Bee Lawns & Lawn Alternatives Webinar Recording & Slides

Lynn Mecum, SLA Officer and Lake Steward Project Leader, recently attended the Bee Lawns and Lawn Alternatives webinar, produced by our friend Angie Hong, and the Washington Conservation District.

Lynn has kindly shared the webinar recording here and slides here, along with high praise for the presentation. For those of you interested in protecting the bees and monarch butterflies around the Lake, and learning more about lawn care best practices for our Square Lake properties, please be encouraged to view the slides, video recording, and follow-up information from Angie below.

Thanks Lynn and Angie for sharing these very practical, affordable, and timely conservation best practices – all of which will help us further protect & preserve Square Lake.

Presenters:

• Angie Hong, East Metro Water Education Program: angie.hong@mnwcd.org or 651-796-2210 - @mnnature_awesomeness on Instagram and TikTok. Blog at eastmetrowater.org.

•   James Wolfin, Twin City Seed: jwolfin@twincityseed.com or 952-944-7105 - @twincityseed  on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok

 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR YOU

Twin City Seed:

• Bee lawn info and seed mixes

• Conservation seed mixes

 Washington Conservation District:

• Site visit sign-up for Washington County residents (free consultation + connect with grants and design support)

• Planting for Clean Water – print resources, presentations from workshops, gardening with native plants videos (from Angie’s TikTok)

• Tree Sale

 Blue Thumb – Planting for Clean Water: www.bluethumb.org  

• Plant selector tool; native plant suppliers and contractors; workshops and events; info on pollinator gardens, raingardens, shoreline plantings and turf alternatives

• Apply now for $350 Lawns to Legumes grants for this fall

• Turf alternatives

Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources:

• Pollinator & Biodiversity Toolbox

• Lawns to Legumes Program – includes Planting for Pollinators Habitat Guide and garden design templates (Shady Garden (pdf); Rain Garden (pdf); Sunny and Low (Boulevard) Garden (pdf))

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources:

• Landscaping with native plants

• Prairie restoration – includes Prairies of Minnesota Landowner Handbook and Prairie Pod Podcast

Plant Sales:

• Washington County Master Gardeners plant sale: May 20, 10am-3pm

• Landscape Revival Native Plant Expo and Market

• Oakdale: June 3, 9am-1pm

• Shoreview: June 10, 9am-1pm

Other organizations:

• Xerces Society - Resources for invertebrate conservation + Guide Library

• Wild Ones – Native Plants, Natural Landscapes - Minnesota Chapters, Native Garden Designs, Native plant nurseries and landscapers

• Pollinator Friendly Alliance

• Homegrown National Park

• Bee Lab at University of Minnesota

• Monarch Joint Venture

Books:

• Heather Holm – Pollinators of Native Plants and Bees; An Identification and Native Plant Forage Guide; Wasps; and Flower Flies of Minnesota

• Doug Tallamy – Bringing Nature Home; The Living Landscape; The Nature of Oaks; Nature’s Best Hope

• Prairie Up by Benjamin Vogt

Soil and Water Conservation Districts:

• Anoka SWCD

• Dakota SWCD

• Chisago SWCD

• Isanti SWCD

• Ramsey Conservation District

• Other SWCDs in greater Minnesota

Watershed Districts in east metro: Most have cost-share grants for planting projects that can be paired with Lawns to Legumes grants.

• Brown’s Creek Watershed District

• Carnelian-Marine-St. Croix Watershed District

• Comfort Lake – Forest Lake Watershed District

• Middle St. Croix Watershed Management Organization

• Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District

• Rice Creek Watershed District

• South Washington Watershed District

• Valley Branch Watershed District

 Upcoming Workshops from East Metro Water Education Program:

• Protect Your Shore Workshop – April 18, 6:30-8pm (online).

Learn how to protect your shoreline against erosion and enhance aquatic and upland habitat for fish and wildlife. Speakers include Elissa Thompson (Washington CD), Tom Langer (Carnelian-Marine-St. Croix WD), and Barbara Heitkamp (EMWREP / Lower St. Croix).

• Restore Your Shore Workshop – May 8, 6:30-8pm (online).

Learn how to transform your lakeshore property with landscape design strategies that incorporate pathways, docks, and access to the water, while also providing healthy habitat for pollinators, fish, and wildlife. Speakers include Lori Tella (Washington CD), Mike Isensee (Carnelian-Marine-St. Croix WD), and Angie Hong (EMWREP).

• Managing Woodlands for Resiliency – June 6, 6-8pm at Belwin Conservancy in Afton.

 Learn how to manage buckthorn, garlic mustard and other invasive species; build resiliency and adapt to changing climate patterns; and support birds and wildlife. Instructors: Tara Kelly (Washington CD) and Lynette Anderson (Belwin).

Angie  Hong
Water Education Senior Specialist

East Metro Water Resource Education Program
Representing Brown’s Creek, Carnelian Marine - St. Croix, Comfort Lake - Forest Lake, Middle St. Croix, Ramsey -Washington Metro, Rice Creek, South Washington and Valley Branch Watersheds; Chisago Lakes Improvement District; Bayport, Cottage Grove, Dellwood, Forest Lake, Grant, Lake Elmo, Hugo, Newport, Oak Park Heights, Oakdale, Stillwater, St. Paul Park, Willernie, West Lakeland, and Woodbury; Chisago, Isanti and Washington Counties; and the Chisago, Isanti and Washington Conservation Districts

C/O: Washington Conservation District
455 Hayward Ave.
Oakdale, MN 55128
angie.hong@mnwcd.org
Direct line: 651-796-2210
www.mnwcd.org/emwrep