Beautiful Gardens Do Beautiful Things!
Creating a beautiful garden to improve water quality, benefit pollinators, or protect your shoreline is what the Landscaping for Clean Water program is all about!
One of the Dakota SWCD’s programs for Dakota County residents is Landscaping for Clean Water which includes free educational classes, garden design courses, natural shoreline and garden maintenance classes, and grants for homeowners that install a raingarden, native garden, or native shoreline planting. The goal of the Landscaping for Clean Water program is to teach residents how to beautify their yard while also protecting local water quality and providing habitat for pollinators.
Dakota County residency is not required to participate in the classes; however, grants are only available for Dakota County residents and Ramsey County residents within the Lower Mississippi River Watershed which includes the west side of the City of Saint Paul.
For a visual overview of the LCW program, please click on the image “Let’s Talk Landscaping for Clean Water”
on the right, or scroll down for additional program information.
INTRODUCTION CLASS
The Landscaping for Clean Water Introduction Class focuses on general water quality practices of raingardens, native gardens, and shoreline stabilization.
We provide an overview of Minnesota’s watersheds and our local water quality challenges, providing beautiful and practical ways to reduce runoff pollutants from your yard that might be contributing to water quality issues, along with improving pollinator habitat.
The Landscaping for Clean Water (LCW) Introduction Class is FREE, and registration is open to everyone. You only need to attend the LCW Introduction Class in person or online, one time – no need to repeat if you decide to enroll in the Design Course!
This class is a pre-requisite for enrolling in the Design Course.
Typically there are five Landscaping for Clean Water Introduction classes scheduled each season; one online live class and
four in-person classes. Classes start at 6:00pm and are 1-1.5 hours in length.
DESIGN COURSE
After completing the Landscaping for Clean Water Introduction Class, you are eligible to enroll in the Landscaping for Clean Water Design Course. While the Landscaping for Clean Water program is open to anyone, the $250 cost share grants are only available to Dakota County residents and Lower Mississippi River Watershed Maintenance Organization residents in Ramsey County.
The Landscaping for Clean Water Design Course helps residents like you create and install beautiful landscaping projects that are unique to your yard! This course is a great opportunity to learn about garden planning from the experts, whether you are interested in finding out about site design, plant selection, raingarden installation, or adding native plants to the landscape.
NATURAL SHORELINE CLASS
Do you own a shoreline in Dakota County? The Dakota County Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD) will host a Natural Shoreline Class in collaboration with the Lower Mississippi River Watershed Management Organization (LMRWMO). We will show you how a natural shoreline installed with native plants can protect your shoreline, beautify your property, and provide habitat for pollinators and aquatic animals. We’ll talk about the process to install such a project, necessary permits, as well as technical assistance and grants to make it a reality. There is no charge to attend this class.
Typically this is a 1-hour in-person class, that starts at 6:00pm.
GARDEN MAINTENANCE CLASS
Join us for a Garden Maintenance Class that will provide season specific information on how to maintain and promote the health, performance, and beauty of your garden. The Garden Maintenance Class applies to raingarden, native garden, and native shoreline planting projects and will be held live virtually.
The Garden Maintenance Class is typically a 1-hour class and is provided FREE and open to all – Dakota County residency is not required.
THANK YOU TO OUR WMO PARTNERS
