Join us for a Garden Maintenance workshop providing season specific information on how to maintain and promote the health, performance, and beauty of your garden. Maintenance workshops apply to raingarden, native garden, or native shoreline planting projects.

2022 Maintenance Workshops

• Thursday, March 24 – 5:00 p.m.
• Monday, April 25 – 5:00 p.m.

The Garden Maintenance Workshops are provided FREE and open to all – Dakota County residency is not required!

Bring your friends and family to help clean up the Lakeville area and celebrate Earth Day. The Earth Day celebration runs from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., with cleanup before or after.

Register here.

Need some inspiration for your garden, but don’t know where to start? Want to learn how incorporating native plants into your garden can add amazing water quality benefits to your property? Looking to exercise your green thumb, but want advice on planting pollinator habitat? Knowledge gained through the Landscaping for Clean Water program will inform and empower you to create a raingarden, native pollinator garden, or shoreline planting that will bring beauty and great environmental benefits to your property this year and for many to come!

In 2022, the Landscaping for Clean Water program will celebrate its 16^th year of educating and assisting residents to install beautiful and low-maintenance plantings. Over the years, we have met with close to 5,200 landowners and installed over 660 projects in neighborhoods all around the county. This program is offered to residents through a partnership between the Dakota County SWCD, and local cities and watershed organizations.

This year’s suite of programming – Introduction to Clean Water Class, Design Course, and Maintenance Workshop – will provide skills and resources to landowners at every stage of their gardening journey.

The free Introduction to Clean Water class focuses on general water quality practices of raingardens, native gardens, and shoreline stabilizations. The classes provide an overview of local water quality challenges and provide beautiful and practical ways of reducing runoff pollutants that are causing issues. It also includes information on cost-share opportunities available to Dakota County residents.

After completing the Introduction to Clean Water class, you can enroll in the Landscaping for Clean Water Design Course. This course is a great for those interested in learning about garden planning from the experts, whether you want to know more about site design, plant selection, raingarden installation, or the best plants for our landscape. Participants walk away with a ready-to-install garden!

The Landscaping for Clean Water Maintenance Workshop provides season specific information on how to maintain and promote the health, performance, and beauty of your garden. Maintenance workshops apply to raingarden, native garden, or native shoreline restoration projects.

Join the Vermillion Stewards in distributing native seed and removing garlic mustard at Vermillion River Linear Park in Hastings. Friends of the Mississippi River staff will provide instructions. Please contact Sophie Downey to register. FMR requests limiting groups to 4 or fewer.

Join the Vermillion River Watershed Joint Powers Organization and the City of Farmington to clear out invasive buckthorn around the Vermillion River! Meet at 10 a.m. at the pavilion at Rambling River Park for instructions. Please bring your own tools (loppers, pruners, gloves, safety glasses) and dress appropriately.

Register ahead of time at https://www.vermillionriverwatershed.org/signup-form-buckthorn-removal-at-rambling-river-park/ so we can have a head count. Everyone is welcome – you do not have to live in Farmington to participate.

Join Great River Greening, U of M Extension Bee Lab, and the Xerces Society for a hands-on pollinator capture and release sampling field day. Participants will gain more experience with capture and release practices, as well as pollinator identification.
Sampling field days will take place on multiple days at both Ritter Farm in Lakeville and Spring Lake Regional Park in Prior Lake with morning and afternoon sessions available. With multiple sampling efforts throughout the summer, we will gain a better understanding of how pollinator populations are responding to our restoration efforts.
Additional field days are scheduled for:
– Thursday, July 7
– Tuesday, August 9
– Thursday, August 25
To sign up for Spring Lake Regional Park sampling days, visit https://givepul.se/1abay9.

Join host farmer Kurt Kimber, the Perennial Promise Growers Cooperative, the University of Minnesota, and the Land Institute to tour demonstration plantings of organic Kernza(R) and prairie strips! Water, lemonade, and Kernza snacks provided.

More about Kernza: forevergreen.umn.edu