I noticed my neighbors doing this in their backyard. At first, I thought it was odd and might attract unsavory characters to the neighborhood and bring down property values. Now, I'm a card carrying member of the Rewild Club. It's best to explain.

I took a hard look at my yard and ask myself…What do I want from this space?

• A peaceful shady retreat?
• Home grown food?
• Entertainment central?
• Ruckus area for kids and pets?

What do I need to make that happen? A patio, a water feature, play area, shade trees, garden plot, privacy screening, a lawn area for recreation, disco ball and dance floor, an amphitheater for Shakespeare in the Park night?

I realized that my yard was mostly seldom-used lawn and none of the other fun stuff.

Amphitheater and disco balls aside, I started to pull together a plan. The biggest surprise was how much better my yard would be if I did less work. I opted to rewild unused space. Along the perimeter of my yard I stopped mowing, I stopped raking, I stopped fertilizing, I stopped weeding, and I stopped watering. In other words, I released by inner teenager. I let trees and shrubs that popped up keep growing, and planted a few for fall color, nesting, fruit and flowers. In a few years, instead of staring at a fence that needed maintenance, I had a living screen of trees and shrubs. Birds and butterflies came back to enjoy the flowers and fruits of my lack of labor, and they turned out not to be the unsavory characters I had imagined. The shade makes hot summer days in the yard enjoyable and cuts my lawn watering in half. There still plenty of lawn for kids and pets, but now the space is a haven for the family and a little wildlife.

Tips for the would-be rewilder.

1. Just mow less.
2. Baby steps. Pick a small area to try first. Consider it a journey of many years, not a mountain to climb on a single trek.
3. Forget tidy. Wild areas can be messy. You can keep the edges formal if you want.
4. Pick up ID books for birds, flowers, and trees so you can get to know your new neighbors. Books? Did he say books? I think he meant App.
5. Avoid using chemicals where the wild things are.
6. Think vertically if you have a small space. Tall trees, medium sized trees, shrubs, wildflowers and grasses can call have a place in a very small area.
7. Add a water feature to ramp up the wildlife appeal.
8. Plant diversity is good. Variety will make the space more interesting and resistant to stressors like disease and drought.
9. Speed up the process with affordable bare root trees and shrubs from your local conservation district annual tree sale.
10. Avoid invaders. Learn a few of the invasive plants in your area and try to keep them out of your wild space.
11. Let your neighbors know why you would do such zaniness.

Mary Jo Truchon and her family moved to Blaine over 45 years ago from Chicago. At that time, Blaine was on the outskirts of the Twin Cities and seemed to be the edge of civilization. Nature was always close and Mary Jo thrived in it. Moving to Blaine from the city of Chicago felt like moving someplace wild and deeply connected to the natural world. In fact, the Truchon's home was in a remnant prairie and surrounded by oak savannah. Living so close to the natural resources of the county further solidified her passion to protect them for future generations to enjoy.

Mary Jo's love of nature started early in her life. She recalls family trips to the Wabash River as well as to the sandy shores of Lake Michigan where the waters were always warm in the summer. She fell in love with water and instilled these same values in her own children and 15 grandchildren through trips to Lake Superior in Duluth, the Coon Rapids Dam, Lake Mille Lacs, the Rum River, and more. Mary Jo says that Minnesota was a fabulous place to raise her family. Even now that her children are grown, the family still gathers around water with Taylor's Falls being the destination of choice this past Easter as it is a family favorite for picnicking.

In addition to raising her family, Mary Jo pursued her interests in government, art, and nature by volunteering with several organizations. She was on the board of the League of Women Voters for many years and also spent 20 years volunteering with a group of environmental educators to conduct free outdoor programs for youth in county parks. The Heritage Lab reached thousands of kids each year with hands on programs about the natural history of Minnesota. This program was then taken over by the Anoka County Parks with funding from Connexus Energy. To this day, Mary Jo is incredibly proud of her role educating youth about the natural resources and history of our area and is excited to see those efforts continued today.

For approximately 20 years, Mary Jo has been an asset to the ACD Board of Supervisors. Today, she serves as the Board Chair helping to guide the work of ACD in Anoka County. In her free time, she enjoys painting and walking on the boardwalks through the Blaine Wetland Sanctuary.

Reach out to Mary Jo or any of the ACD Board Supervisors here: www.anokaswcd.org/about-us/board-of-supervisors

Staff from Anoka Conservation District, Critical Connections Ecological Services, and Minnesota Landscape Arboretum will work with volunteers the last week of April to salvage up to 1,000 State Endangered Rubus stipulatus from a development site and transplant them into protected sites.

Rare plant rescue has been made possible with MN DNR's permit application for the Propagation of Endangered or Threatened Species, which was developed in 2019. Since the release of the permit application, approximately 7,500 State Threatened lance-leaved violets (viola lanceolata) and 150 State Threated swamp blackberry (rubus semisetosus) have been salvaged from three development sites and transplanted into protected sites where their populations are monitored.

To learn more about rare species in Minnesota, go the MN DNR's Rare Species Guide:https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/rsg/index.html

The project design and bid packet to stabilize approximately 1,500 linear feet of severely eroding riverbank within Mississippi River Community Park in Anoka were recently finalized. Contractor bids are due in mid-April, and project construction is anticipated this summer during periods of low water to maximize riverbank access. Below is an overview of the planned stabilization process.

• A section of the walking trail will be removed during construction but will be replaced following stabilization of the riverbank.
• Mature tree and vegetation removal will be required for project access and grading.
• The nearly vertical bank will be graded to a stable slope.
• Hard armoring with rock at the bottom of the slope will provide protection against high flows and ice. The rock will be placed over a layer of filter fabric for protection of the underlying soil.
• Live cuttings and plant plugs will be planted just above the riprap for additional stability, nearshore wildlife habitat, and a more natural appearance.
• The slope above the riprap will be vegetated with a native seed mix, shrubs, and trees.
• Additional features of the stabilization include strategic placement of boulders to provide recreational access points for fishing and viewing the river as well as small outcroppings to create a diversity of flows and enhance aquatic habitat.

Eroding riverbanks contribute to the Mississippi River's sediment and turbidity impairments through direct loading of sediment and nutrients that degrade overall water quality as well as aquatic and nearshore habitat. Stabilization of actively eroding riverbanks is one of the most cost-effective practices to improve water quality because 100% of the sediment reaches the waterway.

The project is funded by a Clean Water Fund grant, a Watershed Based Funding grant, and match from the City of Anoka. Watch for more updates from ACD and the City of Anoka as the project progresses.

May 11th 2021 Update:

A total of 12 bids were received and reviewed by staff from the City of Anoka, Hakanson Anderson, and Anoka Conservation District. The bids were competitive and many were within the available budget. The City of Anoka City Council approved the bids and awarded the project to the low bidder at the May 3^rd meeting. A pre-construction meeting will be held with the selected contractor within the next month to review all project elements and ensure the project gets off to a smooth start.

ACD staff provide technical assistance for a wide variety of projects each year. Many of the requests for assistance come directly from landowners interested in improving natural resources or addressing concerns on their properties. Technical assistance is also provided for projects in collaboration with county, city, and watershed entity partners. The table to the right summarizes 2020 technical assistance provided by ACD staff.

Assistance begins with a site consultation. Consultations typically include a conversation with the landowner, desktop review of the site using GIS mapping software and available data sets, and a site visit to discuss options. If the landowner is interested in pursuing a project, ACD can provide design and installation oversight services. Maintenance guidance is also provided for previously installed projects.

Additional information about active projects and those previously completed is available on ACD's project tracking map.

https://www.arcgis.com/apps/Shortlist/index.html?appid=d1e76c3d808743c1b149bde24c990894

The Anoka Conservation District is excited to have new survey gear. A survey-grade GPS unit has been added to our existing robotic total station survey unit. This gear increases the speed and accuracy (sub-centimeter) of our designs and our as-built checks of projects during or after construction. It will be used for riverbank stabilizations, rain gardens, and many other kinds of projects.

The survey gear was purchased by the Metro Conservation Districts, a coalition of soil and water conservation districts in the metro. This gear is shared with the Isanti and Sherburne Soil and Water Conservation Districts. ACD staff have taken a lead role in setting up and learning the new gear, and will be training the other SWCDs.

Carrie Taylor, ACD's Restoration Ecologist, enjoys all manner of outdoor adventures including skiing, gardening, camping, and canoeing. She always makes time to explore nature, go on hikes, and "hunt" for wildflowers with her family. She loves bringing her daughters out with her even though she sometimes has to remind them that "skiing… hiking… canoeing… it's what we do!"

Prior to living in Minnesota, Carrie lived in Illinois, Indiana, Oregon, Montana, and Sweden. Since moving to Minnesota 6 years ago, Carrie has made a point of exploring all the natural areas the state has to offer. One of Carrie's favorite places in Minnesota that she has explored thus far is the Superior Hiking Trail at Bean and Bear Lakes. She appreciated the topography, the wildness, and the beautiful multi-layer beaver dam complex that she and her family stumbled across.

Carrie is also active with the Master Gardener program and enjoys volunteering with many organizations especially coordinating landscape design and installation with new homeowners through Habitat for Humanity.

Outside of Carrie's work conducting natural resource monitoring, inventory, assessments, and planning, and coordinating ecological restoration projects for the District, she is involved in landscaping and adding native and edible plants at her daughters' schools and helping lead some of their Girl Scout activities.

To contact Carrie, reach out to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or (763) 434-2030 x19. 

District Capacity funds (DCF) have made the greatest difference in Anoka Conservation District (ACD) operations by serving as a highly adaptable funding source. We use DCF to tackle critical but small tasks that elevate our overall function and efficiency. Most individual projects and activities funded with DCF cost less than $5,000.

Education and Outreach: DCF has been used to create a natural resources Blog that is continually updated with timely content, a quarterly e-Newsletter that is distributed to key stakeholders and the public, and outreach materials including brochures, displays and animated videos; all of which are available at https://www.anokaswcd.org/educational.html.

Inventory: ACD completed riverbank and lakeshore condition photo inventories for our major rivers (Rum and Mississippi) and many lakes, totaling over 50 miles of shoreline. Photos are uploaded to Google maps where they are available by using the StreetView function for the public, and ACD staff when fielding calls from landowners.

Planning and Analysis: Streambank and lakeshore photos were analyzed to determine erosion location and severity, enabling ACD to identify and rank potential projects based on cost-effectiveness for water quality benefits. This was the foundation to secure many grants. Similar analysis of wetland restoration opportunities facilitates targeted outreach efforts.

Technical Capacity: Building staff expertise through training and technology upgrades, including design software and survey equipment.

Technical Assistance: In 2020, DCF was used to help complete 198 site consultations, 19 surveys and designs, and construction management for 20 projects for landowners. Technical assistance is a critical service to achieve conservation on private lands.

Cost Share: DCF is used to supplement other funding to help projects such as shoreline and riverbank stabilizations over the finish line.

Project Life Extension: Approximately 25 landowners annually are provided project management guidance to extend the benefits of their project beyond the contracted life. 

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Global Headquarters parking lot was recently retrofit with a number of low impact development stormwater control measures to reduce runoff volumes and improve water quality. The demonstration project will provide visitors to the campus with an introduction to a variety of options for stormwater management.

One of the products installed was a FocalPoint high performance biofiltration system that also included a Rain Guardian Turret for pretreatment. Rain Guardians provide a stable inlet and effective pretreatment for bioretention systems by capturing sediment and debris in an easy to clean location. Other products installed included permeable pavers and porous concrete.

The campus has served as the ASCE Global Headquarters since 1994, is located just outside of Washington D.C., and hosts several thousand visitors each year.

Additional project information is available at https://www.ascefoundation.org/asce-sustainable-parking-lot-project.