GoodGrows

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Gather your gently used craft supplies and attend the Public Works Arts & Crafts Swap.

Public Works Solid Waste and Recycling Facility (60 Sycamore St W)
• Wednesday, July 22 from 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
• Saturday, July 25 from 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

What to bring:
• Fiber Arts: yarn, fabric, crochet hooks, buttons
• Scrapbooking: Paper, adhesives, stamps, and stationery
• Painting: brushes, paint, pastels, and canvases
• Jewelry: Beads, pipe cleaners, floral wire, charms, and clasps

What NOT to bring:
• No electronics
• No broken or unusable items
• No partially completed projects

No items will be accepted after 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 25. All items will be exchanged freely. Unclaimed items will be donated or recycled.

For more event details, visit www.stpaul.gov/reuse.
Payne-Phalen Community Council

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URGENT🚨Cut down your Creeping Bellflower ASAP ‼️ Creeping Bellflower is invasive and a gardeners worst enemy 🙅 If you have any blooming Creeping Bellflower, cut it down to the ground ASAP! Or even better, dig it up! Don’t let it go to seed, it will spread throughout your yard or even your neighbors yard too. American Bellflower (Campanula americana) is great native substitute ✨ #creepingbellflower #invasive #minnesota #gardening #nativeplants

How to Build Firefly Habitat | Firefly.org https://share.google/IzKB7qDaD2W1kIxyw

Firefly.org | Firefly & Lightning Bug Facts, Pictures, Information Fireflies are disappearing! Find out why on Firefly.org. Information on fireflies & lightning bugs including reasons on their decline, plus firefly pictures, facts, and how to catch them.

Yes please, St P Parks and Public Works and Schools Facilities!!

A survey in Minneapolis found that 95% of park users support less mowing. Cities that cut back save up to 36% on maintenance. And the fireflies are coming back.
In the early 2010s, researchers at the University of Minnesota surveyed park users in Minneapolis about mowing frequency. The result was striking. Ninety-five percent of respondents supported less mowing in parks. They preferred natural spaces with longer grass and wildflowers over closely cropped turf. The finding has been cited repeatedly in conservation literature as evidence that public opposition to natural landscaping is weaker than municipal maintenance departments assume.
The financial argument is equally compelling. Studies indicate that park managers can save up to 36 percent on maintenance costs by reducing mowing frequency from 15 times per year to 10. Fewer mowings mean less fuel, less labor, less equipment wear, and lower emissions. It also means less noise. City parks become quieter places.
The ecological benefits extend beyond bees. Fireflies, which have declined across the eastern United States, require undisturbed vegetation and moist soil. Frequent mowing destroys their habitat and disrupts their life cycle. Parks that mow less report increased firefly activity. The connection is direct. When grass is allowed to grow, the insects that depend on it return.
Minneapolis is not an outlier. Cities across the country are experimenting with reduced mowing regimes. In Appleton, Wisconsin, the birthplace of American No Mow May, park participation has grown every year. In Iowa, the Department of Natural Resources encourages landowners to mow roadside ditches only after August 1 to protect nesting birds and pollinators.
The 95% figure matters because it gives city councils political cover. Park managers often worry that residents will complain about tall grass. The Minneapolis survey suggests the opposite. Residents prefer it. They find it more beautiful, more interesting, and more alive. The challenge is not public opinion. The challenge is changing maintenance schedules that have been locked in place for decades.
When a city mows less, it saves money, reduces emissions, and creates habitat. And at dusk, the fireflies start blinking again. That is not a small thing.

FREE GUIDANCE FOR CREATING POLLINATOR HABITAT (a reminder, because it's Pollinator Week): This fall the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources and Blue Thumb - Planting for Clean Water are launching Lawns to Legumes: Habitat at Home, a free educational program for residents offering step-by-step seasonal guidance, access to webinars and resources, and opportunities to connect with a community across the state — without the need for a grant application. Link to Lawns to Legumes: Habitat at Home: https://buff.ly/NrLhejL