March 2018 Newsletter Roundup

Sections

Upcoming Seminars

  • How-To Design & Install Rain Gardens will feature Brenda Pohlman a Houston County Master Gardener and Becky Benson from Winona Nursery to share insight on plant selection, design and installation tactics, and maintenance tips. The seminar is on Tuesday, March 13th from 6:30-8pm in the choir room at Winona Middle School.
  • Creating Landscapes for Pollinators will feature Beth Markhart from Prairie Restorations to discuss best practices for implementing a prairie or pollinator yard. These natural landscapes can be incorporated attractively into any yard and the native plants not only provide food and habitat for pollinators but help infiltrate water back into the ground. The seminar is on Monday, March 26th from 6:30-8pm in room 205 at Minnesota State College – Southeast here in Winona.
  • Landscaping Approaches for Erosion will feature Todd Larson from Propex Geosolutions and Matt Gordon to discuss tactical approaches for managing erosion and landscaping on slopes. Concepts such as retaining walls, plant or boulder incorporation, and the importance of correct installation will be covered. The seminar will take place on Tuesday, April 3rd from 6:30-8pm in room 106 of Stark Hall on the Winona State University Campus.

 

Save Our Streams

You can become a Save Our Streams (SOS) certified monitor and help test water-quality in your local rivers and streams! This conservation initiative through the Izaak Walton League of America is focused on obtaining a clearer picture of water-quality across the country and working towards restoration. This full day workshop will teach participants how to test water quality by collecting and identifying underwater insects, or macroinvertebrates. Around 40% of Minnesota’s lakes and streams do not  meet water-quality standards due to pollution from excess sediment, nutrients, bacteria or mercury. These waters are considered “impaired.” Impaired waters local to Winona County include the Whitewater River, Rush Creek, Rollingstone Creek and Garvin Brook. Impairments include aquatic life, aquatic recreation, and turbidity. Many are also in need of macroinvertebrates bioassesments. By becoming a volunteer stream monitor you can help provide the data needed to return these rivers and streams back to a health.

The SOS workshop is being offered in Winona, MN on Sunday, March 25th from 9:30am to 5pm. Cost is free to attend, participants will need to bring a bag lunch. Find registration  here.

For those interested who cannot attend on March 25th, the workshop is also being offered in Rochester, MN on Saturday March 24th from 9:30am to 5pm. Cost is $10 and includes lunch, you can register here.

 

Make & Take Rain Barrel Workshop

The U.N. has declared March 22nd World Water Day in order to focus and bring attention to the importance of water. This year’s theme is “Nature to Water’ and explores nature-based solutions to water challenges. By increasing Green Infrastructure, or GI, in our communities we can help reduce floods and water pollution. Green Infrastructure includes a variety of approaches cities can take to allow water to infiltrate back into the ground such as rain gardens, green roofs, porous pavement, and even cisterns or rain barrels!

 

MN GreenCorps members Allison Bender, serving with Whitewater State Park and Lauren Jensen, serving with Winona County have co-organized a DIY rain barrel workshop to provide an opportunity for Winona area residents to get involved with water conservation. Support from Winona County and Healthy Lake Winona has allowed the workshop to be offered for free. Originally being capped at 20 participants, strong interest prompted the addition of 10 more spots allowing for a final total of 30 rain barrels to be created at the event.

Registration for this workshop is now closed but anyone still interested is encouraged to email Lauren at ljensen@co.winona.mn.us to be added to a waiting list. A second low-cost workshop will likely be offered later this summer.

 

The River Starts Here – A Water Workshop for Educators

On June 21st and 22nd Whitewater State Park will host a water workshop for educators of southeastern Minnesota. This collaborative workshop with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will feature resources from MinnAqua, Project WET, Project WILD, and River of Dreams curricula. Not only will participants receive hands-on water-based education activities for both indoors and in the field, they’ll also receive an Annual Minnesota State Parks Vehicle Permit valid through June 2019 (worth $35), and 16 CEUs. Lunch will also be provided each day of the workshop from local farms.

Registration is being capped at 50 participants and cost to attend is $35. Priority registration will be given to science educators in Winona, Wabasha, and Olmsted Counties. There are 10 full scholarships available.

Questions can be sent to Allison via email at whitewatersp.greencorp.dnr@state.mn.us. For more information or to register click here.