The Olson Natural Area Wetland Project will restore a degraded wetland (Olson Natural Area Wetland) while greatly enhancing

the environmental education that occurs on the site by Bloomington Public Schools. The Project is a partnership between

Bloomington Public School District and the community (facilitated by Bloomington Neighbors Nurturing Nature (BNNN)).

The Olson Natural Area Wetland Project will:

 Improve water quality

 Decrease shoreline erosion

 Re-establish native vegetation and habitat to support pollinators, wildlife, and sustainable landscape

 Improve environmental education for Bloomington Public Schools

The Natural Area and Wetland suffer from:

 Shoreline erosion:

o Invasive plants have/are eliminating natural shoreline buffer strip.

 Invasive plants:

o Smothering and replacing native vegetation

o Not providing habitat to support pollinators and wildlife

 Lack of native vegetation:

o Creates unhealthy ecosystem and limited habitat

 Excessive nutrient load:

o Due in part to lack of natural shoreline buffer strip and problematic trees/shrubs.

o Current inlets also deposit sediment, vegetation debris, and lawn fertilizers in the wetland

 Lack of restoration-based maintenance:

o Densities of proliferate trees (ash, basswood) are too high and problematic.

o Native trees are lacking

 Lack a healthy ecosystem for students to study

 Lack of design features to support teachers’ environmental education

The Project will:

 Remove buckthorn, honeysuckle, purple loosestrife, cattails, and other invasive plants

 Plant native plants, shrubs, and trees to establish both a natural shoreline buffer strip and appropriate native vegetation

throughout the site to provide habitat for pollinators and wildlife and support sustainable landscape

 Restore and design the site to improve the environmental education for Olson Middle/Elementary Public School

students.

Project description:

The Olson Natural Area Wetland Project is intended to be a five-year school/community restoration/environmental education

project. After 5 years, the project will start moving to restoration maintenance and continued growth of the environmental

education.

Goals:

Restore degraded wetland and create an environmental education resource for Bloomington Public Schools.

Restoration will 1) improve water quality, 2) decrease shoreline erosion, 3) remove invasive plants, 4) reestablish native

vegetation to support pollinators, wildlife, and sustainable landscaping, and 5) increase environmental education

opportunities for public school students.

Phase 1* (which is the scope of the Project) will provide the following deliverables:

 Remove buckthorn, invasive vegetation, and inappropriate densities (problematic) of trees to: support native vegetation,

reduce plant matter levels entering wetland, reduce shoreline erosion, and reduce deterioration of habitat. Techniques

will be non-chemical and prevent erosion during the project. Removal will include hand tool plant removal, occultation,

buckthorn bagging, and potentially biological (beetles) control of purple loosestrife. The former strategies have proven

successful in other restoration efforts.

 Plant Native Vegetation – plant location-appropriate native vegetation to 1) create natural shoreline buffer strip to

decrease shore land erosion and excessive plant matter entering pond and 2) create appropriate vegetation throughout

the site to support a healthy ecosystem and habitat for pollinators and wildlife.

Project Major Tasks and Timeline

 Summer 2023 – Finalize Restoration Plan.

 Summer-Fall 2023 – Buckthorn/invasive plants and problematic trees removal will begin in southwest corner of

the site and move to the Northeast. Utilize erosion mats and occultation fabric in specific locations. Implement

initial education design features.

 Fall 2023 – Prep areas for winter seed sowing. Pick native grass/flower seeds off-site.

 Winter 2023/24 – Problematic tree removal. Buckthorn removal. Winter seed sowing.

 Spring-Summer 2024 – Cattail removal. Prep and native plantings.

 Summer 2024 – Weeding and continued environmental design features implementation.

 Winter 2024/25 – Winter seed sowing.

 Spring/summer 2025 – In fill plantings and seeding, and of course weeding

Severity of the problem:

The wetland is degraded. Hennepin County’s Natural Resources Inventory indicates limited vegetation. Although we could not

find recordings of water quality, the lack of appropriate shoreline buffer and the presence of the stormwater inlets suggest the

water quality is compromised, similar to other wetlands and ponds in Bloomington. Water sampling is an activity to be

completed in future environmental education programs. The wetland is designated by the Nine Mile Creek Watershed as a High Priority Wetland – Protection.

Field observations noted:

 Presence of native plants, particularly sedges, Solomon’s seal, oaks, and pagoda dogwood

 Large amounts of buckthorn, honeysuckle, cattails, and purple loosestrife

 Dense tree canopies created by over densities of ash and basswood. Many ash are dead or dying.

 Storm water inlet areas show significant amounts of sediment, vegetation debris, and garbage.

 Good bird diversity

Project Impact:

 Decrease in non-native species on site

o Success will be measured by a 75% decrease in buckthorn and non-native species in 2½ years.

 Increase in native plants on site

o Success will be measured by an increase in native vegetation by 200% in 2½ years.

 Increase in habitat

o 2½ acres restored in 2½ years

 Improved environmental education opportunities

 Increased involvement in the restoration project by students, teachers, and community members.

o Success will be measured by the involvement of more than 50 individual volunteers in 2½ years.

Project Team:

 Bloomington Public Schools Staff

 Bloomington City Staff

 Parents, Students, and Community Volunteers (BNNN facilitated)