Metro Blooms

Last month we wrapped up our first Sustainable Landcare Training of the season at the Regional Apprenticeship Training Center! 🌼🌟 During three in-person sessions, trainees learned firsthand about watersheds and the importance of stormwater management. They also gained hands-on experience identifying native and introduced plants, conducting inspections of Stormwater Best Management Practices, and conducting a pollinator survey. We were grateful to have guest speakers from the City of Minneapolis Water Resources division, the Black Women's Wealth Alliance and Dragons Wynd! Several participants are now taking part in a paid next-step mentor program, matched with mentors to support them as they explore green careers and pursue their personal, educational and career goals. Learn more about the Sustainable Landcare Training: https://lnkd.in/gVckC45y #SustainableLandcare #GreenInfrastructure #RainGarden #GreenCareers

Have you heard about Lawns to Legumes Garden Tour Day? 🦋🌸 On Saturday, August 3rd from 9am - 12pm, Lawns to Legumes coaches, previous participants, and other DIY wildlife gardeners are hosting neighborhood native garden tours across Minnesota. Get inspired and connect with folks who are planting for pollinators in your area! Visit Blue Thumb’s Garden Tour Day webpage for a map of tour sites or to sign up as a Native Garden Host: https://lnkd.in/gGiWa6Hc #Lawns2Legumes #PlantNative #PollinatorGarden

Do you have a bee lawn or are interested in starting one? 🌱🐝 University of Minnesota researchers are conducting a brief survey on bee lawn establishment, and would appreciate your valuable input! Your feedback will help directly guide future research and a subsequent field guide for best practices in successfully establishing a bee lawn. As part of the survey, you can opt-in for a chance to win a $100 gift card via random drawing to a local supplier of bee lawn seed. Access the survey here: https://lnkd.in/gHcrGyAT

Stormwater features are everywhere! 🌱💧 Many public schools capture their stormwater runoff through rain gardens and other vegetated stormwater best management practices (BMPs). Our landcare crew helps maintain Minneapolis Public Schools rain gardens to make sure they are properly functioning. Cutting back dead plant material, weeding, and removing anything blocking rain garden inlets helps them keep capturing stormwater runoff and protecting water quality! Pictured: Rain gardens at Burroughs Elementary School and Field Elementary School #RainGarden #SustainableLandcare

All of our Turf to Pollinator Gardens projects are different. 🌳🌾🌼 At Minnehaha Park, it’s mostly trees and shrubs. At the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden in Minneapolis’ Theodore Wirth Park, there’s a new pollinator meadow. And Lebanon Hills Regional Park is a good place to see examples of planting for shade and for sun. What all of these projects have in common? Replacing turf grass with native plants to bring back pollinators and other wildlife, inspiring people to do the same at their own homes. In our latest blog post, we share about the journey we’ve been on with the program in partnership with Wilderness in the City and many other collaborators. Take a peek: https://lnkd.in/gZvPAG5f #PlantForPollinators

Neighborhood of Rain Gardens is in full swing! 💧🌱🏘️ Last month, our staff trained a crew of Conservation Corps Minnesota & Iowa members in installing their very first rain garden in Minneapolis's Lynnhurst Neighborhood! Since then, they’ve been busy installing rain gardens in City of St. Louis Park with our Landscape Design Assistants. Through Neighborhood of Rain Gardens, we partner with neighborhoods and cities to make it easier and less expensive for residents to get a rain garden in their yard. Our crews prep the rain gardens, and residents get to do the planting! Learn more about the program at https://lnkd.in/gzySsxcN #RainGarden #PlantForCleanWater

What have we learned about planting for pollinators since the start of the Lawns to Legumes program? Through our Blue Thumb education program, Metro Blooms has been coordinating Lawns to Legumes’ pollinator habitat program with the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources for the past five years. They recently shared a blog post reflecting on the journey we’ve been on with Minnesotans working to “bee” the change. What we’ve found: 🤝 Residents are leading the way. 🌟 Everyone can play a role. 💞 Supporting pollinators builds community. 🌱 Pollinator habitat projects help address climate change. 🐝 We are making a difference! Take a look at the blog post for more: https://lnkd.in/ga7VzjdQ #Lawns2Legumes

How do we get our Blooming Boulevards ready for planting with community? 🤔 Before planting time, our Design+Build install crew preps the boulevards. This includes removing existing sod and excavating the boulevards to slightly below the grade of the curb to allow stormwater to flow from the sidewalk into the garden. It can take a lot of muscle (and machine!) power. The equipment shown is a dingo, which helps us dig and carry sod. Then we add mulch! Special thanks to the Design+Build crew for your behind-the-scenes work this season! 💪 #BloomingBoulevards #RainGardenPrep

We love partnering with community! This summer, we've been working with residents at Highland Gables Apartments, a rental community in Brooklyn Park, to redesign their outdoor spaces for more sustainable practices and better quality of outdoor living. 🌱 🦋 This June, we had two planting events with the community where many residents took part and were paid for their time. We planted a large rain garden that will soak in all of the runoff from the parking lot, and put in native plants by the playground. 🌼 During planning, residents wanted gathering places as well as play features for children, and the new outdoor space will include a new patio, picnic table, grills, and shade cover. We're making it happen together! 🙌 #RainGarden #CommunityGreening #SustainableLandscaping

Metro Blooms Design + Build has an opening for a seasonal landcare crew member! 🌼 Landcare crew members help maintain native plantings and other sustainable landscapes of various sizes. Our crew members take pride in spending time with established gardens, pulling weeds, pruning plants, repairing erosion, and sustaining urban wildlife habitat in gardens and rain gardens of various sizes across the Twin Cities. Individuals with a minimum of 1 year of landscape maintenance or gardening experience, including graduates of the Sustainable Landcare Training, are encouraged to apply. The position will remain open until filled. Learn more at https://lnkd.in/eBZidpk #Hiring #Landcare #SustainableLandcare