Pollinator Plots to be Developed in the City of Marshall
The City of Marshall has partnered with the Lyon County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD). The Lyon County SWCD has been awarded $28,725 for the Pollinator Project through the Board of Water & Soil Resources’ (BWSR) Habitat Enhancement Landscape Pilot (HELP) Program.
Overall, these two projects will result in 17.6 acres of diverse habitat, thriving with vegetation, in hopes of attracting at-risk pollinator species by increasing the quality and quantity of their vital and depleting resources.
This grant will assist in covering the cost of site preparations, seeding, and implementing a multi-year maintenance plan for two targeted locations. Project A is a riparian site along the Redwood River, in Victory Park, which will be an enhancement project on 15.1 acres. Project B is along the bike trail north of Southwest Minnesota State University which will be a full establishment across 2.5 acres.
Also, as part of this plan, community education programming will be provided to help educate, inform, and promote information about pollinator habitat and the benefits to our environment.
Blake Giles, Conservation Technician with the Lyon County SWCD, emphasized the importance of community education and collaboration with the hopes of enhancing pollinators throughout the City of Marshall. He stated, “I feel very confident that our efforts will have a successful first phase and continue onto greater education and more community involvement to show the importance of pollinator habitat in our area.”
The City of Marshall looks forward to working with the Lyon County SWCD and envisions this as just the beginning of a much larger project.
As the city and the Lyon County SWCD work towards enhancing our pollinator habitats throughout the community, it is critical to acknowledge the important role pollinators play in the overall health of our environment.
Photo credit: Alyssa Bloss | Carlton Soil and Water Conservation District