‘Environment’ Archives
Protect Pollinators and Your Precious Time
By RUSS HENRY Russ Henry. Photo: MINNEHAHA FALLS LANDSCAPING There are better ways to spend your spring and summer than mowing the lawn. The noise, smell of exhaust fumes, heat, and humidity add up to a less than pleasant chore. How many perfect Saturday afternoons have we sacrificed to appease the fickle gods of sod? Time-wasting may not be the only concern when it comes to lawn maintenance. We also need to ask ourselves if we’re doing right by the environment in the little patch of Earth, we call our lawn. Many homeowners are choosing to reclaim their weekends and support wildlife through a transition to no-mow bee lawns. We need bees. Seventy-five percent of the world’s plants and 30% of human food crops depend on bees and other pollinators to reproduce. The way we manage lawns and landscapes can have a profound impact on bee health. Common landscaping practices such as short mowing and pesticide use leave little support for bees in our landscapes. All of our damage [...]
Hazardous Air Pollution Allowed to Continue in East Phillips
By KAREN CLARK, Former MN State Rep. and H. LYNN ADELSMAN November 10th, 2023: Our neighborhood demands answers from Smith Foundry! PHOTO: Peter Molenaar November 10th, the night after celebrating the victory of raising $3.7 million (which the City demanded East Phillips Neighborhood pay in order to sign the purchase agreement for the Roof Depot site) neighbors and allies rallied, temporarily closing E. 28th St. to demand that Smith Foundry be shut down. Smith Foundry is located across 28th Street from the former Roof Depot site.The Neighborhood learned that a surprise U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) investigation found flagrant air pollution safety violations at Smith Foundry which endangers both workers and residents’ health. That inspection happened in May, but residents just found out about the findings in November.The MN Pollution Control Agency did not inform residents even though the federal EPA report called for penalties – including possible civil or [...]
Cooking Up a Storm with Edible Boulevards
By MICHELLE SHAW Minneapolis Edible Boulevards partnered with participants in both Green Zones to create some amazing new boulevard gardens in 2023. One of them was at the Powderhorn Park Neighborhood Association office, which is already an amazing space as it is. Kieran Morris was the instructor for our Southside participants this year, and Lucy Jarman was the Southside youth intern. We’re so appreciative of them and all the participants who continue to sign up to create a “shared fruit” garden space for neighbors and passersby for a minimum of 3 years. Family and friends plant side-by-side with Minneapolis Edible Boulevards instructor Kieran Morris and 2023 Southside intern Lucy Jarman. PHOTO: Edible Boulevards Our cooking classes for the rest of the year will be on Zoom only, where we invite you to cook along with the instructor in your own kitchen. Registration can be found in the description of each event on our Minneapolis Edible Boulevards Facebook page. Coming [...]
