 2014 was an exciting year for the Blooming Saint Paul Awards! With over 195 nominations and more than 150 attendees, it was the largest award ceremony yet. This year also marks the tenth anniversary of the program and tenth year of sponsorship from the Saint Paul Pioneer Press. To show our appreciation for their support and all they do to support gardening, the Saint Paul Pioneer Press received an Outstanding Gardening Advocate Award. We would also like to thank our additional sponsors: Capitol Region Watershed District, Kern Landscape Resources, Egg|Plant Urban Farm Supply, Union Depot and The Saint Paul Hotel. It is with the help of our generous sponsors that we are able to continue to hold the Blooming Saint Paul Awards Ceremony each year.
Once again, the Ramsey County Master Gardeners served as the judges for the Blooming Saint Paul Awards. Nearly twenty Saint Paul homes, businesses and people received awards for their exemplary work! The Awards Ceremony was held on Monday, January 26th at a new venue, The Redcap Room, located in the Union Depot, and was catered by D’Amico and Sons Catering. We were fortunate to have Don Engebretson, The Renegade Gardener, as our informative and humorous guest speaker, as well as an appearance by Mayor Coleman.
Photo caption: Award received by the Aurora/St. Anthony Peace Sanctuary Garden
|
 Join forces with family, friends and neighbors alike to clean up the garbage that has recently become exposed due to the melting snow. We invite everyone--families, friends, neighbors to come together to help beautify the city of Saint Paul.
Participating is easy! Register online, and then drop by your selected Cleanup Site any time between 9:00 and 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 18th, to pick up bags, gloves and snacks and meet your neighbors and community members. Then head out and clean up your park or neighborhood of choice. More info at http://www.stpaul.gov/index.aspx?NID=1043.
Register at http://bit.ly/StPaulCleanup2015.
 Longer days and warmer weather means one thing – field season! With over two thousand acres of wild lands in our park system, Saint Paul Natural Resources highly values partnerships with local environmental organizations to help enhance and maintain wildlife habitat in the city. Conservation Corps Minnesota has been a partner in this effort for over a decade. Conservation Corps, a national non-profit affiliate of AmeriCorps, provides youth and young adults with training and job experiences in natural resources work. On average, the Corps employs eight young adults who mentor sixty-six youth each year in Saint Paul’s natural areas. The young adults split their time between specialized fieldwork, such as chainsaw operation and prescribed burning, and leading crews of high school students controlling invasive species and planting native vegetation. Be on the lookout for hardhats in our parks – it just might be the Conservation Corps!
|
 |
|
Saint Paul Natural Resources is partnering with Wilderness Inquiry and Saint Paul Public Schools to engage students in Saint Paul parks. Natural Resources staff members are providing youth with outdoor recreation and environmental learning opportunities to connect students to nature. The partnership is engaging students at 14 participating Saint Paul schools.
In one program, students at Washington Technology Magnet are exploring urban wildlife ecology, learning mapping skills through geocaching, researching the regional park system, and studying stormwater runoff and water quality to prepare for field trips to Trout Brook Nature Sanctuary. As a part of this program, Natural Resources staff will provide hands-on bicycle safety training so that students can navigate to the Sanctuary by pedal power.
We are thankful to Cargill for funding geocaching equipment and the Capitol Region Watershed District for providing field trip transportation for these programs.
Photo caption: Washington Technology Magnet students use GPS units to explore the outdoors
|
 Saturday, May 30, 10:00 am- 2:00 pm
Linwood Park, 860 Saint Clair Avenue (east of Rec Center)
Most St. Paul residential streets during the 1960s were lined with large, mature American elms creating a tunnel-like effect over the road. It has been estimated that 80% of the boulevard trees during that time were American elms. They were the perfect tree - strong, fast-growing, and tolerant of drought. That is, until Dutch elm disease (DED) hit, killing tens of thousands of elms during the 1970s. Today, DED continues to kill old, large elms which currently comprise less than 1% of the total boulevard tree population. If losses continue at the average annual rate, there will be approximately 50 left by 2025.
To mark 50 years since DED was first found in the City, Saint Paul Parks and Recreation in partnership with the Tree Advisory Panel (TAP) and the University of Minnesota will have a special focus on the history and future of the American elm at this year’s annual Arbor Month event.
At the event, arborists will be on hand to answer questions and share useful tree care tips. Exhibitors from local organizations will be offering a variety of tree-related information and disease-tolerant elm trees will be available for free adoption. There will be many other family-friendly activities, including food and music performed by the Midway-Frogtown Arborators.
Above photo caption: Lombard Avenue, 1975 Courtesy, Minnesota Historical Society, [014271-23A]
Below photo caption: Lombard Avenue, 1978 Courtesy, Minnesota Historical Society, [014271-35]
|
 |
 |
Saint Paul Natural Resources (SPNR) is acutely concerned about the decline of pollinators, such as bees, worldwide linked to increased uses of insecticides and habitat loss. While this has been an issue for many years, 2014 saw a large uptick in publicity and educational awareness partially led by efforts of the University of Minnesota Bee Squad. As such, SPNR staff members are currently working on a couple of fronts:
1. SPNR is working with City officials to develop a City Council Resolution taking a position in support of practices that help protect pollinators. At this point, a resolution would be focused solely on internal City staff and the fieldwork they do.
2. SPNR is working with the Bee Squad on the possibility of developing a Community Apiary to provide a home for bees and engage the public on pollinator issues.
Stay tuned for more buzz on SPNR’s pollinator projects. |
