Explore reasons for planting prairie: connection, biodiversity, culture, water quality, climate, and more!
Grow Green, Greener, Greenest Earth Day 2022 Heidi M.S. Ferris, April 2022 Little things matter and so do the big! This list of green ideas is designed to help you, your family and friends move from little green things to medium greener things to larger earth care ideas… all right where you live! Save time, […]
Heidi M.S. Ferris, January 2022 A list could answer the question, “Why plant prairie?” but so can the heart. In my experience, planting native prairie plants into butterfly gardens, conservation areas, urban rain gardens, shorelines, and even a little pocket prairie by a mailbox…is really about connection. Have you ever made connects between roots, trees […]
Curiosity and wonder can sprout from watching seeds grow into plants. For this activity, a variety of seeds are placed on a wet paper towel within a plastic bag that is then taped to the window. Instructional videos demonstrating how to do this can be found online, or you can use my 6-step cartoon with […]
Youth are amazing leaders. During the ups and downs of 2020, teens and tweens from churches in Capitol Region Watershed District have been moving water knowledge to water action for their churches, communities, and neighborhoods! Macalester Plymouth United Church, St. Anthony Park Lutheran, Christ on Capitol Hill, Galilee Lutheran, and participants from a variety of […]
35 Ways to Notice Nature this July… July is a great month to hone your noticing skills! Sit and listen. Watch the clouds. Count the ants. Smell the flowers. Can you notice, find, or create everything on this “Noticing Nature” list for July? Give this a try… an easy scavenger hunt for your neighborhood park. Find an object […]
Where is your neighborhood on this map? …and where do your rainwater and snow melt go? Growing Green Hearts is connecting churches and neighborhoods with their watershed using water education and water quality actions. This 2020 project called “Connecting the Drops: Water in Church Neighborhoods of Capitol Region Watershed District” is grant-funded by Capitol Region […]
By Heidi Ferris, Growing Green Hearts COVID-19 is here and many kids will be at home…with parents…and we’ll all be driving each other crazy! It’s a great move for our community, but hey, there’s a misconception we need to address: Screen time is not the only way to learn in 2020. Let’s all be aware that “social […]
NEW environmental STEM training for teachers/youth leaders Good News! Growing Green Hearts has a new training available. So please pass this along to your local school, scout troop, youth group, or community club! The training is called: Growing Greenovation: Youth Leading with Environmental STEM and this is how it came to be… Stories are powerful. Special […]
3 Lessons from the 2019 State Fair STATE FAIR LESSON 1: Pronto Pups & Liatris. Don’t those Blazing Star prairie plants look like giant purple pronto pups? One lesson from the fair that I saw over and over again is that PLAY IS POWERFUL for people of all ages. From the Midway to art exhibits, giant […]
In care of water, community partners in the Vadnais Heights area are rallying together! Join in the fun as we learn and play with water. Special guests are offering workshops with bring water science to life through art. All are welcome to participate in games, activities, art, music, and more. What: FREE COMMUNITY EVENT […]
