Hiawatha NF expands pollinator garden through FY08 native plant funding

The Rapid River District office native plant garden doubled in size due to funding provided from a native plant program in FY08.

Thanks to funding provided to the Hiawatha NF from the Washington Office we were able to expand the existing native plant garden at the Rapid River Ranger Station and create an interpretive site for pollinator species habitat.

Funding allowed the Forest to contracting botanist Dan McConnell to implement this project. Dan planned all the work including collecting seed used for the project and planning its propagation methods at the Forest greenhouse. Then he organized and supervised a workshop session held during the National Monarch Butterfly Habitat Restoration Workshop earlier this year; workshop participants planted nearly 1000 plugs for this project. Dan designed the expansion of the existing garden and then cut the landscape timbers and supervised volunteers during the implementation phase of the pollinator garden. In addition, Dan wanted to save all the removed sod from the garden expansion area. It was removed in rolls, wrapped for winter storage and will be used in the spring of 2009 to replace sod damaged from snowplowing.

All the native seed used for propagation was collected from the Forest or purchased from Borealis Seed Company located in Big Bay, Michigan. Species selected were those currently being used by pollinators within restored monarch openings within a few miles of the Rapid River office and included common milkweed, blazing star, black-eyed Susan and bee balm.

The project also has an educational component. This upcoming winter Dan is preparing an interpretive brochure for the pollinator garden so Forest visitors can learn more about pollinators and their habitat requirements. In addition, interpretive signs for each native plant are currently being developed and will be placed by each native plant species.