Lake Elmo Park Restoraations

A nonprofit fundraiser supporting

Pollinator Friendly Alliance Inc

If we build it they will come; Rusty patched bumble bee sanctuary

$509

raised by 11 people

$22,000 goal

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Updates (1)

New update

Update posted 24 days ago

July 2025: Milk vetch in the pollinator plant propagation corridor is going bonkers! Next to the native prairie which is also thriving.

July, 2025: The native prairie next to the old barn at Lake Elmo Park Reserve is now in its third year and is thriving. This prairie replaced an old agricultural field.

In our work with Washington County Parks, we help mentor new world and old world ecological tactics instead of herbicide and high impact approaches. Here Washington County employed the "mold board" tactic which is and old world approach using a tiller to overturn soil to basically cook the old unwanted vegetation. This 40 acres was then seeded and overseeded with native prairie seed carefully selected for the specific soil type in each section by Steve Thomforde, senior ecologist and seed master. This area is now home to a variety of wildlife, birds and pollinators.

Despite the fact that pollinators are responsible for our most nutritious foods, crucial for biodiversity, create the broad base of the food chain, and pollinator our natural world, pollinator are in peril. The Rusty patch bumble bee is an endangered species and many more pollinators like the Karner blue butterfly and Monarch butterfly are at risk. We are working hard to tell the world how to help, reduce pesticide use, and building habitat.

If we build it, they will come. Loss of habitat and fragmentation of landscape is one of the biggest issues contributing to the decline of pollinators. Native plant species will be carefully considered to mimic a native oak savanna to support at-risk specialist pollinators who need plants specific to the oak savanna ecosystem in the heart of Rusty patch territory, Washington County.

The restoration work at Lake Elmo Park Reserve is ongoing and includes citizen science and public education components. Over the last six years we accomplished a lot: 1) installed a native plant propagation corridor, 2) converted 40 acres of old ag land to native prairie, and 3) enhanced the shoreline of Eagle Point Lake oak savanna and trail with pollinator habitat. This is an exciting opportunity to continue to improve over time. Pollinators and birds are thriving in these habitats and there's much more to do.

Conversion from old ag field to native flowering prairie 2024