Creating Pollinator Pathways in Your Own Backyard

By Hannah Trudeau & Dan Trudeau

Hi there, Mendota Heights! I am Hannah Trudeau, the city?s Natural Resources Commission Student Representative. In this lovely Pollinator Awareness Month, I?m here to tell you about different things my family and I have been doing to make our yard a haven for pollinators like butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees.?

Starting in 2018, we added native ornamental plants like bergamot around the house to spruce it up. We later built a vegetable garden and filled it with plants pollinators love, like raspberry bushes, strawberries, and a sour cherry tree. We get to enjoy the fruits of the pollinators? labor with jams, pies, and as simple snacks.

I?m Dan Trudeau, I?m Hannah?s dad. In 2020, we expanded our efforts to add pollinator-friendly plants in our yard with support from the Lawns to Legumes program, including a fruit tree and a bee lawn.?

The bee lawn adds a fun element to our yard. It blooms purple and smells like flowers and herbs. And it?s really easy to maintain. The bee lawn gets its purple flowers from thyme and self-heal. The thyme produces its herby, earthy smell when you walk on it. The plants are so dense that weeds don?t come through. The thyme and self-heal are a low groundcover and don?t need to be cut every week. And bees love it.?

In 2021, we added a rain garden to our front yard. I participated in the Minnesota Water Stewards program. Our family designed and built a rain garden and the program helped us buy pollinator-friendly plants that are in the garden, like coneflower, anise hyssop, rattlesnake master, and bottle gentian.??

We have also been adding trees to our yard. We usually get these through the city?s annual tree program. This year, we will plant dogwood and serviceberry trees. Both are great for pollinators.?

Xcel Energy Walking Tours

Over the next few weeks, Xcel Energy will be conducting natural gas line inspections in Lilydale, Mendota and Mendota Heights. Xcel Energy employees and contractors walk the route of our buried gas lines, including service lines leading up to residential and business gas meters. Utilizing specialized equipment, we can identify gas lines that may require maintenance or repair. These routine surveys are crucial to ensuring safety, reliability, and efficient gas service for Mendota Heights.

During these inspections, both employees and contractors will be easily identifiable. They will be wearing safety vests and carrying official Xcel Energy identification. To verify a worker on or around your property is an Xcel Energy employee or contractor, please contact Xcel Energy Customer Care at 800-895-4999.

Tree Canopy Program

As a Tree City, Mendota Heights is part of a nationwide effort to maintain and grow tree cover. Trees are known to absorb the sound of traffic by 40% and keep neighborhoods seven to nine degrees cooler. They also reduce energy costs up to 25% and increase property values. Green space has been proven to improve mental health and absorb carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. And tree cover reduces stormwater runoff, erosion and water pollution, while providing habitat and food for wildlife.

In the 2024 budget, City leaders reserved $25,000 to launch a Tree Canopy Program intended to:

• Mitigate the loss of tree canopy in Mendota Heights due to Emerald Ash Borer
• Contribute to the tree canopy in Environmental Justice Areas
• Reduce the heat island effect in high-temperature areas

Residents and commercial property owners who qualify for the cost-sharing Tree Canopy Program in 2024 can purchase trees for a subsidized cost. Participants receive a complimentary site consultation, tree recommendation, utility marking and tree delivery, as well as full-service planting, mulching and initial watering, with a watering bag and tree protection for ongoing maintenance.

One More Week to Snap a Photo for a Chance to Win!

The City is searching for photos from Mendota Heights that highlight our community's commitment to pollinators throughout the month of May, in celebration of Pollinator Awareness Month.?

Weekly Crime Report

The Mendota Heights Police Department provides a weekly list of incidents taking place in our community. Historical?crime reports are available in the?Laserfiche archive system.?

Music in the Park: Alligations

Wednesday, May 29; 6 p.m.
Market Square Park

Join Mendota Heights Parks and Recreation on various Wednesday evenings this summer for Music in the Park at Market Square Park! Bands will feature family friendly music for everyone. Don't forget your lawn chair!

Alligations is a rockin' blues band featuring 50s-current day blues songs with groove! Their song list includes music from Ray Charles, B.B. King, Rolling Stones and more.?

Officer Scott Patrick Memorial 5K

June 1; 9 a.m.
Market Square Park

Don't miss the 19th Annual Officer Scott Patrick Memorial 5K Run/Walk to benefit Special Olympics Minnesota and Northern Dakota County Beyond the Yellow Ribbon.

Register today or mark your calendar and be there to cheer on the participants!

Tour de Rec

Tuesdays
1:30-2:30 p.m.

Join us for this free weekly activity throughout the summer, at locations throughout the City:

June 11 - Fishing at Rogers Lake Park

June 18 - Outdoor Story Time at Thompson County Park

June 25 - Recycling Crafts at Garlough Elementary School