up also gets everyone chattering: “Will this be an…

The acronym “EAB” is being thrown around a lot lately by the mainstream media. We learned a lot about emerald ash borer in Minnesota: ‘EAB Discovered in Southern MN’s Steele County’, ‘Crews Begin Removing 168 Trees Infected by EAB Along I-94 in St. Paul’, ‘St. Louis Park Receives Grant to Combat EAB’, ‘If they’re not…

At this time of year we all make resolutions, to drink less coffee or shed a few extra pounds and get in shape. Last year our company made a few resolutions: reduce our carbon footprint, reduce plastic and paper use, and implement other environmentally conscious practices. It’s a new decade and a great time to…