The Rusty Patched Bumble Bee, an important pollinator once common in the Midwest, is now on the endangered species list—and you can help save it. The Lyndale, Kingfield, and Tangletown neighborhoods, with funding from the MN Board of Water and Soil Resources, are helping to rebuild pollinator habitat by creating a path- way of native plant gardens from Lake Street to Minnehaha Creek.
Your yard could be one of up to 35 chosen to increase the feeding sites the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee needs to survive, breed, and perform its essential role in our ecosystem. Small gardens with the right plants can make a big difference!
Apply now and your yard could become a link in the Nicollet Avenue Pollinator Pathway!
Applications are due by September 15, 2022.
To ensure a corridor that is as friendly as possible to this pollinator, priority will be given to sites with a minimum of 4–6 hours of sun each day and within 1⁄4 mile of several larger Pollinator Pathway community gardens also in development. If accepted, a sliding scale participation fee of $10-30 is due by September 29, 2022.
Applicants must be residents of the Lyndale, Kingfield, or Tangletown neighborhoods (Lyndale to 35W, Lake Street to Minnehaha Creek). If you are a renter, you will need the support of your landlord to participate in this project. Project participants must agree to prepare the site, plant the garden (help will be available to those who need it), then maintain it for at least five years.
If your property is selected for the project, you will be provided with native plants favored by the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee. Local Master Gardeners will help you design a garden to suit your site and will provide advice on how to:
- naturally eliminate turf grass
- prepare your soil
- plant your garden
- nurture the plants so they grow and flourish for years to come
Lawns to Legumes Education Event: Creating pollinator habitat in your yard
Join us on September 29 at 6:30pm for our South Nicollet Avenue Pollinator Pathway project kick-off event. At this educational event, University of Minnesota Extension Master Gardeners and volunteer landscaping experts will present information on how to plan, implement and maintain pollinator habitat for the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee (and its 450+ pollinator friends). Join us on September 29 and learn how you can help expand our network of pollinator habitats and save our state bee. Location will be announced soon.
