27 April 2011
Go Blue! Diamond Lake Community Makeover honored as finalist for Minnesota Environmental Initiative Awards Partnership of the Year.  Vote by May 6 to help the project win $1,000.

The Go Blue! Community Makeover for Diamond Lake is a finalist for a prestigious Minnesota Environmental Initiative Award. The winning nonprofit receives $1,000, and the winner is determined by a public vote. To learn more and vote for Go Blue!, follow the instructions here.

05 October 2010
Go Blue! receives Watershed Heroes Award
The Minnehaha Creek Watershed District will honor Tina Plant and the Go Blue! project team from Friends of Diamond Lake with the 2010 Watershed Heroes Award Friday, October 8 for their work on Go Blue! Community Makeover project.

17 June 2010
Tina Plant from Hedberg has added her first blog entry about the 2010 Blue Community Makeover Project for Diamond Lake.  Check it out.

10 June 2010

The Buildout is underway! With many raingardens completed and a host of other Go Blue! stormwater mitigation projects underway, we’ve got something to celebrate!  All Go Blue! participants & their families, contractors, and volunteers are invited to the celebration event Friday, June 18, 4-7 pm at Pearl Park.  Food, of course, and cool stuff for the kids to do.

For more photos of Go Blue! projects in progress, check out the Hedberg Blog and  Friends of Diamond Lake image gallery.

Minnesota Conservation Corps and Landscape Designer Mike from Metro Blooms dig in to install a rain garden at a home in the Diamond Lake watershed of Minneapolis.

08 June 2010
Volunteers Needed! Go Blue needs your help with a number of volunteer needs from dishing up hot dogs at the June 18 celebration event, to being part of the documentary team. Time commitments start with just one hour. These are fun and easy ways to get involved and, if you are a registered Go Blue! participant, they count toward the matching grant volunteer requirement. See the complete list of volunteer needs here.

14 May 2010
This morning’s StarTribune Metro section features the Diamond Lake Go Blue! makeover in an article by Laurie Blake.  >> read the article here

29 April 2010
Go Blue! discounts on rain barrels, trees, & native plants are available. Even if you did not register for Go Blue! last fall, until May 31, you can pre-order rain barrels at a special discount of more than 60 percent. Trees and native plants are also being offered at special prices in conjunction with the Go Blue! program.

26 April 2010
Mandatory Meeting for Contractors has been scheduled for May 5.  Get details here.

21 April 2010
IMPORTANT DEADLINE NOTE: May 6 is the last date for registered participants to attend a required Raingarden Part A Workshop to remain eligible for participation.  Sign up at metroblooms.org

16 April 2010
A Project Update Document, with grant cost share requirements and information was given to participants at the April 13 rain gardens workshop at Pearl Park. Participants will want to review this in detail.

Rain barrel cost estimates updated.  Registered particpants, please see the FAQ for more information.

Deadline for return of registered participants’ project priority forms has been extended to May 5.

15 April 2010
Minnesota Public Radio Program
Hedrick Smith, Pulitzer Prize and Emmy winning reporter and the producer of the acclaimed PBS Frontline documentary Poisoned Waters joined Midday today and spoke about water pollution issues generated by stormwater runoff and what can be done. “If everyone in a subdivision would tear up their concrete or asphalt driveways and replace it with paving stones,” says Hedrick, “that alone would have a tremendous impact.”

You can listen at http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/04/15/midday1/

Hedrick will deliver a video-illustrated lecture on Tuesday, April 27, in St. Paul that will examine the sources and dangers of water pollution and the policies that have allowed it to continue. The event is free, but seating is limited. To register, visit The Freshwater Society.

12 April 2010
The April 13 rain garden workshop is full. Members of the Go Blue! team will be at Pearl Park on April 13 with material samples, etc., so please plan to stop by Pearl Park on the 13th anyway. Participants may attend another workshop part ‘A’ (see metroblooms.org), and should go ahead schedule the meeting with the LDA (see step 2, below).

05 April 2010
Visit the Stormwater Facts page for new links to all kinds of resources on stormwater runoff pollution and what you can do about it.

31 March 2010
If you are a registered participant, a number of important steps require your action in order for you to participate in the program.

As we move toward the June “buildout,” more details will become available. We are working hard to keep you up-to-date and to be as informative as possible along the way. As they are confirmed, details will be communicated by email to participants and on this site.

In the meantime, we ask that participants please give your attention to these required next steps:

1. RAINGARDEN WORKSHOP REGISTRATION

If you have not yet, you will need to register for the April 13 Metro Blooms Rain Garden Workshop—part A. If you have already attended a Metro Blooms Rain Garden Workshop A in the past, you will not need to attend again, but you will need to visit Pearl Park on April 13 to review project material selections and meet contractors.  To sign up, go to metroblooms.org.

(NOTE: our previous communication indicated in error that you also needed to sign up for the Rain Garden Workshop—part B.  If you have already signed up for part B, and do not wish to attend, we will refund your $10 registration fee.)

2. LDA VISIT & STORMWATER MANAGEMENT PLAN

In the next week or two, you will be contacted by Metro Blooms to set an appointment so that a stormwater management plan for your property can be developed. A landscape design assistant (LDA) from the University of Minnesota will visit your property to gather information for a stormwater management plan which includes boundaries, and recommendations for hardscaping, drainage, raingarden placement, etc.  The cost of the plan is covered by the grant, and you are under no obligation to act on its recommendations. A sample plan is available here.

3. PROJECT PRIORITY RANKING

When the LDA visits your property, they will leave you a Project Ranking Form to complete and return. As part of the project funding process, you will need to give a priority ranking to projects you are strongly interested in completing on your property. The goal of the ranking process is to provide information for the grant administrator about which projects are most likely to be completed so that grant funds can be applied in a way that will facilitate completion of all the number one priority projects. You may consider all types of projects —even those that you did not list in your original interest form.

To assist you in ranking, cost estimates by project type will be provided with the form and online here. Based on interest expressed in potential projects last November, it is estimated that most project types will be funded with approximately a 50/50 cost-share (homeowner pays 50 percent; the grant pays 50 percent). The final cost-share will be determined after the project priorities you identify are reviewed. Final determinations will be based on a formula that: 1) maximizes homeowner participation, 2) awards residents’ first project choice, 3) meets runoff reduction goals as specified in the grant, and 4) equitably distributes the cost share grant funds among project participants.

Please complete and return the Project Ranking Form by mail or by fax to Gail Schaal (see information below) by April 22. Note: deadline extended to May 5th.

Go Blue! Contact Information

For project questions and return of Project Ranking Form:

Gail Schaal
Promotions and Events Coordinator
Hedberg Landscape and Masonry Supply
975 Nathan Lane North
Plymouth, MN 55441

Email gschaal@hedbergaggregates.com
Phone 763-392-5920 (Weekdays 7:30 am – 4 pm)
Fax 763-545-7121