Like us on Facebook.

Read our blog.

Follow us on Instagram

Check out our events

The urban forest of St. Paul is carefully maintained, but it is crucial to have people in succeeding generations to pass off the baton to. The Youth Engagement in Arboriculture program (YEA) helps secure the future of this valuable resource as it seeks to inspire young people to pursue careers caring for trees. 

The Department of Forest Resources at the University of Minnesota, supported by the City of St. Paul, recently implemented the program to educate youth anywhere from elementary school to high school about arboriculture and urban forestry. YEA also strives to add more diversity to the field by intentionally serving underrepresented groups. Each workshop provides opportunities for kids to climb trees like professional arborists, while being given fun and rewarding challenges, learning about proper safety and communication, and being encouraged to consider following a career path that works with trees. 

Games involving the rigging and suspension systems allow youth to work and learn in teams, and each person is given personal instruction from an expert during their chance to ascend a tree. Certified arborists with St. Paul forestry often help UMN staff and other professionals lead exciting YEA events where each individual can thrive. 

The City of St. Paul also assists the program by co-hosting many of the events at city parks next to public schools. Many young people have never heard of urban forestry or its plethora of benefits before coming to a YEA event, but through their participation they receive a new perspective and exhilarating memories that they will bring into their futures. 

We have some great volunteer opportunities for this fall! Back for the 2018 fall season…. Seed Squad! If you did not join us last year you have a great opportunity to come to one of our drop-in events this year. You will be collecting seeds that will benefit our pollinators and our wildlife. Seeds will be used to supplement natural areas in need of increased plant diversity around the city. The collected seeds will be used in frost seeding in late fall, propagated in our hoop house or sown after the 2019 spring prescribed burn season.

Who: Individuals or small groups. All ages are welcome, but may be best suited for ages 10 and up. Must be able to navigate uneven terrain. No prior experience necessary.

Where/When:

• Monday, September 24th, 5:30-7:30 pm at Trout Brook Nature Sanctuary (1200 Jackson St)
• Tuesday, October 2nd, 5:30-7:00 pm at Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary (4th St E) 
• Saturday, October 6th, 9:30-11:30 am at Trout Brook Nature Sanctuary (1200 Jackson St)

Registration: Pre-registration is appreciated. Please register here.

For more information about both event dates please visit bit.ly/seedsquad2018.

The City of Saint Paul’s Gardening Program was buzzing with excitement as they increased the presence of pollinator and ecological habitat through the installation of three new perennial gardens. This year, with the aid of a grant generously awarded by the Saint Paul Garden Club (SPGC), we utilized the funding to add three new pockets gardens on Saint Paul’s East Side. These gardens blended the two worlds of natural resources and horticulture by keeping aesthetics and the traditional elements of ornamental gardening design. The first new garden is located around the sign at Burns Ave Park in Saint Paul’s Battle Creek area. The second new garden is located at the entrance to Swede Hollow Park off of Beaumont Street. The third and final site we added dwarf honeysuckle, panicle hydrangeas, and switch grass at the main entrance of Trout Brook Nature Sancuary in Saint Paul’s North End neighborhood. These areas have been planted with over 70% of them being ecologically friendly to pollinators, insects, and birds! We introduced several native plants including but not limited to coneflower, black-eyed susan, blazing star, dwarf honeysuckle, prairie smoke, baptisia, columbine, salvia/sage and many more! Again, this project has been made possible through the generous donation by the Saint Paul Garden Club. We thank them for providing us with this opportunity to increase beauty and vitality to our parks; in addition to helping us expand our ecological resources for native birds, bees and insects. 

This year saint Paul Parks and Rec expanded our Mobile Camp partnership with YMCA Twin Cities and other organizations to expand from one day camp at Hidden Falls to a second at Lake Phalen.

Youth at Phalen’s Lake Explorer’s Day Camp sampled aquatic macroinvertebrates (water bugs) from the channel between Round Lake and Phalen and used what they found to determine how clean the water was. Having a diverse assemblage of living creatures in the water, as well as finding sensitive indicator species, can tell us that the water is relatively protected from pollutants like those in stormwater runoff.

The youth found SO MANY different species living in the water –  including pollution sensitive caddisflies, stoneflies, and gilled snails – that they decided the water in Lake Phalen must be pretty clean! They also found some garbage in the water, so there’s room for improvement, but the native plantings around the shore and other land management practices, along with sensible everyday action by people across our city, are protecting our resources.

This summer was buzzing with activity for Saint Paul Natural resources education team! Over the past three months, our educators managed to engage over 1000 community members in gardening and pollinator-friendly activities! Even though temps are dropping, a large majority of our pollinators stay put throughout the winter. Here are a few tips for ensuring that your garden stays pollinator friendly past harvest season.

1. Many native bee species, like the aptly named digger bees are solitary ground-nesters. The dig nests in the soil, creating underground spaces that they fill with food for their young. Heavy mulch layers make it difficult for bees to tunnel through. When remulching your landscaping this fall, consider leaving a few bare patches or paths for the bees.

2. Some bee species prefer to nest in tunnels aboveground. They nest in old stems and tree cavities. Instead of cutting your perennial plants short, consider cutting them to around 12 inches.

3. Be neat, but not too neat. Many bees look for protected sites when building their nests. If you leave a few brush piles behind in the garden, you’ll create prime real estate for pollinator friends.

4. Move bird-feeders away from designated pollinator spaces. If you hang bird feeders right next to the spaces you just prepared for bees, you’ll likely find happy birds, but no bees. By keeping bird feeders away from nesting spaces, you’ll ensure hibernating bees don’t become a convenint snack for avian friends!