Earth Day Teach In

Wild about Wildflowers

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Image result for minnesota pollinator program

 Image Credit: © 2019 Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources

I recently came across an interesting article titled Program Will Pay Minnesota Homeowners to Make Their Lawns Into Bee-Friendly Habitats. The article states that Minnesota created an Environmental Bill that provides $900,000 for homeowners to convert their lawns into bee friendly habitats, in order to boost bee populations. (The research that was conducted to start this programs was led by a graduate student from the University of Minnesota that tracked and measured native bee populations for three years before presenting his research for his thesis.) With the continued awareness of the endangerment of pollinators, I decided to do a little further digging to see what kind of resources (if any) Minnesota had put in place to help homeowners with this transition.

Sure enough, the state has put in immense effort into making a pollinator action plan, which they call the Lawns to Legumes Program. The Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources has put together a wonderfully detailed and organized website to provide homeowners with resources for converting their yards.

The Lawns to Legumes Program is a grant based programs that offers reimbursement up to $350 for any and all costs used in establishing pollinator habitats. Applications are due the 28th of February this year, and are awarded in March, to allow enough time for purchasing and planting. The Lawns to Legumes Assistance Grant has no essay portion, just twenty or so questions to be agreed upon and checked off.

Outside of the grant, the Board of Water and Soil Resources will start a public education program this spring, which places pollinator habitats in public spaces and neighborhoods as a visual representation of these habitats and a physical educational space. There will be workshops, coaching, and planting guides to help people along the way. The website also provides sections on frequently asked questions including like What does this program do? Am I eligible? and What insects will benefit? One of the biggest things emphasized on the website was that all the plants listed as a priority to plant, were native to the Midwest and to Minnesota and will support the native Rusty Patched Bumblebee.


Comments

  1. Mary LaVioletteFebruary 18, 2020 at 8:27 AM

    Great article! I'd like to see a sign in the lawns saying something like their lawn is a bee friendly habitat or that the owners are participating in the lawn bee program with a link to the website. This is help educate.

    Mary

    ReplyDelete

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