SOUTHFIELD (WWJ) – With the arrival of spring, homeowners and gardeners are beginning the task of cleaning up their yards and gardens to prepare for the growing season. Spring also can bring rain and wind, knocking down branches and trees.

Gardeners, landscapers, and anyone working outside this spring should know that tree branches, firewood,and cleared brush can harbor invasive insects and diseases, making proper use or disposal critical to preventing the spread of tree-killing pests.

Pests can hitchhike undetected on firewood and brush, starting new infestations in locations hundreds of miles away. These infestations can destroy forests, lower property values and cost huge sums of money to control.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, estimates for damage costs in urban areas for just one invasive pest, the Asian longhorned beetle, range from $1.7 billion for nine selected cities to $669 billion for the entire United States.

“Even experts can’t always detect a couple of pin-head size insect eggs or a few microscopic fungus spores hidden in wood. However, these tiny threats are enough to destroy an entire forest,” said Leigh Greenwood, Don’t Move Firewood campaign manager.

“Disposing of tree debris, brush, and other yard waste either on site or through municipal composting are the best ways that homeowners can prevent spreading tree-killing pests as they clean up their yards and gardens this spring.”

Tips for spring cleanup:

• If you don’t want to keep your firewood until next winter, don’t be tempted to take it with you when camping, and don’t bring it along on any road trips. Instead, you can give it to your next-door neighbor, burn or chip it on site, or dispose of it locally.

• Hire a tree service or rent a tree chipper to shred fallen trees and branches and brush into mulch for your own garden beds and landscaping projects.

• Many areas now offer a yard waste recycling program. Contact your municipal solid waste management department for information specific to your area.

• If a yard waste recycling or composting program is not available and you cannot keep it on site, brush, logs, and branches should be disposed of in a local landfill.

• Take care to respect all state and local regulations on the movement of firewood and other unprocessed wood – some areas are subject to serious fines for violations.

• During your spring cleanup, if you notice an insect or tree disease you don’t recognize, take a photo or obtain a specimen of it, and compare it to website photos of the suspected pest.

To learn more about how to prevent forest pests from destroying forests, visit www.dontmovefirewood.org.

SOUTHFIELD (WWJ) – With the arrival of spring, homeowners and gardeners are beginning the task of cleaning up their yards and gardens to prepare for the growing season. Spring also can bring rain and wind, knocking down branches and trees.

Gardeners, landscapers, and anyone working outside this spring should know that tree branches, firewood,and cleared brush can harbor invasive insects and diseases, making proper use or disposal critical to preventing the spread of tree-killing pests.

Pests can hitchhike undetected on firewood and brush, starting new infestations in locations hundreds of miles away. These infestations can destroy forests, lower property values and cost huge sums of money to control.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, estimates for damage costs in urban areas for just one invasive pest, the Asian longhorned beetle, range from $1.7 billion for nine selected cities to $669 billion for the entire United States.

“Even experts can’t always detect a couple of pin-head size insect eggs or a few microscopic fungus spores hidden in wood. However, these tiny threats are enough to destroy an entire forest,” said Leigh Greenwood, Don’t Move Firewood campaign manager.

“Disposing of tree debris, brush, and other yard waste either on site or through municipal composting are the best ways that homeowners can prevent spreading tree-killing pests as they clean up their yards and gardens this spring.”

Tips for spring cleanup:

• If you don’t want to keep your firewood until next winter, don’t be tempted to take it with you when camping, and don’t bring it along on any road trips. Instead, you can give it to your next-door neighbor, burn or chip it on site, or dispose of it locally.

• Hire a tree service or rent a tree chipper to shred fallen trees and branches and brush into mulch for your own garden beds and landscaping projects.

• Many areas now offer a yard waste recycling program. Contact your municipal solid waste management department for information specific to your area.

• If a yard waste recycling or composting program is not available and you cannot keep it on site, brush, logs, and branches should be disposed of in a local landfill.

• Take care to respect all state and local regulations on the movement of firewood and other unprocessed wood – some areas are subject to serious fines for violations.

• During your spring cleanup, if you notice an insect or tree disease you don’t recognize, take a photo or obtain a specimen of it, and compare it to website photos of the suspected pest.

To learn more about how to prevent forest pests from destroying forests, visit www.dontmovefirewood.org.

SOUTHFIELD (WWJ) – With the arrival of spring, homeowners and gardeners are beginning the task of cleaning up their yards and gardens to prepare for the growing season. Spring also can bring rain and wind, knocking down branches and trees.

Gardeners, landscapers, and anyone working outside this spring should know that tree branches, firewood,and cleared brush can harbor invasive insects and diseases, making proper use or disposal critical to preventing the spread of tree-killing pests.

Pests can hitchhike undetected on firewood and brush, starting new infestations in locations hundreds of miles away. These infestations can destroy forests, lower property values and cost huge sums of money to control.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, estimates for damage costs in urban areas for just one invasive pest, the Asian longhorned beetle, range from $1.7 billion for nine selected cities to $669 billion for the entire United States.

“Even experts can’t always detect a couple of pin-head size insect eggs or a few microscopic fungus spores hidden in wood. However, these tiny threats are enough to destroy an entire forest,” said Leigh Greenwood, Don’t Move Firewood campaign manager.

“Disposing of tree debris, brush, and other yard waste either on site or through municipal composting are the best ways that homeowners can prevent spreading tree-killing pests as they clean up their yards and gardens this spring.”

Tips for spring cleanup:

• If you don’t want to keep your firewood until next winter, don’t be tempted to take it with you when camping, and don’t bring it along on any road trips. Instead, you can give it to your next-door neighbor, burn or chip it on site, or dispose of it locally.

• Hire a tree service or rent a tree chipper to shred fallen trees and branches and brush into mulch for your own garden beds and landscaping projects.

• Many areas now offer a yard waste recycling program. Contact your municipal solid waste management department for information specific to your area.

• If a yard waste recycling or composting program is not available and you cannot keep it on site, brush, logs, and branches should be disposed of in a local landfill.

• Take care to respect all state and local regulations on the movement of firewood and other unprocessed wood – some areas are subject to serious fines for violations.

• During your spring cleanup, if you notice an insect or tree disease you don’t recognize, take a photo or obtain a specimen of it, and compare it to website photos of the suspected pest.

To learn more about how to prevent forest pests from destroying forests, visit www.dontmovefirewood.org.

Landscaping provides people with a huge array of benefits from shade to rainwater absorption to the prevention of soil erosion and beautification.

But it delivers the maximum number of benefits to humankind and the planet when it is designed in such a way that it works with nature, instead of against it.

“It is a big waste when we spend lots of time, effort and money to keep something alive and then it dies anyway,” explained Mike Curry, adjunct professor with the horticulture department at the College of DuPage.

“We lose the potential for ecosystem and other benefits from landscaping when it does not grow to the correct size or does not survive at all,” he said. “That is why those of us invested in sustainable landscaping believe in putting the right plant in the right place so that no one has to put lots of energy, effort and inputs like water, fertilizer and insecticides into keeping it alive.”

Over the past five years, interest in creating landscaping that does not harm the environment or that enhances it by helping the ground absorb rainwater has skyrocketed among members of the public and landscape professionals, according to Curry.

Curry teaches his students at the College of DuPage about sustainable landscape techniques ranging from the use of rain gardens and rain barrels, to green infrastructure design, the use of permeable pavers, bio-retention design, construction of green roofs and beyond.

“The state of the landscaping industry has changed dramatically since I studied plant horticulture as an undergraduate in the 1970s,” he stated. “We knew then that much of what we were doing was detrimental to the environment, but there weren’t a lot of options. Since then, the manufacturers have been coming out with more products that allow us to create and maintain sustainable landscapes. That has made a huge difference in the industry.”

Curry should know. He also works in sales and marketing at Midwest Trading Horticultural Supplies of St. Charles and Virgil, which is a horticultural hardgoods supplier that specializes in “non-plant” landscape supplies, such as mulches, composts, structural soil, nursery containers, aquatic supplies, tools and growing media for landscapes, nurseries and rooftops.

Curry also is president-elect of the Midwest Ecological Landscape Alliance (MELA), a movement dedicated to creating, restoring and preserving sustainable landscapes through education, collaboration and networking. Its vision is to transform the green industry so that sustainable design, materials and methods are the professional standard.

Today, homeowners and those who manage large commercial properties can purchase irrigation controllers with smart technology tied to a weather station so that sprinklers do not go off when Mother Nature has already supplied needed moisture.

In addition, nutrient levels in fertilizers have been reduced so that they don’t run off lawns and into estuaries, fostering the growth of algae which smothers fish. Curry even instructs his students to do soil tests before putting chemicals on a property so that they can potentially cut back on the chemicals used.

“Everything in the ecosystem is tied together,” Curry explained. “You want to minimize the fossil fuels used for landscape maintenance, as well as the labor, fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and even water that you use.”

Stormwater should be managed on your property, as well, Curry advised. It should be encouraged to penetrate the ground through rain gardens and permeable pavers, to recharge the water table, instead of diverting it into storm sewers.

“Using plants that are native to this area in your landscape also helps this process because they have deep root systems which help open the ground for more water penetration,” he said.

Keep in mind, he added, that many perennials naturally tend to grow in groupings or communities and therefore, survive better that way. So those who are planting perennials should try to imitate nature and plant their perennials in this same kind of grouping, wherever possible.

Jean Bragdon, operations manager of Lurvey’s Garden Center in Des Plaines, offers a great variety of the plants Curry advocates using, many of which are either native to the Chicago area or are well-suited to our climate and need little tending.

“We are not here to change people’s thinking about their landscaping, but we will help them be responsible and green if they choose to be,” Bragdon, a past president of MELA, explained.

To assist homeowners, Lurvey’s offers handouts and website information (lurveys.com) about suggested plants for different situations, those that “like wet feet,” for instance, versus those that are drought-tolerant.

They also sell many green products ranging from fertilizers that are pet and child-safe, to pavers made of 75 percent reclaimed materials, to tree gators which gather rain water and use it later to water the tree.

“We don’t install these products but offer them to those who want to do it themselves or hire a contractor to do it for them,” Bragdon said. “We tell our customers to look at the whole picture, study the products and plants available and then make their plans.”

She suggests that wise homeowners who cannot afford to execute an entire plan at once plant trees and other large items first, so they can begin to grow and shade their house. Then they should progressively add in the smaller items until the entire plan has been installed.

And if they think that native plants look too weedy for their tastes, consider the many other plants available which are well adapted to the Chicago area and don’t need much attention, such as like Knock Out roses and hydrangeas.

Landscaping provides people with a huge array of benefits from shade to rainwater absorption to the prevention of soil erosion and beautification.

But it delivers the maximum number of benefits to humankind and the planet when it is designed in such a way that it works with nature, instead of against it.

“It is a big waste when we spend lots of time, effort and money to keep something alive and then it dies anyway,” explained Mike Curry, adjunct professor with the horticulture department at the College of DuPage.

“We lose the potential for ecosystem and other benefits from landscaping when it does not grow to the correct size or does not survive at all,” he said. “That is why those of us invested in sustainable landscaping believe in putting the right plant in the right place so that no one has to put lots of energy, effort and inputs like water, fertilizer and insecticides into keeping it alive.”

Over the past five years, interest in creating landscaping that does not harm the environment or that enhances it by helping the ground absorb rainwater has skyrocketed among members of the public and landscape professionals, according to Curry.

Curry teaches his students at the College of DuPage about sustainable landscape techniques ranging from the use of rain gardens and rain barrels, to green infrastructure design, the use of permeable pavers, bio-retention design, construction of green roofs and beyond.

“The state of the landscaping industry has changed dramatically since I studied plant horticulture as an undergraduate in the 1970s,” he stated. “We knew then that much of what we were doing was detrimental to the environment, but there weren’t a lot of options. Since then, the manufacturers have been coming out with more products that allow us to create and maintain sustainable landscapes. That has made a huge difference in the industry.”

Curry should know. He also works in sales and marketing at Midwest Trading Horticultural Supplies of St. Charles and Virgil, which is a horticultural hardgoods supplier that specializes in “non-plant” landscape supplies, such as mulches, composts, structural soil, nursery containers, aquatic supplies, tools and growing media for landscapes, nurseries and rooftops.

Curry also is president-elect of the Midwest Ecological Landscape Alliance (MELA), a movement dedicated to creating, restoring and preserving sustainable landscapes through education, collaboration and networking. Its vision is to transform the green industry so that sustainable design, materials and methods are the professional standard.

Today, homeowners and those who manage large commercial properties can purchase irrigation controllers with smart technology tied to a weather station so that sprinklers do not go off when Mother Nature has already supplied needed moisture.

In addition, nutrient levels in fertilizers have been reduced so that they don’t run off lawns and into estuaries, fostering the growth of algae which smothers fish. Curry even instructs his students to do soil tests before putting chemicals on a property so that they can potentially cut back on the chemicals used.

“Everything in the ecosystem is tied together,” Curry explained. “You want to minimize the fossil fuels used for landscape maintenance, as well as the labor, fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and even water that you use.”

Stormwater should be managed on your property, as well, Curry advised. It should be encouraged to penetrate the ground through rain gardens and permeable pavers, to recharge the water table, instead of diverting it into storm sewers.

“Using plants that are native to this area in your landscape also helps this process because they have deep root systems which help open the ground for more water penetration,” he said.

Keep in mind, he added, that many perennials naturally tend to grow in groupings or communities and therefore, survive better that way. So those who are planting perennials should try to imitate nature and plant their perennials in this same kind of grouping, wherever possible.

Jean Bragdon, operations manager of Lurvey’s Garden Center in Des Plaines, offers a great variety of the plants Curry advocates using, many of which are either native to the Chicago area or are well-suited to our climate and need little tending.

“We are not here to change people’s thinking about their landscaping, but we will help them be responsible and green if they choose to be,” Bragdon, a past president of MELA, explained.

To assist homeowners, Lurvey’s offers handouts and website information (lurveys.com) about suggested plants for different situations, those that “like wet feet,” for instance, versus those that are drought-tolerant.

They also sell many green products ranging from fertilizers that are pet and child-safe, to pavers made of 75 percent reclaimed materials, to tree gators which gather rain water and use it later to water the tree.

“We don’t install these products but offer them to those who want to do it themselves or hire a contractor to do it for them,” Bragdon said. “We tell our customers to look at the whole picture, study the products and plants available and then make their plans.”

She suggests that wise homeowners who cannot afford to execute an entire plan at once plant trees and other large items first, so they can begin to grow and shade their house. Then they should progressively add in the smaller items until the entire plan has been installed.

And if they think that native plants look too weedy for their tastes, consider the many other plants available which are well adapted to the Chicago area and don’t need much attention, such as like Knock Out roses and hydrangeas.

As property owners make plans for their gardens and landscaping this spring, the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD) is offering a helping hand. The MCWD Cost Share program is offering grants to those who want to help protect clean water by installing raingardens, shoreline or streambank plantings, pervious concrete driveways or other stormwater best management practices (BMPs).

Grants are available to any public or private property located within the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District, including residential homes, apartments, businesses, schools or cities. The deadline for most residential projects is May 31.

Polluted stormwater runoff is the biggest threat to water quality across the state and nation. In a natural environment, most rainwater soaks into the ground or is captured by trees or other plants.  

But in developed areas, rainwater runs off roads, parking lots and rooftops and carries dirt, fertilizer, pesticides and other harmful material into lakes, streams and wetlands. The poor water quality that results affects recreation, fish and wildlife, and reduces property values.

“In a sense all landowners have waterfront property, even if they don’t live on a water body,” said Joe Barten, MCWD Cost Share Specialist. “You can do your part to prevent polluted rainwater from entering local lakes and streams. We’re hoping these grants are an incentive to take action.”

The MCWD’s Cost Share programs help property owners make improvements that prevent runoff from occurring. Raingardens are bowl-shaped gardens that collect rainwater and infiltrate it into the ground. Because they typically involve native plants, they require minimal maintenance and beautify the landscape. Pervious pavement allows rainwater to pass through the material and into a drainage system below.

Native shoreline/streambank plantings filter and absorb polluted runoff, prevent erosion by anchoring the soil, deter geese and enhance your yard’s appearance.

The grants can pay for up to 50 percent of these projects, with certain funding limits.

To learn more about the options or to apply for a grant, visit www.minnehahacreek.org/CostShare or contact MCWD Cost Share Specialist Joe Barten at 952-641-4523 or jbarten@minnehahacreek.org.

Headquartered in Deephaven, the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District covers approximately 181 square miles, including Minnehaha Creek, Lake Minnetonka, the Minneapolis Chain of Lakes and Minnehaha Falls.

Follow Southwest Minneapolis Patch on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our free daily email newsletter

As property owners make plans for their gardens and landscaping this spring, the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD) is offering a helping hand. The MCWD Cost Share program is offering grants to those who want to help protect clean water by installing raingardens, shoreline or streambank plantings, pervious concrete driveways or other stormwater best management practices (BMPs).

Grants are available to any public or private property located within the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District, including residential homes, apartments, businesses, schools or cities. The deadline for most residential projects is May 31.

Polluted stormwater runoff is the biggest threat to water quality across the state and nation. In a natural environment, most rainwater soaks into the ground or is captured by trees or other plants.  

But in developed areas, rainwater runs off roads, parking lots and rooftops and carries dirt, fertilizer, pesticides and other harmful material into lakes, streams and wetlands. The poor water quality that results affects recreation, fish and wildlife, and reduces property values.

“In a sense all landowners have waterfront property, even if they don’t live on a water body,” said Joe Barten, MCWD Cost Share Specialist. “You can do your part to prevent polluted rainwater from entering local lakes and streams. We’re hoping these grants are an incentive to take action.”

The MCWD’s Cost Share programs help property owners make improvements that prevent runoff from occurring. Raingardens are bowl-shaped gardens that collect rainwater and infiltrate it into the ground. Because they typically involve native plants, they require minimal maintenance and beautify the landscape. Pervious pavement allows rainwater to pass through the material and into a drainage system below.

Native shoreline/streambank plantings filter and absorb polluted runoff, prevent erosion by anchoring the soil, deter geese and enhance your yard’s appearance.

The grants can pay for up to 50 percent of these projects, with certain funding limits.

To learn more about the options or to apply for a grant, visit www.minnehahacreek.org/CostShare or contact MCWD Cost Share Specialist Joe Barten at 952-641-4523 or jbarten@minnehahacreek.org.

Headquartered in Deephaven, the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District covers approximately 181 square miles, including Minnehaha Creek, Lake Minnetonka, the Minneapolis Chain of Lakes and Minnehaha Falls.

Follow Southwest Minneapolis Patch on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our free daily email newsletter

As property owners make plans for their gardens and landscaping this spring, the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD) is offering a helping hand. The MCWD Cost Share program is offering grants to those who want to help protect clean water by installing raingardens, shoreline or streambank plantings, pervious concrete driveways or other stormwater best management practices (BMPs).

Grants are available to any public or private property located within the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District, including residential homes, apartments, businesses, schools or cities. The deadline for most residential projects is May 31.

Polluted stormwater runoff is the biggest threat to water quality across the state and nation. In a natural environment, most rainwater soaks into the ground or is captured by trees or other plants.  

But in developed areas, rainwater runs off roads, parking lots and rooftops and carries dirt, fertilizer, pesticides and other harmful material into lakes, streams and wetlands. The poor water quality that results affects recreation, fish and wildlife, and reduces property values.

“In a sense all landowners have waterfront property, even if they don’t live on a water body,” said Joe Barten, MCWD Cost Share Specialist. “You can do your part to prevent polluted rainwater from entering local lakes and streams. We’re hoping these grants are an incentive to take action.”

The MCWD’s Cost Share programs help property owners make improvements that prevent runoff from occurring. Raingardens are bowl-shaped gardens that collect rainwater and infiltrate it into the ground. Because they typically involve native plants, they require minimal maintenance and beautify the landscape. Pervious pavement allows rainwater to pass through the material and into a drainage system below.

Native shoreline/streambank plantings filter and absorb polluted runoff, prevent erosion by anchoring the soil, deter geese and enhance your yard’s appearance.

The grants can pay for up to 50 percent of these projects, with certain funding limits.

To learn more about the options or to apply for a grant, visit www.minnehahacreek.org/CostShare or contact MCWD Cost Share Specialist Joe Barten at 952-641-4523 or jbarten@minnehahacreek.org.

Headquartered in Deephaven, the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District covers approximately 181 square miles, including Minnehaha Creek, Lake Minnetonka, the Minneapolis Chain of Lakes and Minnehaha Falls.

Follow Southwest Minneapolis Patch on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our free daily email newsletter

As property owners make plans for their gardens and landscaping this spring, the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD) is offering a helping hand. The MCWD Cost Share program is offering grants to those who want to help protect clean water by installing raingardens, shoreline or streambank plantings, pervious concrete driveways or other stormwater best management practices (BMPs).

Grants are available to any public or private property located within the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District, including residential homes, apartments, businesses, schools or cities. The deadline for most residential projects is May 31.

Polluted stormwater runoff is the biggest threat to water quality across the state and nation. In a natural environment, most rainwater soaks into the ground or is captured by trees or other plants.  

But in developed areas, rainwater runs off roads, parking lots and rooftops and carries dirt, fertilizer, pesticides and other harmful material into lakes, streams and wetlands. The poor water quality that results affects recreation, fish and wildlife, and reduces property values.

“In a sense all landowners have waterfront property, even if they don’t live on a water body,” said Joe Barten, MCWD Cost Share Specialist. “You can do your part to prevent polluted rainwater from entering local lakes and streams. We’re hoping these grants are an incentive to take action.”

The MCWD’s Cost Share programs help property owners make improvements that prevent runoff from occurring. Raingardens are bowl-shaped gardens that collect rainwater and infiltrate it into the ground. Because they typically involve native plants, they require minimal maintenance and beautify the landscape. Pervious pavement allows rainwater to pass through the material and into a drainage system below.

Native shoreline/streambank plantings filter and absorb polluted runoff, prevent erosion by anchoring the soil, deter geese and enhance your yard’s appearance.

The grants can pay for up to 50 percent of these projects, with certain funding limits.

To learn more about the options or to apply for a grant, visit www.minnehahacreek.org/CostShare or contact MCWD Cost Share Specialist Joe Barten at 952-641-4523 or jbarten@minnehahacreek.org.

Headquartered in Deephaven, the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District covers approximately 181 square miles, including Minnehaha Creek, Lake Minnetonka, the Minneapolis Chain of Lakes and Minnehaha Falls.

Follow Southwest Minneapolis Patch on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our free daily email newsletter

As property owners make plans for their gardens and landscaping this spring, the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD) is offering a helping hand. The MCWD Cost Share program is offering grants to those who want to help protect clean water by installing raingardens, shoreline or streambank plantings, pervious concrete driveways or other stormwater best management practices (BMPs).

Grants are available to any public or private property located within the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District, including residential homes, apartments, businesses, schools or cities. The deadline for most residential projects is May 31.

Polluted stormwater runoff is the biggest threat to water quality across the state and nation. In a natural environment, most rainwater soaks into the ground or is captured by trees or other plants.  

But in developed areas, rainwater runs off roads, parking lots and rooftops and carries dirt, fertilizer, pesticides and other harmful material into lakes, streams and wetlands. The poor water quality that results affects recreation, fish and wildlife, and reduces property values.

“In a sense all landowners have waterfront property, even if they don’t live on a water body,” said Joe Barten, MCWD Cost Share Specialist. “You can do your part to prevent polluted rainwater from entering local lakes and streams. We’re hoping these grants are an incentive to take action.”

The MCWD’s Cost Share programs help property owners make improvements that prevent runoff from occurring. Raingardens are bowl-shaped gardens that collect rainwater and infiltrate it into the ground. Because they typically involve native plants, they require minimal maintenance and beautify the landscape. Pervious pavement allows rainwater to pass through the material and into a drainage system below.

Native shoreline/streambank plantings filter and absorb polluted runoff, prevent erosion by anchoring the soil, deter geese and enhance your yard’s appearance.

The grants can pay for up to 50 percent of these projects, with certain funding limits.

To learn more about the options or to apply for a grant, visit www.minnehahacreek.org/CostShare or contact MCWD Cost Share Specialist Joe Barten at 952-641-4523 or jbarten@minnehahacreek.org.

Headquartered in Deephaven, the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District covers approximately 181 square miles, including Minnehaha Creek, Lake Minnetonka, the Minneapolis Chain of Lakes and Minnehaha Falls.

Follow Southwest Minneapolis Patch on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our free daily email newsletter