The Saint Paullinators of South Como are wrapping up their second season working with the Lawns to Legume Demonstration Neighborhood Grant to install pollinator habitats throughout the South Como Demonstration Neighborhood. Volunteers spend the summer watering and weeding the beautiful Orchard Rec Center Community Garden that has blossomed (literally and figuratively) this year into a fruitful habitat for pollinators. Signs were installed to educate our community on why these spaces are important for our communities.
In June, we again partnered with Sacred Space to install another 5 boulevard gardens west of Chatsworth to continue the pollinator highway in our community. If you’d like to check out all 14 installations and other neighborhood pollinator sites, visit our Saint Paullinator Garden Tour Map.
The final project with the Lawns to Legume funding was a proposed Pocket Prairie at the empty lot on Jameson & Front (765 Front Ave). We hosted community input meetings throughout the winter months as we worked with Metro Blooms to design a small oasis that could be expanded with future funding. While our goal was to host a community planting day late this summer or early fall, we are going to need further soil testing before continuing this project. With the help of the MPCA and our research partners at the University of Minnesota, we hope to plan a path forward this winter for a spring or summer installation.
For more updates on the work of the Saint Paullinators and other pollinator resources, join our Facebook Page or join the D10 Environment Committee meetings the first Wednesday of each month for an update!