The Winter Seed Sowing Workshop was a great success! Hosted by the Grass Lake Restoration Team, we had ~20 people attend a workshop at the Kenny Rec Center on Saturday, January 17, 2026 to learn about planting native seeds in the winter. Participants were each given an instructional zine (also available as a free PDF download) and 5 milk jugs to fill with dirt and native seeds, with hopes that we’ll be able to plant them on the south-eastern shore of Grass Lake during spring 2026. White signs currently mark the location if you’re out walking around the lake.
Seeds were generously provided the MN Seed Project, and Stephanie Hankerson volunteered to join us to provide valuable knowledge about the seeds and planting tips. We were also joined by volunteer Master Naturalist, Preston Drum of Northern Holler Nursery, who provided more free seeds, handouts, and knowledge to share. Kenny neighbors and Master Naturalists, Laura Baxley and Ellen Mueller organized the workshop.
This gardening project is part of a larger effort to regain space overtaken by buckthorn, and invasive species that have been spotted around Grass Lake. During Fall 2025, three sessions were held by the Grass Lake Restoration Team to cut and treat buckthorn for removal. Now, our goal is to plant native plants that will fill in those spaces and shade out buckthorn seedlings, preventing them from re-growing.
During spring 2026, we hope to reconnect with the workshop attendees and collect their seedlings for planting along the shore. Our overarching goal is to learn how to improve, maintain, and expand the natural habitat, not only around this 100′ stretch of shoreline, but eventually around the whole lake. We’re starting small with just a portion of the lake front.
Planting a variety of native plants at Grass Lake helps prevent buckthorn re-establishment, contributes to soil health and stability, provides food and shelter throughout the life cycles of pollinators and wildlife, and builds resilience for the future.
About Grass Lake
Did you know Grass Lake is a 27 acre wetland, and although it is surrounded by an urban environment, it attracts a large diversity of wildlife? It is a DNR protected water body and is under the jurisdiction of the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District. The land around the lake is owned by the City of Minneapolis and is under the management of Public Works. Grass Lake, Richfield Lake, and Wood Lake, while separate entities today, were once a single system. There is currently a connecting pipe between Grass Lake and Richfield Lake.
The entirety of Grass Lake falls within a Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) Habitat Corridor, highlighting the location’s importance when considering planning efforts. Additionally, MPRB’s comprehensive plan, “Parks for All, 2021-2036,” describes a goal (Goal #6) to strengthen ecological connections of higher quality ecological areas and minimizing the effects of habitat fragmentation. Grass Lake serves as the southernmost body of water in Minneapolis nearest to a noted biodiversity hot spot at the intersection of Bryant Avenue South and Minnehaha Creek, thereby functioning as an important connector and protective refugia for the animals that shape our local ecosystems.
