Metro Blooms raingarden program returns to Waite Park neighborhood

Spring is finally getting underway — it’s time to think about your yard! 

The Waite Park Community Council (WPCC) is partnering with Metro Blooms Neighborhood of Raingardens program to help 25 homeowners install raingardens this year. Raingardens help keep pollutants out of the Mississippi River and provide habitat for pollinators and local wildlife, including Minnesota’s state bee, the endangered rusty patched bumble bee! 🐝 

Metro Blooms Design + Build will offer on-site consultations this summer to identify the best location and discuss budget, plant preference, and other resilient landscaping practices. The designer then will develop a planting plan for each garden (150 sq. ft.  maximum). Designs will be sent to residents for approval two weeks prior to their scheduled installation.

Metro Blooms Design + Build will excavate the garden area, mix in compost, apply mulch, and haul away sod/soil, if necessary. Residents will coordinate with Metro Blooms for a plant pick-up, where staff will be available to offer guidance and support before planting. 

Participants will pay for plants, mulch, and sod/soil disposal (if necessary), as well as half of the consultation fee. The average cost per resident is $300-$400 depending on the size of the raingarden and number of plants.

Registration will open at 8 a.m. Thursday, May 12, and remain open until all 25 slots are filled. To sign up, please contact Neely Atha at neely@metroblooms.org with your name, address, phone number, email address and neighborhood (Waite Park). 

Metro Blooms Design + Build is a wholly-owned for-profit entity that supports the work of Metro Blooms Non-Profit by provides high quality, resilient, and sustainable landcare services for residential and commercial landscapes. It specializes in creating beautiful raingardens, stormwater management, and native plantings. More information is at https://metrobloomsdb.com.

Hoyer Heights tree trenches add habitat, protect Mississippi River

The Waite Park neighborhood is home to a unique example of green infrastructure designed to reduce flooding, add habitat, and help protect the Mississippi River.

The Hoyer Heights Tree Trenches were installed by the City of Minneapolis as part of a street reconstruction project in 2020. Supported by grants from the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization and the Minnesota Clean Water Fund, the pilot project is among the first in the city to capture and treat street runoff using this type of green stormwater infrastructure. It’s part of the Northeast Stormwater Management Initiative, which aims to reduce flooding and improve water quality and habitat in portions of Northeast Minneapolis and Columbia Heights.

Dirty runoff from the streets flows into the tree trenches via curb cuts. Native plants and trees in the trenches absorb the water, while sediment traps and the soil filter out pollutants. A perforated pipe underdrain allows the cleaned stormwater runoff to drain through the storm sewer system to the Mississippi River.

An MWMO video provides an overview of how the tree trenches work as well as the basic maintenance techniques involved in keeping the functioning. As you can see from the video, the native plants have proven to be remarkably resilient, bursting with flowers and buzzing with pollinators in spite of last year’s drought.

The MWMO is planning to host a tour of the project later this summer. This will be an opportunity to learn how the tree trenches work as well as how they’re maintained. Contact MWMO Training and Community Learning Specialist Abby Moore at amoore@mwmo.org if you’d like to learn more.

—Submitted by the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization

Community cooking classes offer ideas for your garden harvest

An initiative focused on bringing access to fresh produce to every Minneapolis neighborhood is hosting a series of free cooking classes the last Thursday of the month through October.

Edible Boulevards is a currently running a pilot program in the city’s Green Zone neighborhoods in which participants grow food on their boulevards and share the fruit with one another. Minneapolis ordinance doesn’t allow community members to grow food on our boulevards. Participant sites are tested for lead since Green Zone neighborhoods typically experience higher levels of lead in their children’s blood. 

Waite Park is not a Green Zone neighborhood, but residents are welcome to attend its cooking classes, which aim to use the harvest from your gardens to create simple and delicious summer and autumn recipes. You’ll learn about the nutrition of the foods used in the recipes each month, and also be able to make that evening’s meal for you and your family.

Appetite for Change will lead the August class, and Kelly Shay from Harmonious World will lead the September and October sessions, which will run form 5:00-6:30 on the last Thursday of the month:

• Thursday, August 26 with Appetite for Change: TBD

• Thursday, September 30 with Kelly Shay: Vegetable Basil Stir-fry w/ Quinoa and a Side Salad

• Thursday, October 28 with Kelly Shay: Cozy Autumn Lentil Stew

Check out the Minneapolis Edible Boulevards Facebook page for recipes and ingredients list. Zoom info below:

Topic: Cooking Class with Appetite for Change
Time: Aug 26, 2021 05:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
Aug 26, 2021 05:00-6:30 PM
Sep 30, 2021 05:00-6:30 PM
Oct 28, 2021 05:00-6:30 PM

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMscOCprz8vGtdw0iHhiRISE1BfEDky87Sv

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

—Michelle Shaw, Edible Boulevards

Don't forget to care for your trees during the drought

During our drought, remember that trees – especially young trees – need watering any time it doesn’t rain an inch in a week. Under the sprinkling restrictions, tree watering is allowed with a dripping hose, bucket or tree watering bag as needed.

Yard and boulevard trees need water

Minneapolis yard and boulevard trees need an inch of water every week all through the summer-fall season. Lack of water can make trees vulnerable to insects and disease and cause permanent damage to young and old trees alike. Trees up to five years old are especially susceptible. The Park Board plants and mulches boulevard trees but relies on residents or businesses nearby to water them.

An effective way to water a tree is to turn on a slow stream of water (just so the hose is weeping) for a few hours. Watering in the evening is most effective since it minimizes evaporation, and trees tend to take most of their water during the night. Watering one tree weekly costs only about $3 for 23 weeks – the entire summer-fall season. For people who lose track of when they last watered a tree, a good way to remember is to water trees on the same day trash is picked up.

Protect our Minneapolis quality of life

Taking care of our trees means protecting our Minneapolis quality of life. Healthy trees are beautiful, increase property values, help improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gases by absorbing carbon dioxide, save energy, keep the city cooler, provide homes for wildlife and help manage stormwater. If you have space in your yard to plant a tree, consider getting one going so it can get a start on providing shade and making a better quality of life in your neighborhood. The larger the tree, the larger the benefits.

For information on tree care and the urban forest, call the Park Board’s Forestry Department at 612-313-7710, email forestry@minneapolisparks.org or visit www.minneapolisparks.org/trees.

—via City of Minneapolis

Join the citywide do-it-yourself Earth Day clean-up

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board along with the City of Minneapolis announce the annual Minneapolis Earth Day Clean-Up event has moved to DIY mode with supply pick up available at participating Earth Day sites, including Waite Park, on April 24 from 9:30 am-noon, near the playground off Garfield.

The Minneapolis Earth Day Clean-Up has been the city's largest community service project for many years. Since 2008, more than 20,000 residents have removed more than 160,000 pounds of garbage from Minneapolis parks, neighborhoods, and watersheds. 

You can participate anytime in April — while staying safe and preventing the spread of COVID-19.  By sharing photos of your cleanup, everyone will see what we can accomplish for the 2021 Earth Day. 

Residents are encouraged to participate by volunteering to help pick up trash in parks, neighborhoods, and watersheds. No registration needed, just follow these easy steps:

1. Use a trash bag from home or pick up bags and gloves at participating Earth Day sites on April 24 from 9:30 am to noon.

2. Head to a nearby park or trail to pick up trash (while getting fresh air and exercise).

3. Practice social distancing and other current COVID-19 guidelines. Learn more at www.minneapolisparks.org/coronavirus-covid-19-information/

4. Share photos of your trash haul on MPRB's @MPLSEarthDay Facebook page and

   using the hashtags #MplsDIYEarthDay and #WaiteParkMPLS

How to participate in Waite Park’s 2021 raingarden program

Update: This program is FULL for the 2021 season, but you may still contact Metro Blooms to be placed on a waitlist.

The Waite Park Community Council is again sponsoring a neighborhood raingarden program in partnership with Metro Blooms Design and Build. 

Twenty raingardens will be available on a first come first serve basis. 

If you are interested in having a raingarden installed on your property, contact Jennifer Moeller at Metro Blooms at (preferred) jmoeller@metroblooms.org or 612-367-6080 with your name, address, phone number and email address if you have one. Please reference Waite Park because several neighborhoods have raingarden programs. 

The community council uses funds from the City of Minneapolis to subsidize the cost of the consultations, designs, project oversight and installation, bringing the homeowner cost down to approximately $350-$400 per property.

Metro Blooms and the Conservation Corps of Minnesota expect to install the raingardens in early August, with consultations starting in late June.