Jun. 20—BEMIDJI — Community members recently gathered to plant a multi-functional garden on the Bemidji State campus along Paul Bunyan Drive.
The garden will filter rainwater runoff from the John S. Glas Fieldhouse parking lot, attract pollinators and promote the implementation of native landscapes.
Erika Bailey-Johnson, sustainability director at Bemidji State, has been involved since the project’s inception along with her colleague Jordan Lutz, sustainability project manager at BSU.
“Before the community rain garden, the rainwater would collect in the parking lot and go into the grass over there,” Bailey-Johnson said, gesturing to the corner of the parking lot. “Now, the native plants with the roots that are made to filter water can do their job and filter the water themselves.”
Multiple partners, including the Minnesota Department of Transportation, Toole Design, Beltrami County and the Beltrami County Soil and Water Conservation District helped fund the project through stormwater management practice.
“There were only two sites selected in Minnesota, one here and one in the Metro area,” Bailey-Johnson said. “We have been figuring out the details and finding funding for a couple of years. Today is the day we get to plant and it is awesome to finally break some ground.”
Austin Crocker, a BSU student and office of sustainability employee, has served on the leadership team for the project.
“Instead of using the water sources or our watersheds to filter our contaminants, the root systems of the plants capture these things,” Crocker explained. “They filter it themselves. The plants capture the chemicals and other contaminants in the water to have a half-life instead. They reduce their potency. They can stop the problem here and let the earth do its filtration process.”
The garden serves as a more sustainable alternative than other methods to handle water runoff.
“So instead of doing a standard runoff with concrete, which is fast and relatively cheap, the root systems of these plants are capturing chemicals and other things in our water and filtering it themselves,” Crocker explained. “It’s important to lead by example. This is a lot better than another parking lot.”
To kick things off on the planting day, Bailey-Johnson led a team meeting and was the first to plant in the garden. She also shared the deeper meaning this project has for her.
“My Ojibwe name is Butterfly Woman, and because of that, I have a certain responsibility and a deeper connection to butterflies,” Bailey-Johnson shared. “That means I should be responsible, help protect, provide habitat, elevate and uplift them in any way I can. They’re like brothers and sisters to me, so just like anybody’s brother or sister, I’m thinking about how I can support them.”
Bailey-Johnson is a co-founder of
Birds, Bees & Butterflies — Bemidji
and notes that her involvement prepared her for the construction of the community garden. The plants chosen for this project were purposeful for the environment and the pollinators in the area.
“I’ve been with Birds, Bees & Butterflies — Bemidji for over a decade and they have been planting native plants all throughout our community,” Bailey-Johnson said. “Native landscape beds are great for so many reasons. We need to keep doing more work like this.”
Crocker notes that projects like these are steps in the right direction for a more sustainable community in Bemidji.
“We are living in a time of transition where we have to go from the way things were to the way things should be done,” Crocker explained. “That shift takes all of our knowledge and experience to create a more balanced world where we are doing things sustainably.”
The garden is along State Highway 197 near the Bemidji State baseball field and is a highly visible location for people driving through Bemidji to see.
“The fact that Bemidji was one of the chosen locations for this initiative shows that there is a lot of confidence in Bemidji to get this done and do it well,” said Kathy Bailey, Bailey-Johnson’s mother. “Hopefully this is yet another step in the right direction for Bemidji and this can encourage other communities to follow our lead.”
The multi-functional garden aims to spark conversations and inspire other people in the community to support sustainable options, encourage the implementation of native plants and of course, naturally filter rainwater.
“Projects like these are very satisfying and rewarding,” Crocker said reflecting on the day. “Last fall we planted the outdoor classroom and this spring I’ve gotten to see that bloom. I am looking forward to watching the garden grow.”
Source Agencies
