When you walk through your neighborhood, it is not uncommon to see a tree, in a boulevard, marked with a big “X” in bright, neon-green paint. This green “X” indicates that the tree is an ash tree, a target of one of the nation’s most infamous insect pests, the emerald ash borer (EAB). This beetle,…
Metro Blooms has recently taken on its largest survey yet. Throughout February we’ve been prepping, administering and entering oodles of data from our first ever KAP study (KAP stands for… Read More →
In the wake of Hurricane Sandy flood water has been contaminated with everything from raw sewage to floating debris to small ocean dwelling organisms. You have to wonder, “where will… Read More →
This past summer, we teamed up with neighborhoods, cities, and the Conservation Corps of Minnesota & Iowa (CCM) to install raingardens in residents’ yards and teach them about sustainable landscaping practices along the way. These efforts were part of our Neighborhood of Raingardens program, which aims to make clean-water planting projects easier and more affordable…
Lake Nokomis Blooming Alleys was a citizen-based, neighborhood-focused project to engage local property owners in efforts to improve water quality. The focus of the work was to use rain gardens… Read More →
Maintaining raingardens to support clean water, provide habitat and save money
(Caption: Some people bring their best game faces to important events. Community Engagement Manager Kimberly Carpenter brought Metro Blooms’ best flower faces. Photo courtesy of Hennepin County Extension). Metro Blooms… Read More →
City of Minneapolis Great Streets Program Recipient Metro Blooms to Unveil Unique Art Installation that Manages Storm Water Runoff Open House to take place at Black Forest Inn on Wednesday,… Read More →
Metro Blooms has worked with the City of St. Louis Park and its Rainwater Rewards program since 2018, when Metro Blooms installed 20 rain gardens in participating residents’ yards. Through… Read More →
Autumn Ridge Apartments is a 17-acre, 366-unit rental community in Brooklyn Park. This is our pilot site for our equitable engagement framework, which includes resident-centered design, installation, and training to… Read More →
On June 18, dozens of community volunteers turned out to help Metro Blooms plant a raingarden at Riverside Plaza, a huge, high-density apartment complex in Minneapolis’ Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. They pulled… Read More →
Board member Norman Greenberg talks about Metro Blooms: I was looking for an organization that would allow me to give back locally and also follow a longtime passion, gardening. The… Read More →
(photo: Garden nurtured by board members Randy and Bridget Rau) On the Community of Gardeners I have been working with plants and learning about plants for 25-plus years. I love… Read More →
Metro Blooms of Minneapolis has taken its work to make alleys greener across the river into St. Paul. Four raingardens, three areas of native plantings and a permeable pavement system… Read More →
The end of a year naturally brings about a desire to reflect on what we as an organization have achieved, what’s made us pound our heads on our desks, and… Read More →
You’ve got this great new permeable pavement in your driveway. Now what? As with everything we value, some level of maintenance is required in order to keep it looking good… Read More →
As I began thinking about a summary of our year at Metro Blooms, I started thinking about what excites me the most about my job. At Metro Blooms, we couple… Read More →
In our first post about the Blooming Alleys Partnership I described the collaborative meeting we had in April, here at Sabathani, with all of our project partners to figure out what… Read More →
Wow. I know I said last year was busy, but 2014 was so busy we hardly had time to blog about, well, anything. Over the last 12 months we’ve worked… Read More →
Barb Gasterland is one of our longtime volunteers. She started out as a garden evaluator in 2005, when her interest in a raingarden movement happening at the time led her… Read More →
For our first Volunteer Spotlight, we have Mark Pedelty, a University of Minnesota professor whose involvement with Metro Blooms stems from some really interesting experiences. You might ask why a… Read More →
As 2013 winds to an end, we find ourselves spending a lot of time planning for NEXT year. At Metro Blooms we’re writing work plans for 2014, anxiously awaiting the… Read More →
Throughout the summer and fall of 2013, Metro Blooms has been working hard with the Conservation Corps of Minnesota and Iowa to install raingardens in five different neighborhoods in Minneapolis.… Read More →
This past Tuesday, myself, Mark Pedelty (a professor at the U of MN), and three of his students had the pleasure of learning about the history of Lake Nokomis from… Read More →
Schnazy new title, and some new information too. This year Metro Blooms’ classic Raingarden Workshops are doing just what the new title says…they’re going beyond the do-it-yourself approach to raingarden design… Read More →
To kick off a new year of staff, board and volunteer biographies (that’s right volunteers, I’m coming for you next) I interviewed Bryan Pynn, Metro Blooms’ director of design and… Read More →
Metro Blooms hosted their annual Garden Awards last Thursday evening at Columbia Manor to recognize those who beautify our city and protect our environment with their gardens. The awards were… Read More →
S. MPLS– This Spring, Metro Blooms has been submersed in the world of Environmental Education. To develop the Blooming Schoolyards program, we teamed up with Minneapolis Public Schools and STEM… Read More →
All of us here at Metro Blooms are excited for our 2012 projects… we have dozens! 😀There are two however that we’d like to describe more in depth: Urban Homeworks… Read More →
When it comes to late fall in Minnesota we’re all lucky to get a perfect warm sunny day that lands on the weekend! Last Saturday (11/12), Metro Blooms and local… Read More →
