Woodbury residents aiming to spruce up their lawns with something more ecologically friendly have a friend in the state's Lawns to Legumes program. As the city's official announcement reported, the program offers a financial leg-up for nature enthusiasts, with grants up to $400 available for those ready to transform their turf into a pollinator haven. Applications are open for installations of bee-fostering plants, native shrubs, and trees, with residents having until May 15 to get their submissions in.
The green initiative isn't purely about throwing seeds into the wind and hoping for the best. Rules are rules, even in the gardening game. According to the city's guidelines, one must ensure that grass heights don't turn into miniature forests, with an 8-inch cap on growth. City of Woodbury doesn't want gardens, including native plantings, to morph into a weed party. So, maintenance is key, as well as edging and mulch use to give it that neat and orderly edge. And for those planting near roads or utility lines, best to check with Gopher State One Call before turning the soil, unless you enjoy accidental run-ins with utility cables.
Supporting this push for biodiverse backyards, the Washington Conservation District is offering up free advice and site visits. Impressively, they're also ready to help the local green thumbs with navigating additional grants provided by watershed districts. For anyone considering a dip in this environmentally friendly pool, grab your phone and dial 651-330-8220 or zip across the digital universe to schedule your site visit online.
With the clock ticking towards the May 15 deadline, the Lawns to Legumes program is waving from the horizon, its arms laden with cash incentives for those taking up the gauntlet of eco-responsible land stewardship. Should you feel the call to action and desire a landscape teeming with the buzz of grateful pollinators, leap onto the grant train. Your friendly bees—and Woodbury's 3,500 acres of public land playing home to a spectrum of native wildlife—will show their gratitude in abundance.
