Last spring, in a collaboration between our Climate Justice and Buildings and Grounds teams, UUCM was honored to receive a $25,000 grant from Hennepin County to restore woodland and native pollinator habitat on our grounds and address areas of soil erosion. UUCM’s Mindful Steward working group is excited to begin work with Minnesota Native Landscape (MNL) to restore some of the Northside turf to Savannah prairie. The restoration will also include getting rid of invasive plants, replenishing the soil in key areas and planting new pollinator-friendly plants next spring and summer. Please see the photo above for more details on the areas where our work will focus. 

The Hennepin County grant will provide financially for much of this 3 year project, but also relies on a 20% in kind obligation. Fortunately, we believe we can make up the amount through volunteer hours! Please stop by after services in October to chat with Jan Sease or a member of our Mindful Stewards team about the plan.