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Eden Prairie Community Center
16700 Valley View Road, Eden Prairie, MN 55346 7 pm social, 7:20 pm program Free and open to the public |
Wednesday September 12, 2018
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Healthy Soils & Water Conservation
Want a healthier landscape that needs less (or no) supplemental watering? Learn tips to improve soil health to encourage improve root development, rainfall absorption and moisture retention. The presentation will also provide tips for safely and effectively capturing rainwater for reuse. Gregg Thompson is a Watershed Specialist with the City of Eagan. He provides technical support to reduce stormwater runoff impacts on water resources, through land projects and watershed stewardship activities. Originally from a farm in South Dakota, where he developed his fascination with water, vegetation and soil, his background is in landscape architecture with 25+ years of experience working in residential/commercial landscapes and public-land projects. |
Wednesday October 10, 2018
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Gardening with Grasses and Sedges
Join the grass revolution! Learn how to combine the serenity of grasses and sedges with the visual punch of flowers in any garden. No longer seen as ornamental novelties, grasses are a crucial component for low maintenance gardens and an important source of food and habitat for pollinators. This presentation features time-lapse pictures of gardens, showing how grasses and sedges add cohesion to native gardens throughout the year. From garden recruits to designer generals, everyone has a role to play in the sedge resistance. Dustin Demmer is the owner of Blazing Star Gardens, a native plant nursery and landscaping company located in Owatonna, with exceptional public and private gardens located throughout the state. |
Wednesday November 14, 2018
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Bring Nature Home- Creating Wildlife Habitat In Your Yard
Paul Erdmann will present on ways you can provide habitat for pollinators, song birds, and other wildlife right in your own yard or neighborhood park- every little bit makes a big difference! Inspired by Doug Tallamy's book Bringing Nature Home, Paul will discuss why backyard habitat is more important today than ever before. This presentation will discuss invasive, ornamental, and native plants, what wildlife needs to survive and thrive, creating structures and homes for wildlife, and much more! Paul Erdmann is the Conservation Director of the Bush Lake Chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America in Bloomington. Since 2010, he has worked to restore the Chapter's five acre property of prairie, wetlands and woods. He has also worked to get others involved and advocates for clean water, ecological restoration and creating and preserving habitat for wildlife. |
Wednesday January 9, 2019
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The Universe Beneath Our Feet: Restoring Soil Ecosystems
Soil is one of the last truly uncharted territories. It is also the key to solving most of the problems we face today. Healthy soils clean and hold water, re-mediate pollution, sequester carbon, and grow resilient plants. Healthy soil is built by countless microbes working 24/7 - and they need our help! This presentation is for anyone interested in learning more about the vast and complex ecosystem beneath our feet. It will be led by Renaissance Soil, a St. Paul based non-profit dedicated to regenerating soil through education, outreach, and action opportunities.
Kassie Brown, Founder and Educator of Renaissance Soil A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, Kassie has always been passionate about reconnecting people, food, and nature. After studying the soil food web in courses taught by leading soil microbiologist Dr. Elaine Ingham, Kassie decided to make the amazing complexity of life below ground her primary focus. Kassie lives in Saint Paul with her partner and their six chickens, one cat, and innumerable microbes. |
Wednesday March 13, 2019
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Native Landscapes for Bird Enthusiasts One of the best ways to bring birds to your feeders is to grow native plants. Adding native plants to your garden will attract and protect the birds you love while making your space beautiful, easy to care for and better for the environment. Join us as Kaitlyn walks us through the best, most bird-friendly trees, shrubs and perennials to plant in our region, along with how to establish a native garden that birds will love in your backyard. Kaitlyn O'Connor is the education and outreach coordinator at Prairie Moon Nursery in Winona, Minnesota. |
Wednesday April 10, 2019
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Earthworm Invasion in Northern Forest Ecosystems The northern forests from Minnesota to New England have no native earthworms. European earthworms have invaded many of these forests, where they transform soil structure by consuming the organic horizon (aka duff layer) and compacting the A horizon. These changes in soil structure lead to alterations in nutrient and water cycles within the soil. There are many important ecological cascades emanating from these invasions, including concerns for conservation of native plant and wildlife species, losses of forest and crop productivity, facilitation of invasive plant species such as buckthorn and garlic mustard, and soil and water quality. Lee E. Frelich is Director of the University of Minnesota Center for Forest Ecology. He received a Ph.D. in Forest Ecology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1986. Frelich teaches courses in Forest Fire Ecology and Landscape Ecology on St.Paul Campus, and has advised 23 graduate students. Frelich has authored more than 110 publications with 90 coauthors from 14 countries, including major works for Cambridge University Press and Oxford University Press. He is listed among the top 1% of all scientists in the world in the Thompson-Reuters Essential Science Indicators, Ecology and Environment Category. Current research interests include fire and wind in boreal forests, old-growth hemlock and maple forests, invasive earthworms in forests, deer and moose browsing, patterns of tree height, and impacts of climate change. |