Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: BEE the change
In May of this year, the Minnesota Governor signed legislation that set aside $900,000 in financial assistance to individual home owners who are willing to install pollinator-friendly native plantings. Yowza. As a taxpayer, I’m not sure where that money is coming from but I am happy to have more pollinator plants. The program helps cover up to 75% of the cost of each conversion project, and up to 90% in areas with a “high potential” to support the endangered Rusty Patched bumblebee.
The state has put together a webinar that’s now on youtube called Lawns to Legumes – your yard can BEE the change.
The initiative comes from the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources. THIS month will be the first round of applications for those dollars on residential property for spring and summer 2020 installations. Here is a link to them for email updates.
Minnesota has been divided into priority areas with most of the Twin Cities metro area as priority one, where there is the most need for pollinator habitat, however, there are plenty of priority two all over the state, particularly in the northern half.
They offer four types of plantings including pocket plantings, pollinator tree and shrub areas, lawns and meadows.
Sorry you folks in Wisconsin, you might not get the opportunity for MN tax dollars, BUT, I have a literal “tool kit” of information from the BeeLab about creating pollinator places for your lawn.
Mine is becoming more and more clover which attracts a ton of bees, they don’t sting.. As well as butterflies.
