Trees Sprout Overnight in Schoolyard

It seems unlikely that a mixed forest and a prairie grassland would instantly sprout in a schoolyard, but that is what happened last fall at JW Smith Elementary School in Bemidji. It wasn't the magic beans of Jack in the Beanstalk, but the hard work and creativity of Soil and Water Conservation Forester Jerry Stensing who made it made happen. Jerry coordinated a tree planting project to create the JW Smith Minnesota Biomes Project. You can view a slide show that tells the story of the project on the SWCD website. Click on the Projects tab. (Update: the slide show would not open for me with Mozilla, but it worked with Internet Exlporer.)

The intent was to create an outdoor classroom shaped as the State of Minnesota, with trails that follow major river courses, and forest cover that geographically represents the vegetation of Minnesota's biomes.

He had many partners, but a key factor in the success of the project was the City of Bemidji's Tree Preservation Ordinance.

The Ordinance, passed by the City in 2005 (and now incorporated into the Joint Planning ordinance) requires replacement of trees that are lost because of new development. The goal of the ordinance is to preserve mature trees and maintain or increase the City's existing tree cover. The ordinance allows for off-site tree mitigation when development does not allow 100% replacement on the development site.

Jerry took advantage of two development projects to secure trees for the school project. Menards completed their subdivision process more than a year ago and is planning to build a store in Bemidji, but their plans are "on hold" given the current downturn in housing and construction. However, part of their plan and development agreement included off-site tree mitigation. Menards' contribution provided funding to purchase trees.

A second developer--the Bemidji Regional Airport--needed to remove trees to expand their runway. The trees were the perfect size for transplanting and they were moved to the biome project.

Business and government working together to preserve our trees and provide an outdoor classroom. Was there magic involved? Well, maybe a little.