Workshop Encourages Residents to Plant Raingardens this Spring

HERMANTOWN, Minn. — On Tuesday, the Carlton and South St. Louis Soil and Water Conservation District’s held a free workshop for anyone interested in installing a raingarden on their property.

The class, held at Hermantown City Hall, was all about raingardens; where to put one, how to make it and what to put on it. You might be asking, what exactly is a raingarden? Well, it’s a garden made of native plantings designed to catch rainwater from your roof, driveway, walkway or lawn.

Not only do they serve as a vibrant scene of color, raingardens attract pollinators; such as bees, birds and butterflies. They also help to improve water quality. The typical size of a raingarden is around 300 square feet.

“It might seem small because it is such a small planting, but research has shown that these smaller habitat projects actually do make a difference for water quality and our pollinator corridors,” said Conservation Specialist Alyssa Bloss with the Carlton Soil and Water Conservation District.

Bloss went on to say, the pollinator program began back in 2020 when they received a grant of around $40,000 from the State of Minnesota to help landowners install pollinator projects. Since then, she says they’ve helped install roughly 200 plantings in Carlton County.

“I would say our first raingarden workshop had around 30ish people, but now we’re getting like 40 or 50. After the workshop, people call and want to do site visits because we ultimately, soil & water districts, we work for the public for free and we help actually pay to put these projects on the ground. We’ll help you do the project from start to finish and help pay up to 100% costs.”

The Carlton SWCD also has a native plant kit and seed mix presale going on now. for folks to utilize in their gardens. Pickup will take place on June 28 at their Pollinator Powerhouse event. Click here for more information.