UPDATE 3/10: At the Star Tribune, Greg Stanley reports in Thousands of homeowners apply for Minnesota funding to turn lawns into bee-friendly habitats:
Lawns across Minnesota will become a little more colorful and wild this spring after several thousand residents applied for state funding to plant wildflowers, shrubs and other prime bumblebee habitat in their yards.
The state's Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) will select the first 500 or so homeowners this week to receive funding under the trial program, which will pay residents up to $350 to plant pollinator gardens or convert their traditional grass lawns to more bee-friendly yards. Interest has been high enough that the state will keep accepting applications online until early June, said Dan Shaw, senior ecologist for BWSR.
"We knew there were going to be a lot of applications for this, but we didn't know we were going to get close to 6,000 of them in just this first round," Shaw said.
State officials plan to award the money, a total of about $900,000 this year, in three rounds for projects throughout the spring, summer and fall. If the program shows enough promise, state officials will try to bring it back every year in the hope of creating enough new habitat to help stabilize or at least slow the collapse of Minnesota's bee and butterfly populations.
The first step was to see if city and suburban homeowners would be willing or able to turn the expanse of traditional short-cut green lawns, which are deserts for pollinators, into much-needed sanctuaries for the insects, Shaw said.
By the number of applicants, alone, it's clear that the will is there, he said. . . .
Read the rest at the Star Tribune. [end update]
We are big fans of Minnesota's Lawns to Legumes program. Just in? A press release from Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR):
The Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) is now accepting applications for the Lawns to Legumes program for fall 2020 projects. This program aims to increase residential habitat for at-risk pollinators across the state by providing residents with workshops, free planting guides, and opportunities to apply for reimbursement for gardening projects. The new application period opens today and will remain open through June 2, 2020.
BWSR and its program partner Blue Thumb: Planting for Clean Water conducted an initial application period for spring 2020 projects that yielded more than 5,000 applications. Notifications about funding decisions will be sent to spring project applicants later this week. Those who applied for spring project funding but did not receive funding will be automatically considered for the second application period.
Anyone who lives in Minnesota and has an area for outdoor planting can apply to be reimbursed for up to $350 in costs associated with establishing new pollinator habitat in their yards. Awardees provide a 25% match. This match can be in the form of purchasing materials, hiring contractors or as in-kind time spent planting or maintaining plants. All recipients will attend a workshop or view the program’s introductory webinar.
“This program empowers Minnesota residents to make a difference for pollinators in their own living spaces,” BWSR Executive Director John Jaschke said. “Lawns to Legumes offers options for Minnesotans to put conservation on the ground in a way that works for residential properties. A project as small as 10 square feet can provide valuable food sources and habitat for pollinators.”
Apply online at Blue Thumb’s website. For more information on Lawns to Legumes, see BWSR’s website.
Related posts:
- BWSR accepting applications from MN residents, local orgs for Lawns to Legumes Grants
- O! my! Minnesota's #Lawns2Legumes makes Live Your Best Life list in Oprah Magazine
- Lawns to Legumes program earned great media for MN; 5 GOP senators want to rob funding
- MN Corn Growers Association "watched" plan to list new state bee as endangered, part one
Photo: Minnesota's state bee, the rusty patched bumblebee, enjoying a romp through Oswego tea (wild bergamot).
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