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Community Corner

Woodbury to Host Sustainability and Landscape Workshop

A number of sustainability experts will be on hand at City Hall on Saturday for the city's annual Landscape Workshop.

The Woodbury Environmental Advisory Commission will sponsor a free Landscape Workshop on April 2 at City Hall.

Programs begin at 8:30 a.m. and the last session scheduled for 11 a.m. No registration is required, and interested parties are welcome to drop in for as many (or as few) sessions as desired.

“Last year, we had about 70 people throughout the day,” said Jennifer McLoughlin, Woodbury sustainability specialist. She said attendance has grown considerably over the workshop’s 13-year history.

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Oakdale resident Glenn Skuta will open the Landscape Workshop with “Creating Backyard Wildlife Habitat.” Skuta will discuss the benefits of maintaining a certified wildlife habitat. (Take his word for it—Skuta’s backyard has been certified by the National Wildlife Federation for over a decade.)

In the same vein, the 9:10 a.m. presentation is called “Wildscaping: Gardening with Birds and Other Wildlife in Mind” by Val Cunninghan, a member of the St. Paul Audubon Society.

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“I'd define 'wildscaping' as gardening and landscaping with the wild world in mind, and using native plants to do this,” Cunningham said.

She decided several years ago that every plant in her backyard should either feed or shelter birds—or both. While she has evolved her own backyard into a space designed as a sanctuary for birds, Cunningham shared some less cumbersome ways to aid Woodbury wildlife, like maintaining bird feeders and bird baths, or leaving short lengths of string or yarn on tree branches for birds to use in their nests.

Sustainability is a hot topic in Woodbury. Water Resource Education Specialist Angie Hong (also a Patch.com contributor) will give a 10 a.m. presentation called “Sustainable Landscape and Gardening Practices.” The session will focus on pesticides and fertilizers, how harmful they can be to the natural environment, and what alternative practices landscapers can adopt to lessen their negative impact.

“We’ve definitely got a lot going on Woodbury this year,” Hong said in an e-mail, noting the upcoming Environmental Excellence Awards and a native plant sale.

The final session of the day is called “Nurturing Community Engagement with their Natural Resources,” presented by University of Minnesota professor Gary Johnson.  He will discuss ways to build strong citizen volunteer programs.

Each session will also have a question-and-answer portion, which Cunningham said as her favorite part of presenting.

“It's so reassuring to hear how so many people care so much about the natural world,” she said. “This gives me hope that we can change some of our current practices that are so harmful to birds.”

As Woodbury continues to grow and develop, that “natural world” is disappearing.

“I think (the Landscape Workshop) started as a way to promote sustainable landscaping and increase the focus on planting for wildlife,” McLoughlin said.  

For more information on the workshop and other ongoing efforts in Woodbury, click here—and if you can’t make it out of the house for the workshop, log onto the site to catch the live stream.

Attendees will receive handouts and non-toxic household cleaner samples courtesy of Washington County.

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