Six Hamline-Midway Community Gardens participating in the 5th Annual Parade of Community Gardens!

Bike, walk, run, skate, drive if need be to explore and celebrate a variety of green spaces and the bugs that help them grow on the Hamline-Midway Bugs n’ Bikes Community Garden Tour! Saturday, August 21 10am-2pm, six Hamline-Midway community gardens will offer fun, educational, and creative activities and treats for all ages as part of the 5th annual Parade of Community Gardens. Stop by any location to start your tour and pick up a map and schedule of events. Locations include:

• Hamline-Thomas Community Garden at Hamline and Thomas Avenues
• Hamline United Methodist Church at 1514 Englewood Ave
• SPROUTS Community Gardens at 1514 Englewood Ave
• Horton Park at Minnehaha and Hamline Avenues
• Midway GreenSpirit Community Garden off of Pierce Butler between Hamline Avenue and Albert Street
• Snelling Avenue Planters at Hamline Hardware at 755 Snelling Ave N

For further information or to get involved with these Midway garden sites and their events, please email junelune1@gmail.com.

The importance of native pollinators

The Midway community gardens are hatching a plan for the August event called the Parade of Community gardens on 8/21/2010. Its too soon to let you know about all the fun details, but it will involve six Midway community garden sites, and will give visitors a peek at pollinators. Even in our urban area, pollinators are vital. In this photo, my Leadplant is being visited by bees. at the Midway Greenspirit garden, the beehive there are increasing yields of tomatoes, peppers, blueberries, strawberries, , raspberries, apples, melons, sunflowers, pumpkins, plums, and squash both in the garden and for miles around. Native pollinators can be even more efficient at the job, such as bumblebees increasing yields even more. The Xerces Society is an organization looking into the importance of invertebrates. Below is some quality information from Xerces on how to encourage native pollinators which were developed for roadsides. While a small residential urban yard may need to be selective from this list of practices, most are applicable for our cities too. I see it in my own yard and in my community gardens regularly. Xerces research show that using native plants in a landscape can double the number of bee counts and increase the types of bees found there by 35%. So you want to get the most out of your food production gardens? Plant for the bees too!


From Xerces:

Eighty-seven of the world’s 124 most commonly cultivated crops are insect/animal pollinated. Between 60 to 80% of the world’s 250,000 flowering plants depend on animals for pollination.
In the United States, the National Research Council (2007) reported noteworthy losses of both managed and wild pollinators. Habitat loss, pesticide use, diseases, parasites, and the spread of invasive species are the major causes of pollinator decline. Threats to pollinator communities affect not only pollinators themselves but also natural ecosystems and agricultural productivity.


Key design factors & practices to enhance flower diversity for bee habitat around farms, gardens or roadsides include:

Planting choices
1) Use native wildflowers and grasses, with high densities of flowers.
2) Plant a minimum of 3 blooming plant species during each season.
3) Aim for season-long blooming plants, early and late season blooming plants are especially important.
4) Plant a range of wildflowers of varying colors and shapes. Bees mainly visit blue, white, yellow, and purple flowers.
5) Plant flowers in single species clumps for best results.

Providing Nest Sites
6) Warm season, clump-forming grasses provide bumble bee nest sites.
7) Have a mix of forbs and shrubs.
8) Don’t mow or hay entire grassy meadows or roadsides, leave some for pollinators.
9) Conserve habitat for rabbit burrows and groundhog burrows for bee nesting sites.
10) Reduce tillage and avoid plastic sheeting for ground nesting bees.

Reducing the Impact of Mowing and Spraying
11) Intensive mowing or grazing impacts abundance of bees.
12) Avoid or minimize the use of insecticides.

Ramsey County Master Gardeners supporting Midway and Frogtown neighborhoods

This is a moment to shout out to Ramsey County Master Gardeners (RCMG) in the Midway. So many Midway and Frogtown garden projects are nicely highlighted in the RCMG year end report from 2009. I particularly want to shine a light on Diane's work. She is successfully working hard within this organization to bring in intern Master Gardeners from diverse backgrounds. She also takes her Master Gardening service time to our urban neighborhoods, augmenting community efforts in growing their own food. She would want you to check out another organization she works for called "Growing Food and Justice for All".

Here is that Master Gardener 2009 report (pdf). In it you will find summaries of Hamline Midway and Frogtown community garden projects including Aurora-St. Anthony Peace Garden, Horton Park Community Garden, Snelling Avenue Planter Project, Frogtown Gardeners, Frogtown Orchard Project. Also supported and not mentioned are projects at Galtier Elementary, Hamline High Rise, LEAP Academy, HUMC Rain Gardens, and Midway Green Spirit Garden.

Master Gardeners are a well used resource in our St. Paul neighborhoods. Many thanks to their members!

Rain barrel and compost bin sale on now through the Recycling Association of Minnesota

Rain barrels and/or compost bins are available for Twin Cities residents to purchase from the Recycling Association of Minnesota. For those folks living in the Hamline Midway, you can also take the additional CRWD discount found here (pdf).
Order by 4/22/2010 to pick up at the Living Green Expo at the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand North Parking Lot
May 1, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. or May 2, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Accepting orders until April 22, 2010.

Compost Bin Available $55

The Earth Machine Dimensions: 33" x 33" Capacity: 10 cubic feet

Rain Barrel Styles Available:

Both styles $65

The Rain Catcher Dimensions: 24" W x 34" H Capacity: 54 gallons

	The Systern Dimensions: 34" H, 26.1" in diameter Capacity: 55 gallons

Payment by credit card only. Prices listed above do not include sales tax.

Rebates offered for residents residing in: -Capitol Region Watershed District -Ramsey-Washington Watershed District To find out more, CLICK HERE (pdf).
DIRECTIONS FOR ORDERING: -ST. PAUL (Living Green Expo): May 1-2 (pdf)

Low cost trees are being made available in the metro

There are a number of tree sales running at present that provide really low cost trees for residents. For folks residing in Minneapolis or Saint Paul, your tree planting this season can offset future losses due to the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB). This is especially true for folks closest to the start of the infestation in the St. Anthony Park neighborhood in St. Paul. Here are the details for 2 offerings. Do not delay, these sales do sell out of species.

A low cost tree sale available to St. Paul residents, deadline for order 4/17
This sale is the The Friends of the Parks and Trails Tree sale where low cost trees are available to metro residents, but I am highlighting it for St. Paul-ites as they can't take part in the City Trees program (Minneapolis only).

Buy a Tree Sale 2010. Order trees until Saturday April 17. Pick up trees 9AM-1PM Saturday May 1. To order trees: print the Tree Sale Form (PDF) and mail it with a check. Your phone and email are needed if you forget to pickup your trees.

• Autumn Blaze Maple
• Bicolor White Oak *
• Black Hills Spruce
• Pagoda Dogwood *
• Thornless Cockspur Hawthorn
• Mount Royal Plum
• Honeycrisp Apple
• Arrowwood Viburnum *
• Little Lamb Hydrangea
• Blue Velvet Hypericum
• Miss Canada Lilac
• Hope For Humanity Rose
• Wisteria Aunt Dee

* Native

Online Donation of Trees to Parks Credit card only, your donation is tax deductible because we are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
Give trees to City or County Parks of your choice from our list.
Donated trees will be picked up and planted by the park system you choose.

Pickup Sites:

Highland Park Pavilion, 1200 Montreal Ave., St. Paul
Ramsey County Parks Garage, 2015 No. Van Dyke, Maplewood

For more information contact PeggyLynch@visi.com (Peggy Lynch) Telephone: 651-698-4543

Mailing address:
The Friends of the Parks and Trails of St. Paul and Ramsey County
1621 Beechwood Avenue
Saint Paul, MN 55116

Minneapolis residents can order an inexpensive tree to enjoy for their yards

More than 1,000 trees are being made available to Minneapolis residents for planting this spring. Since 2006, the City of Minneapolis has funded the City
Trees program, a low-cost way for folks to help build the city’s tree canopy. The trees cost $25 each, residents can order one tree per household, and all
trees are available first-come, first-served. Last month, the emerald ash borer was found in Minneapolis and could potentially contribute to the decline of all
of the City’s more than 200,000 ash trees. Planting a new tree now will help start the next generation of trees.

Varieties of trees available are

• Fat Albert spruce,
• pagoda dogwood,
• Kentucky coffee tree,
• blue beech,
• Merrill magnolia,
• regal prince oak,
• Canada select chokecherry,
• Redmond linden and
• burgundy belle maple

Orders for trees can be placed at www.treetrust.org. You can also order a tree by calling (651) 644-5800. In previous years, the trees have sold quickly, so place your order early.

Folks who order trees will need to pick them up on one of three days at the Minneapolis Impound Lot, 51 Colfax Ave. N.

Saturday, May 8, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Sunday, May 9, 8 a.m. to noon
Monday, May 10, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Volunteers will be on hand to help load your new tree and complimentary bag of mulch into your vehicle.

Research has proven that trees are a valuable investment and improve urban 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.

The City Trees program is a partnership between the City of Minneapolis and Tree Trust, a local nonprofit that works to improve the community environment.

Steph Hankerson
http://midpointgreen.blogspot.com/

Emerald Ash Borer confirmed to have moved into southeast Minneapolis

Below is the press release on Thursday's find of the Emerald Ash Borer in Prospect Park, Minneapolis. It was a find that folks were expecting, but dreaded to hear. One-fifth of the boulevard trees in Minneapolis are Ash. The continuing infestation of EAB only highlights the efforts by the Hamline Midway Environment Group (HMEG) to fundraise around community tree planting projects.

If you live in a 5 mile radius from St. Anthony Park (Saint Paul) or Prospect Park (Minneapolis) please plant a tree this season!

Here are some of the local press available on this announcement:

• Minnesota Public Radio
• Start Tribune
  

___________________________________________________


Thursday, February 25, 2010

Minnesota Department of Agriculture confirms emerald ash borer infestation in Minneapolis trees


The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) today confirmed an emerald ash borer infestation in four trees in the Prospect Park East River Road neighborhood of Minneapolis within Tower Hill Park. This infestation is within a mile of the St. Paul neighborhood in which the tree pest was found last year. The infestation was discovered through an ongoing survey of ash trees in the vicinity of the South St. Anthony Park neighborhood, where EAB was found in May 2009. While this marks the first time emerald ash borer has been found in Minnesota outside Ramsey County, state officials said the discovery was anticipated. Last fall, scientists determined that the St. Paul infestation had been in place for about three years prior to detection. Since the
adult beetles can fly up to 2 miles each year, officials expected that the bug had spread into Minneapolis. “When we found the St. Paul infestation last May so close to the border of the two cities, we knew there was a good chance we’d find it in Minneapolis,” said MDA Plant Protection Director Geir Friisoe. “That’s why we included Hennepin County in the initial EAB quarantine, even though it had only been confirmed in Ramsey County.”

The EAB quarantine in place for Ramsey and Hennepin Counties prohibits moving from the counties any items that may be infested with EAB, including ash trees and ash tree limbs, as well as all hardwood firewood. This quarantine remains in effect in 2010. The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board’s Forestry Division is responsible for planting and maintenance of public trees on Minneapolis city streets and parkland. The Park Board’s forestry division has been working with MDA to prepare for the arrival of EAB. Next steps will include removal of infested trees and an intensified survey of all ash trees in the surrounding area.

EAB is an invasive beetle that kills ash trees. Its larvae kill ash trees by tunneling into the wood and feeding on the tree’s nutrients. Since its accidental introduction into North America, EAB has killed millions of ash trees in 13 states. The metallic-green adult beetles are a half inch long, and are active from May to September. Signs of infestation include one-eighth inch, D-shaped exit holes in ash tree bark and serpentine tunnels under the bark. Officials remind Minnesotans they can take the following steps to keep EAB from spreading:

• Don’t transport firewood. Buy firewood locally from an approved vendor, and burn it where you buy it;
• Be aware of the quarantine restrictions. If you live in a quarantined county, be aware of the special restrictions on movement of products such as ash trees, ash limbs, and firewood. Details on the quarantines can be found online at http://www.mda.state.mn.us/plants/pestmanagement/eab/quarantinefaq.aspx; and

• Watch for signs of infestation in your ash trees. If you suspect your ash tree could be infested by EAB, visit www.mda.state.mn.us and use the “Do I Have Emerald Ash Borer?” checklist.
MPRB Emerald Ash Borer Preparedness Plan

CONTACT:
Michael Schommer Communications Director , Minnesota Department of Agriculture 651-201-6629
Janell Wojtowicz Communication Specialist Minneapolis Park and Recreation, Board 612-230-6414

Midwayites! Get Thee to a Home Energy Workshop!

*Save Energy and Money at Home!*

This February, residents of Hamline-Midway have a unique opportunity to
participate in a home energy efficiency program that can save hundreds of dollars per home. The program, Neighborhood Energy Service, starts with a
free *neighborhood workshop on saving energy and money* in your home. Workshops for Hamline-Midway are scheduled for:

• Feb. 11th (6:30pm at the Hamline United Methodist Church—1610 West Hubbard Ave) and
  
• Feb. 13th (10am at the Hancock Rec. Center—1514 Englewood Ave)
  

At the workshop you’ll be able to schedule a home visit, where the Home Energy Squad will *visit your house and install energy-saving materials*. Materials include compact florescent lights, a programmable thermostat, door weather stripping, and a low flow shower head.

Finally, you’ll receive one year of personalized home energy reports. These custom reports compare your home’s energy use with the average Minnesota home of the same size.

This program provides *goods and services worth up to $400, and enrollment only costs $30 per home*. This incredible deal is made possible by the generous support of the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund.

To participate, RSVP for one of the free neighborhood workshops by contacting Michael Jon at 651-646-1986 or email michaeljon@hamlinemidway.org.

The program is provided by a partnership of neighborhood organizations, including the Neighborhood Energy Connection, the Metro Clean Energy Resource Team, and the Hamline-Midway Coalition. Other partners include the Center for Energy and the Environment and Xcel Energy.

Treasuring Waste: MIMO & Yogurt Cup Collection

Americans are hooked on garbage, 4.5 pounds of it generated per day per person according to EPA 2008 estimates (pdf). Sadly, 60-85% of that is recyclable! Somehow, our society tolerates throwing away materials that can be reused or regenerated into new products. Garbage is a resource, which does not need to include waste-to-energy power plants. Grass-roots neighborhood level activities can urge the reversing of this trend. For example in SE Como, this neighborhood is trying to reduce the amount of reusable furnishings lost to the trash during college move-out schedules in fall and spring. SECIA has coined this as "MIMO" or move-in/move-out. The organization has a grant from the MPCA to work on a pilot that redistributes usable items left on curbs and alleys. The program will feature a re-use "store" that will be set-up during key weeks when college students are on the move.

Further, in the Midway area of St. Paul, neighbors are setting up yogurt cup collection, another example of reuse! The collected cups will be made into seed starting kits. In both cases, community members are deciding to take the issue of waste into their own hands and find a better solution. Presently this is the answer to institutionalized waste; personal choice and action! Here is the yogurt cup collection announcement:

HMEG Announces a Yogurt Cup Re-Use Collection in the Midway at Shirtz Unlimited on Snelling Avenue. The Hamline Midway Environmental Group (HMEG), in partnership with the Recycling Association of Minnesota (RAM), invites you to recycle your large and small yogurt cups (with lids) to reduce waste! HMEG has arranged a neighborhood drop-off location at Shirtz Unlimited, a locally owned shirt screening business, on Snelling Avenue near the intersection of Minnehaha Avenue. The yogurt cup recycling is sponsored by the Recycling Association of Minnesotawww.recycleminnesota.org). The yogurt cups will be re-used to make seed starter kits for sale to the public. To recycle your yogurt cups and cottage cheese containers bring them to the Shirtz Unlimited store (755 Snelling Ave N, 651-645-3311). The pilot re-use program accepts only CLEAN single serving (6oz) and 32oz containers for recycling. Don't forget the lids! Please, no Yoplait brand or six-pack containers.

HMEG Support Letter for Frogtown Farms

Hamline Midway Environmental Group

c/o Hamline Midway Coalition

Hamline Park Building
1564 Lafond Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55104

651-646-1986

---

Frogtown Gardens

843 Van Buren Ave.

Saint Paul, MN, 55104

Dear Frogtown Farms Developers and Supporters:

The Hamline Midway Environmental Group (HMEG) congratulates you on your vision for bringing a sustainable working urban farm to the Frogtown Neighborhood. It would be a cutting edge demonstration of how grassroots residents of inner city neighborhoods could work together to build food equity, vibrant good health and environmental justice.

HMEG supports your efforts and will work with you and other supporters of this plan to see Frogtown Farms become a reality.

The Hamline-Midway
Environmental Group is a interest group of District Council 11. Its mission is to create and nurture a healthy and
sustainable environment in the Hamline-Midway community of St. Paul Minnesota. Members of HMEG worked to support community members who are active in improving the sustainability of the neighborhood. Areas of focus include community gardens, food justice, backyard poultry, rain gardens, rain barrels, local foods, composting, recycling, bike/walk initiatives and urban forestry.

In Solidarity,

The Hamline Midway Environmental Group

To learn more about Frogtown Farm see their website or find them on Facebook

Christmas Trees and Natural Decor can go to Ramsey County Brush Sites

Smart thinking Ramsey County! There are a few winter dates being made available at the compost sites, just in time to take holiday greenery. Additionally, a handful of sites will be open once per month during the winter season. Details can be found here.

In the Midway, you can bring holiday greenery to Pierce Butler near Vandalia on January 9th (9am-5pm) or 10th (11am-5pm). Please remove wires, ribbon, ornaments, lights, tinsel, tree bags and tree stands prior to drop off. Leaves, branches, natural wreaths and other plant waste are also accepted.

For gardeners, hen keepers, and home composters, this is a valuable back-up to our systems we have at home or if we have a tree come down during the winter.

Holiday Lights: the Broken, the Rundown and the Weary

How does an Eco-sensitive household handle holiday decorations? It is a question that can haunt. The plastic light-up crèche, blow-up NASCAR Santa, laughing-motion-detecting Christmas tree all require resources to make and just what to do with them once they break? Like for many folks, reducing consumption, reusing/re-purposing, and using natural items for winter displays are becoming more common at our house.

At least broken light strings can now be recycled, thanks to Recycling Association of Minnesota (RAM). Ram has created a program where the collected light strings are disassembled and each part is recycled for a different purpose .

The broken light strings are received at PPL Industry's job training facility where employees there disassemble the strings. Each element of the light string is directed to its own recycling process, for example the bulbs are recycled into tiles, asphalt and fiberglass, and the metal in the cords is captured in another process. A video of the process can be seen at this link (wav) . Since early December, 15,000 pounds of light strings have been diverted from landfill or the garbage burner through this program.

Two neighborhood groups around the Twin Cities are making sure collections are local and easy to get to. All locations for light drop off outside the neighborhood can be found on the RAM webpage. Below, list the sites arranged by neighborhood groups in SE Como, Minneapolis and the Midway of St. Paul.

HMEG Announces Holiday Light Recycling Now Available in the Midway at Hamline Hardware

The Hamline Midway Environmental Group (HMEG) invites you to recycle your incandescent light strings to reduce waste! The light recycling is sponsored by RAM and drop-off locations can be found at Snyder Drugs (coupon incentive available) and Como Zoo. However, to make light recycling even more convenient for Hamline Midway residents, HMEG has arranged a drop off location right in the Hamline Midway neighborhood.

To recycle your unusable light strings, just bring them to Hamline Hardware store (755 Snelling Ave N St Paul, MN 55104, 651-646-4049) from now until January 10th.


Holiday Light Recycling Comes to SECIA

The SECIA staff noticed that the options for recycling broken incandescent light strings were inconvenient to SE Minneapolis residents. To remedy this, the SECIA office signed on to be a drop-off location for broken holiday lights. Light recycling fits right into the Como Green Village waste reduction efforts. The light recycling is sponsored by RAM and its appropriate that there is a drop-off in SE Como because the lights are disassembled right in the neighborhood! PPL Industry's job training facility on 15th Ave SE eventually receives the broken light strings and employees there take apart the strings.

To recycle your unusable light strings, just bring them to SECIA's office from now until January 10th. Do note, the office will be closed between Dec 24th through January 4th for the holidays. It is recommended that you call ahead to make sure a staff person will be there. Some evening hours are available.

What a great idea! The Midway Barter Market

In the Hamline Midway neighborhood, neighbors long for a local co-op grocery store. While the community waits to have a walkable venue for locally grown food, they have come to their own devices; setting up a dropsite for Whole Farm and creating the Midway Barter Market.

Whole Farm Co-op is a network of 30+ farms near the Twin Cities. By getting together to do orders, marketing, and delivery, they are able to be small producers who really know & care about what they offer us as consumers. Customers order online; products include meats, dairy, groceries, crafts, garden produce in the summer, and more. Midway deliveries will be monthly on the 3rd Wednesdays at the drop site at Hamline/Thomas SuperUSA. This means ordering at www.wholefarmcoop.com by the second Wednesday.

At the Midway Barter Market, neighbors exchange handmade goods, garden grown produce, softly used items and plants without the use of money! All sorts of items have been exchanged and its a fun time! There are even the occasional garden and henhouse tour, or impromptu juggling lessons in a kid friendly space. Come on down on Sunday to hang out with your neighbors and swap your goods and have a great time! The Midway Barter Market is now on Sundays 1-3 pm on the boulevard at the Anderson Oaks place, 1724 Englewood Ave until the season ends. See photos of the market here.

These great options have been brought to fruition by community members who participate in the Hamline Midway Environment Group, Mighty Midway Greening and Growing, LISN (Leasdership in Support on Neighborhoods) and specifically due to the efforts of Nine Dodge.

August is National Community Garden Awareness Month and 4th Annual Parade of Community Gardens

The 4th Annual Parade of Community Gardens!!
August 22nd - 10:00am to 2:00pm

There is a great group of community gardens participating this year on the Parade, all are bringing attention to & celebrating in these vital greenspaces in our communities! Forty community gardens from across the Twin Cities & greater Minnesota open their gardens to the public. Experience the unique and individual gardening efforts happening around the state. Gardens will feature a variety of attractions including music, cool treats, a goat, heirloom tomato festival, a beehive and more! Here are a couple profiles:

• At the Accord Community Garden in SE Como Minneapolis, visitors will find viola music, birthday cake and ice cream along with beautiful native plants under a one-of-a-kind sculpture.

• At the Midway Greenspirit Garden in the Midway, the feature will be the bees! Community beekeepers will be on hand to describe the symbiosis of having a hive in a community garden and what it entails.

The event is a free & self-guided tour, rain or shine. Details and brochure maps, in English & English/Spanish, can be found at www.gardeningmatters.org or call Gardening Matters at 612-492-8964.

Find more information on National Community Garden Awareness Month at OBSNews.com.

Midway Community Greening and Gardening gets busy

The Midway is bursting with community greening and gardening events this weekend. Time to enjoy the spoils of summer, join any or all!

These events are reflected on the Hamline Midway Community Gardening Calendar (see the events box on the right sidebar).

• Horton Park Community Garden time Sun, July 12, 12:00pm – 2:30pm. We may do a bit of watering, continue the pursuit of identifying grasses, lookover the beauties such as butterfly weed and its usual monarch caterpillars (see photo). Group info is here at the community garden's googlegroup.
  

• HM Rain Garden Tours Sun, July 12, 12pm – 2pm Where: Meet at the Hamline United Methodist Church raingarden located near the church parking lot at the intersection of Minnehaha at Simpson (Tour-goers are very welcome to make a pass through the Horton Community Garden time too!) Taproots is hosting walking tours of neighborhood raingardens to discuss and share wisdom about gardening, plant lore, and hydrology. Raingardens are a great way to deal with drainage problems, reduce runoff, improve water quality downstream, and strengthen native plants and the local ecology. For more information about the tours or Taproots, visit the group's blog at or contact Jonathan Dregni, 651-207-3539 or jdregni@yahoo.com.
  

• Midway Barter Market Sun, July 12, 1pm – 3pm Where: 1724 Englewood Ave Bring something to share if you can, we've seen CSA produce, jam, bread, fruits, homemade candles and soap, jewelry, cassette tapes, clothes, anything that's in good condition that someone else may want. It's an informal gathering that's lots of fun, and you get to take home stuff you want that someone else has too much of. Midway Barter Market also runs on Wednesday evening- see the calendar for more information
  

With all these events, we are sure to see you- Right?

The Dino Boulevard Garden

Here is a fun garden profile called the "Dino Garden! Its located in my brother's Saint Paul boulevard and for 3 years, neighborhood kids make this little patch of vegetation a destination on walks. Kids and parents stop to find hidden dinosaurs and play with them, and occasionally parents even have to avoid this block because they are too engrossed in dinosaurs for time allotted. Even adults without kids pass with a smile. The complement of shade tolerant plants that my brother has included only adds to the prehistoric effect- ferns, solomon's seal, hosta, fairy candles, and sedges.

This is a great example of placemaking. As defined by Project for Public Spaces, "Placemaking is not just the act of building or fixing up a space, but a whole process that fosters the creation of vital public destinations: the kind of places where people feel a strong stake in their communities and a commitment to making things better." As demonstrated by this boulevard, placemaking does not have to only happen in public squares or municipal gateways. Positive outcomes in the case of the Dino Garden include an ever-changing community expression that adds beauty, traffic calming and community building as neighbors find reason to pause and ask questions and even investigate. Most of the Dinosaurs are still on duty after 3 seasons in the garden, not many have been lost or stolen. Compare how well this space is functioning to previous longstanding life as unnoticeable lawn.

Boulevards are of course city property and cities have restrictions on what you plant and you should take steps not to create a stormwater runoff issue. At the same time, they are a great space to be creative, improve your tree's health, and make your street more inviting. A practical boulevard garden guide from Metro Blooms can be found here.


Photo Credit: Amanda Hankerson

Growing for elders: community gardens harvest for block nurse programs

Neighbors looking out for neighbors. When it works, its a direct way to gain a sustainable neighborhood via self reliance.

In SE Como, the OWLS Garden Shares community garden has been following this concept for several years. The organic produce they grow is shared with elders in the community through a collaboration with the Southeast Seniors (SES). Gardeners take a bit home and each elder on our list gets a bag of fresh picked vegetables.

The relationship between the community garden and the local neighborhood block nurse program has worked out well for all. Further, OWLS gardeners are primarily U of Mn students and their efforts are a great example of a positive impact of the off-campus student body.

This successful model is spreading to the Midway area of Saint Paul too. A group of Hamline University students have taken up the passion to grow food everywhere. They call themselves Hamline SPROUTS (Students Proposing Real Options for Underutilized Territory) and have hooked up with the greater community, include that Hamline Midway Elders, a block nurse program.

Many community gardens regularly donate produce to food shelves, Dowling Community Garden in Minneapolis and Midway Greenspirit in St. Paul for example. The block nurse collaboration is actually more similar to a CSA (community supported agriculture) arrangement since the same list of individuals get a share of each harvest. As a result, more of a relationship between grower and eater is created.

I am finding that up & coming 20 year-olds have increasing interest in acquiring the know how to grow-your-own food . I find that hopeful.

Rain Barrel Time!

The rain barrel is in action here at the homestead. Most of the rainwater I collect is used on my compost piles, ornamental plantings and trees. I would like to add another to my front porch, but first have to install a gutter on that roof. Here is an informative pdf on rain barrels written by the U of MN Extension Service.

Using collected rainwater is very satisfying, knowing your landscape can be sustained by what falls from the sky. They do require their own attention however. Making sure the barrel's overflow doesn't impact your foundation, making sure your barrel doesn't grow mosquitoes, and getting your barrel drained before the next big rain are examples of such attention. Some of this can be taken care of through your design, but if this type of maintenance is not for you, then installing a rain garden is a good alternative. The costs for a rain garden will be higher (unless you get financial support from your watershed) but its maintenance is less.

In Saint Paul, the Hamline Midway Coalition and the Hamline Midway Environment Group is co-sponsoring a ‘build your own’ rain barrel workshop for neighbors on Tuesday , May 19th. A $30 fee covers all materials, including a recycled barrel and hardware. To reserve a spot, please contact at 651-646-1986. Space is limited.

In Minneapolis, as a follow-up to the rain barrel sale at Green Village Day, SECIA is also starting a waiting list for SE Como residents interested in receiving a rain barrel that SECIA interns will construct for only $15 using recycled 55 gallon drums. Quantities are limited. Contact the office at 612-676-1731 for more info.

Captured stormwater protects the Mississippi river!

Green Cleaners

I just finished a batch of home made cleaners. Alice's Wonder Spray is commonly known. I find that this recipe really can take care of most every day wipe-ups. Further it is cheap. Making your own cleaner is another small way to take control of your sustainability. Proctor & Gamble just is not always needed.

This type of mix-your-own cleaner that is available at the SE Como neighborhood's refill station and that the Mighty Midway 4h group did as a event in Midway neighborhood. The Mississippi Watershed Management Organization sponsors/ed these. The point of their interest that these cleaners are safer for you and safer for our surface waters (i.e. the Mississippi River). Having different scents available makes the mixing task fun! Lemon, and cedar are very nice.

Here is the basic wonder spray recipe:

Ingredients

2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon borax
1 1/2 cups very hot distilled or purified water
1T liquid dish soap
3-15 drops essential oils (optional)

Directions

Fill bottle with the hot water. Add the the vinegar and borax in a 16oz spray bottle,
and shake to dissolve the vinegar and borax. Add soap LAST and then scent with essential oil.

Horton Park Native Community Garden Reconvenes.

Friends of Horton Park reconvenes for the season. Be a native plant enthusiast while enjoying the greater Horton Park with fellow neighbors. Garden sessions are monthly on Sunday's at noon until 2pm. Dates are April 19th, May 3rd, June 14th, July 12th, Aug 9th & Sept 13th.

This little community garden was started by neighbors in the Midway to diversify the plantings at Horton Park in Saint Paul, and to provide an additional reason to enjoy the park. Horton's garden gatherings are a great place to see and learn about native plants that can be used in your landscape. We have prairie and savanna species as well as woodland species.

Garden website is http://groups.google.com/group/hortonpark. FFI, or to get on this community garden's list contact hortonpark@gmail.com.

Ramsey County compost sites open March 30th

For those living in Ramsey County Minnesota, Tuesday is a big day. The county yard waste sites reopen (may be delayed if the predicted snow hits). While I do make use of most of my garden waste/leaves for my hen operation and own backyard compost, these county collection points are useful for woodies and items that are trickier to compost at home- such as thick tomato stems.

I tend to grow a largish pile of brush over the winter due to the branches I collect from these same yard waste sites for use as winter decoration in both my yard and at community plantings. The photo above shows a Midway business and community members adding branches like these to a planter. The branches all end up back at the yard waste site in the spring.

The urban/suburban brush collected at Ramsey County goes to St. Paul's District Energy, which supplies heating, cooling and electricity to downtown St. Paul all created from that biomass.

That's a tight closed cycle for these decorative woody branches used in the Midway.

St. Paul yard --> Yard Waste Site --> St. Paul Yard--> Yard Waste Site -->District Energy in downtown St.Paul ---> heat & energy to St. Paul business & homes

ahhh, sustainability.