Northeast Network

Native Prairie, Honey Bees & Pollinators

by Jan Bernu

On September 10, Darla Van Heerde of Esko hosted the MN Women's Woodland Network-NE fall event: Native Prairie, Honey Bees & Pollinators. Darla showed us around her 40 acres on a gorgeous fall day. With lots of hard work and the assistance of various entities, Darla has created a beautifully blended mixture of orchards, gardens and native prairie with a variety of pollinator plants, as well as a pond for wildlife and some wooded acreage. She is also a bee keeper with 10 hives. At the end of the tour, she treated us to a glass (or two!) of her delicious homemade elderberry flower lemonade and carrot salsa.

NE WWN Fall Event. Buckthorn ID & Hands-on Control Methods

By Barb Spears

On October 24, 2015, Northeast WWN member Peggy Meseroll hosted a buckthorn removal event on land that she manages. Gail Bong, NRCS Technician, gave a “Buckthorn 101” talk and they hacked and chemmed a good sized area, and prescribed follow-up to kill the seedlings before they turn into seed bearing trees. They used Buckthorn Blasters: http://landscape-restoration.com/, a great little tool for the homeowner/landowner. Buckthorn control/eradication takes a lot of hard work followed by many years of dedicated follow up to keep it at bay.

Massage in the Woods and Goods from the Woods!

By Barb Spears

On August 29, 2015, Gail Bong (WWN NE) hosted “Massage in the Woods and Goods from the Woods – Show & Tell, Buy & Sell”. The outdoor massages, provided by Certified Massage Therapist Eric Bong, were greatly enjoyed by several WWN NE members. Some of the women brought "Hand Crafted Goods for Show & Tell, Buy and Sell”.

Timber Sale - the Nuts and Bolts on an Active Job Site

Northeast MNWWN and Peggy Meseroll Host a Tour of an Active Timber Harvest by Jan Bernu, MNWWN Northeast

On February 28th, the MN Women’s Woodland Network (MNWWN)-NE local network sponsored a tour of an active timber harvest at the Maki Family LLC property near Esko, MN. Peggy Meseroll, MFA Board Member and member of the WWN-NE local network, and her sister Mary are members of the Maki family and hosted this tour. Jan Bernu, Two By Forestry consulting forester and contracted forester for the Maki family, led the tour and discussion on “Private Timber Sale Nuts & Bolts Basics.” Jan is also leading the WWN-NE group and arranged this tour. There were 12 participants, including 3 from the Metro Area MNWWN, who braved the cold temperatures to learn about timber sales, timber harvesting and woodland management.