Hennepin County Gives Robbinsdale Medians Some TLC
Hennepin County took steps this week to beautify the medians along County Road 81 in Robbinsdale, while also helping pollinators in the process.
“Our intent with that was to install a more sustainable landscape that also had better aesthetics, one that wouldn’t require as much maintenance and would last for years,” said John Evans, assistant director of Hennepin County’s Environment and Energy Department.
Crews from Minnesota Native Landscapes installed plants on behalf of the county such as little bluestem grass, prairie onion and milkweed.
The work will help different species of butterflies and bees. Meanwhile, Hennepin County officials say the new plants can also withstand drought and climate change.
A crew from Minnesota Native Landscapes installs new plants in the median on Bottineau Blvd. in Robbinsdale.
“What we’re hoping to use this as is a roadmap for future landscaping work that we do,” Evans said. “With climate change and the effects of the pandemic, there’s a lot of pressure on county budgets. And besides all the great features of native plants, if we can also cut down our maintenance costs, that’s also a real positive too.”
Much of the landscaping work along County Road 81 was done last year, starting in Robbinsdale and going north to the I-694 interchange.
However, some of the plants in Robbinsdale didn’t do as well, so crews tried to remedy that problem with their work this week.
