SSMN Asks City for Yard Pollinator Grants

Sustainable Stillwater MN has requested that the City of Stillwater sponsor a program to pay property owners to convert their front yards and "hell strips" or road verges -- the strips of land between the street and the sidewalk -- to pollinator-friendly gardens.

There is money available for this from Minnesota’s Board of Water and Soil Resources, but in order to get the grants, Stillwater needs to agree to be the administrator of the grants for city land owners.  Sustainable Stillwater MN asked Graham Tait, the city’s Greenstep administrator, to look into this at their last meeting. We are an important habitat for the Rusty Patched Bumblebee, which has declined by 87 percent in the last 20 years, and other at-risk species. Check this webpage for additional updates about the program and sign up to get on the mailing list.