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Blog

For an eco-friendly lawn, try a prairie restoration

3/30/2020

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Thousands of years ago, low-growing turf grasses were helpful in fending off danger and in hunting for food. Through time, these grasses evolved for use in recreation and livestock grazing purposes. As a result, lawns became a status symbol. A grass lawn, as opposed to cropland, signified that you were wealthy enough to own land that you didn’t have to farm. Today, grass lawns are the status quo, although most of us may not stop to consider why. What is important to consider is how this change from prairie to a grassturf urban landscape affected the Minnesotan ecosystem.
In short, this change has resulted in extensive soil erosion, water pollution, and decreased biodiversity across the Midwest. There are, however, ways in which you can remedy these adverse effects. So, this spring, try something different with your lawn. 
There are many ways to make your lawn more sustainable: planting a vegetable garden, recycling runoff rainwater, and even using solar lights. However, the healthiest lawn is the one that is restored to the way that nature intended it to be. In the Midwest, that means prairie. Prairie restoration, or reconstruction (depending on the area in which you live) is a conservation effort that includes the act of reintroducing native grassland species into an area where they were destroyed for urban or industrial development. Prairie restorations increase biodiversity, create habitat for native animals, and reduce water runoff and soil erosion. Once they’re established, prairies are cheaper to maintain than a traditional lawn. So, how exactly do you get started? 
  1. Know the rules. MPLS city code has ordinances in place to ensure that city yards are maintained to an adequate standard. In Minneapolis, grasses are allowed to exceed eight inches in high “as part of a managed natural landscape,” like a prairie. For more information, read the ordinance here.
  2. Make a plan. Before you get digging, be sure to know what you want in your backyard prairie. Do you want paths? What kind of plants do you want? Would you prefer to DIY, or do you plan to enlist the help of a contractor? For information about getting started with your prairie restoration, check out this article from the Nature Conservancy. A quick Google search can offer you numerous contractor results for prairie restorations; base your decision off of the amount of time and moeny you plan on investing in your prairie. If you have lots of time and a small budget, this may be an excellent DIY project.
  3. Start digging. Once you break ground, it’s time to consider the other features of a prairie. Including strategic rain gardens will help to catch runoff water, reducing waterway pollution and increasing prairie vitality. If you plan on restoring prairie to your boulevard, consider planting salinity-tolerant plants that can withstand excess road salt in the winter. This University of Minnesota Extension site has excellent, comprehensive information on planting a residential prairie garden.
  4. Maintain. In the first few months of growth, your prairie ecosystem may need to be mowed intermittently to stimulate growth, especially in the spring. Once you have an established prairie, your lawn will need noticeable less (if any) watering. General upkeep of your beautiful new prairie is pretty straightforward. Prescribed burns can help to revitalize prairie landscapes, but are for the most part, not feasible in the city. Read more about the benefits of prairie burns here. For more information on the various ways of managing a prairie meadow, check out this source from Prairie Nursery.

    ​5. Admire your work. Now that your prairie is established and flourishing, step back and take in the beauty. Not only have you re-established an integral Minnesota ecosystem in your own backyard, but you’ve also increased biodiversity, reduced the impact of non-native species, and created a beautiful landscape to enjoy in every season.

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Reconnecting With Nature

3/19/2020

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With practically the whole city under quarantine, many individuals and families have found themselves with more free time than they know what to do with. That makes it the perfect time to get outside: being active, spending time with family, and reconnecting with nature. The weather couldn’t be better either! Armed with reasons to take this unprecedented opportunity to reconnect with the natural world in the beautiful city of Minneapolis, today’s blog post will explore some outdoor adventures fun for the whole family, as well as ways to incorporate outdoor living into your life-under-quarantine. 

As a reminder, if you or any of your family show any symptoms of sickness (even the common cold), please stay inside. When outside, remember to follow the rules of social distancing: maintain a six-foot radius between you and others, avoid touching shared surfaces, wash your hands frequently, and avoid touching your face. 

  1. Day trip to Minnehaha Falls. Pack a picnic lunch and make your way over to Minneapolis’ favorite waterfall for the day. For added fun, try to get there without driving. Taking the bus, biking, and walking are all excellent options depending on your distance from the park. With well-maintained walking paths, plenty to see, and adequate space to maintain your social distance from others, Minnehaha Park is an excellent place to spend some time. It is important now, more than ever, to get some sunshine to keep you and your family happy and healthy. 
  2. Bike the Chain of Lakes. Lake of the Isles, Bde Maka Ska, and Lake Harriet make up one of our city’s most prized outdoor attractions: the Chain of Lakes. This is a great option because it is modifiable to all ages and ability levels. The Chain of Lakes bike loop by itself is 10.1 miles long (read: 1-1.5 hours of leisurely biking without stops). For a longer, more challenging excursion, take a detour onto the Luce Line bike trail in Uptown. For a shorter, less daunting outing, pick your favorite one or two lakes to bike. 
  3. Go check out your local park. Minneapolis is a national leader with its extensive and well-maintained parks system. In fact, most homes are within just a few blocks from a community park. So, grab a Frisbee, bring a dog, read a book, or even pack art supplies and find the park nearest to you. The parks are an excellent place to enjoy some downtime while enjoying the blossoms of spring.  Don't forget to pick up after yourself, leaving the park cleaner than you found it.
  4. Volunteer your time. With schools out of session and with many hourly workers getting their hours cut, many non-profit organizations need extra help in order to distribute meals and serve low-income communities effectively. If you have time or resources to share, volunteering is a great way to give back by getting out into the community. Meal distribution can also provide an excellent opportunity to get outside and be active. Organizations looking for volunteers include TC Food Justice, Meals on Wheels, and others. A quick Google search is all you need to find the opportunities closest to you. During these trying times, it is important that we all do what we can to keep our communities safe and healthy. Getting outside and reconnecting with nature is another added benefit!
The terms climate change and global warming are used a lot; over time, it’s easy to forget what exactly we are fighting for. Spending time in the great outdoors and actively reconnecting with nature are excellent strategies in the climate fight. Use these coming weeks, despite the global uncertainties we face as a community, to empassion yourself and re-empower your climate action goals.

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Community Perspectives on the Bag Fee

3/6/2020

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As I’m sure you’ve heard, a citywide bag ordinance went into effect on January 1st of this year, which requires retailers to charge five cents for each bag used by the shopper. While enforcement by city officials is not scheduled to occur until June, most shoppers and retailers are already abiding by the change. That is not to say, however, that there haven’t been mixed feelings toward the new policy. 

The ordinance was implemented with the goal of reducing single-use plastic consumption and making a push toward more environmentally-friendly city practices. Single-use plastics are polluting our waterways and contaminating the natural landscape as they leach chemicals for years on end. Reducing plastic bag waste will also increase recycling efficiency. Prior to the ordinance, plastic bag entangements could clog recycling facility machinery for upwards of four hours every day. The transition to the new bag ordinance has been done with “an emphasis on education, rather than punishment,” according to local paper The Star Tribune. There are some exceptions to the ordinance, including those for farmer’s markets and low-income shoppers using SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). 

Some shoppers are not happy about paying for something they used to receive for free.

“It’s another form of sucking people into becoming some type of an activist for the environment and trying to control the masses,” one shopper, Megan Bacigalupo, told CBS Minnesota. Others are concerned about the lack of privacy for low-income shoppers. 

“When that [WIC or SNAP transaction] goes through, the cashiers don’t know what’s happening. It’s a seamless transaction,” said Jamie Pfuhl, president of the Minnesota Grocers Association. “So unfortunately now, a WIC or SNAP recipient is going to have to identify that that’s what the transaction is, and that’s against what we’re trying to achieve there.”

These criticisms point out that, like anything else, no policy is perfect. That’s not to say, however, there hasn’t been overwhelming positive feedback toward the bag fee as well. 

“If we are truly concerned about the greater biodiversity on our planet right now at a time when so much is being threatened, it behooves us to do this,” commented Cathy Geist, a biology professor at MCTC. Reduction of biodiversity, or the variety of life in a particular ecosystem, is one of the major consequences of climate change. These reductions can have profound impacts and can lead to severe, even irreparable ecosystem damage. 
​

“It’s hard to change patterns, right? But once you understand the reasoning behind it and we’ve come a few times, forgot a bag, pay extra for a bag, then you start to remember, right? And it becomes a culture,” shopper Charles Dennis said.

This bag ordinance is the perfect catalyst for a cultural shift, starting right here in Minneapolis. Little actions can become powerful when initiated by the masses. Sustainability isn’t just a buzzword. Rather, it’s about making lots of small changes, the results of while accumulate to create a bigger impact. When we pitch in, and encourage our neighbors to do the same, we can have a remarkable impact on the planet and the generations to come. 
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The Reality of One-Day Shipping

3/2/2020

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With the opening of its first full-size, cashierless grocery store in Seattle, Amazon made one thing abundantly clear: it has solidified its position as a multi-industry king. Dominating the online, home technology, and now grocery marketplaces, Amazon has been the center of it’s fair share of praise and criticism. Perhaps the focal point of Amazon’s online shopping success is their fast, free shipping for members. Amazon isn’t the only industry leader offering increasingly-rapid shipping options as a way to stay competitive. Because these trends are on the rise, with no end in the forseeable future, this week’s blog post will address the carbon footprint of such expedited shipping options.

A 2013 study published by MIT estimated and compared the carbon footprints of both in-person buying and online shopping purchases. The study included various factors, including packaging, transportation, energy consumption, and information flow. As a result, the study touted online-shopping as the surprising environmentally-friendly alternative to brick-and-mortar shopping, based on numerous scenarios and the idea that “the main component of the [emissions produced by the] Traditional shopper is the customer transportation, whereas Cybernaut‘s emissions are linked to a parcel carrier, who uses an optimized delivery process.” (Weideli, 2013). This was not the case with expedited shipping options (overnight, one-day, two-day). To learn more, read the study here. 

However, this blanket statement should not end your days of in-store shopping, as there are significant drawbacks to consider as well. First, the carbon footprint of these corporate shipping practices is enormous regardless, especially when using vans that are smaller than traditional freight vehicles (which require more trips to and from the inventory distribution center). There are also labor implications to consider; the manpower needed to facilitate such expedited shipping often results in less-than ethical working conditions. Buzzfeed conducted an investigation into this trend, and this is what they found. Vox has also found that with increasing shipping convenience, there has been a rising trend toward single-item purchasing. This increases shipping demands, and thus, environmental impacts. When online purchases show up the next day, it is tempting to order five items independently, rather than bundling them into one consolidated (read: less environmentally-strenuous) order. 
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The best way to reduce your environmental impact when it comes to all purchases, be it in-store or online, is to reduce how much you are buying in the first place. Reducing and reusing are the first steps in reducing waste and carbon emissions. Do you need to order that reusable grocery bag from the internet and receive it by tomorrow, or can you repurpose fabric scraps from around the house into a new bag? Being an informed, critical consumer is an excellent way to take action and make waves in the climate conversation.

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This blog post has focused primarily on the environmental impacts of corporate malpractices, but there are lots of other resources with great information surrounding other points of controversy regarding the online shopping industry. EcoWatch writes more on the carbon footprint of shipping practices. The New York Post and Business Insider detail what a day in the life of a factory worker really looks like: overworked and underpaid.
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    Wendy Ponte
    Board Member
    Minneapolis Climate Action

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