July 11, 2017leslieGardening, Pollinators, Vegetables Did you know that Minnesota is home to over 400 species of native bees? One native, the squash bee, has an especially symbiotic relationship with plants in the squash family. Your pesticide-free cucumbers, pumpkins, watermelons, squash, and cantaloupe will be bigger and tastier if visited by this bee. Squash bees […]
July 4, 2021leslieSustainability “My wife and I recently fulfilled our goal of building a planet-friendly home for our golden years. Sustainable energy consumption and aging in place were our “must-haves.”Read More
January 2, 2025leslieBiodiversity The coyote has long been thought of as an animal of the American West. This was true during the pre-Columbian era when the coyote primarily roamed the Southwest and Great Plains of the United States. Today, however, its ever-expanding range stretches across all of the lower-48 states (and Alaska) and much of […]
November 18, 2024leslieFlower-Visiting Flies and Bugs Much of the attention given to insect pollinators focuses on bees and butterflies with a passing interest given to moths and perhaps wasps. Flies and beetles are sometimes depicted when a photo to promote bee conservation is mistakenly a syrphid, bee fly or, on the rare occasion, a flower […]
January 23, 2021leslieBirds “It is increasingly difficult to find ‘grassland’ birds, such as meadowlarks, within metro areas. Empty fields are typically seen as opportunities for more urban development.Read More
November 6, 2019leslieCommunity, Gardening, Native Plants “My little slice of heaven in the city provides big habitat for wildlife. A small, modest bungalow on a narrow, 40-foot wide lot in Minneapolis, not far from the only gorge along the mighty Mississippi.Read More
August 23, 2023leslieCommunity For the Earth Warriors… by Chris HeeterRead More April 20, 2023leslieCommunity, Grass, Lawns I live in a lovely but turf-dominant Twin Cities suburb in Minnesota. After earning my certification as a Minnesota Master Naturalist and studying the work of noted ecologist Douglas Tallamy, I began to understand the critical importance of transitioning […]
May 24, 2019leslieGrass, Lawns, Pollinators Here are four things you may not know about America’s lawns. Who uses more pesticides? Farmers on their agricultural crops, or homeowners on their lawns? The answer?Read More
Details The Native American Medicine at the University of Minnesota St. Paul’s campus was established in 2003 to educate about food sovereignty, our indigenous ways of food production, our culture and history. The Medicine Garden project welcomes hundreds of interested individuals and groups each summer, Native and non-Native alike, from infants to elders. All community […]
January 2, 2025leslieBiodiversity The coyote has long been thought of as an animal of the American West. This was true during the pre-Columbian era when the coyote primarily roamed the Southwest and Great Plains of the United States. Today, however, its ever-expanding range stretches across all of the lower-48 states (and Alaska) and much of […]
Offering a wide range of native plant foods from the natural habitat in your yard is the best option for bird nutrition, but bird feeders are nonetheless helpful in the winter. In an excellent article by Karen Bussolini (For the Birds), she quotes entomologist Doug Tallamy: “We have modified habitats so much in suburbs and […]
Throughout the millennia, the astounding beauty of the butterfly has inspired the imagination, the arts, literature, and poetry. Attracting these magnificent creatures into our own yards requires just three basic ingredients:larval host plants, nectar plants, and sheltering habitat. No Larval Host Plants = No Butterflies The first ingredient, larval host plants, are the plants caterpillars […]
“It is increasingly difficult to find ‘grassland’ birds, such as meadowlarks, within metro areas. Empty fields are typically seen as opportunities for more urban development. But, I discovered a particular area adjacent to I-35W north of Minneapolis/St. Paul that surprisingly hosted several Eastern meadowlarks: their flute-like calls mixing with the noise of busy freeway traffic. […]
Throughout the millennia, the astounding beauty of the butterfly has inspired the imagination, the arts, literature, and poetry. Attracting these magnificent creatures into our own yards requires just three basic ingredients:larval host plants, nectar plants, and sheltering habitat.Read More