Want to make a
Difference?
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How about reducing your mowing by just ten percent? And getting your neighbours to do the same. How about your employer? Little steps by many add up to huge progress for our planet.
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Princeton Retail:
763-631-9458
Scandia Retail:
651-433-1437
Customer Service:
800-837-5986
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Greetings!
 
Sometimes it takes a crisis to catch our attention and at least in that regard a problem can be a good thing. The world is finally waking up. Whether it has been the dying honeybees, dwindling monarchs or maybe even our dashed hopes for a spectacular creature with an ivory bill, there have been many lessons this past decade of just how much influence our collective human inertia has on other things. We can be so smart and yet so utterly ignorant but finally, at least here in the upper Midwest, there is more widespread effort and inspired effort to protect and even restore diversity. After all, at the end of the day it is the diversity that provides us with the greatest safety net of all. We have all heard this for decades but the bees, butterflies and birds are bringing this undeniable reality home and people are taking action. There is a sincere effort to contribute to the solution rather than add to the problem. Milkweeds have been planted everywhere as have native gardens and large scale restorations that focus not just on individual plants but on actual whole plant communities. It seems that the urgency of the human condition is being realized at last. One can find hope and excitement in what has happened this past summer.
It is this realization that is propelling PRI forward. We feel the pressure and know that failing is not an option. Of course, we don't get everything right but we do continue to learn, improve, advance and just get things done. If you are a customer of PRI you have been part of that and your input is important so let us know the good and the bad. We have received some extraordinarily complimentary letters and some constructively critical ones as well. Thank you for both and keep them coming if you are so motivated. More importantly, nurture your native gardens, add to them when you can and enjoy them always.
I hope you had a great summer and will enjoy the beauty of fall.
In appreciation,
Ron Bowen
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 Employee Profile: Justin Sykora
Justin Sykora is the Land Management Coordinator for our Two Oaks office in Scandia, MN. Justin has worked with PRI since 2003, starting in the Watertown office and then moving to the Scandia location when the office opened in 2007.
As the Land Management Coordinator, Justin's responsibilities include overseeing all native area management including; prairies, wetlands, and woodlands. In the spring, prescribed burning with the crew occupies most of his time. In the winter months, he turns his attention to woodland work, specifically buckthorn removal.
Growing up in St. Peter, Minnesota, Justin developed an interest and love of the outdoors. As a high school student, his first summer job was working with Cargill Hybrid Corn Research as a pollinator. Justin earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Conservation from the University Of Wisconsin at River Falls in 2003. During college he made ends meet by working construction jobs, primarily doing concrete work. Before graduating he spent one enjoyable summer in the woods of northern Wisconsin as the nature director for Camp Birch Trails with the Fox River Area Girl Scouts.
He and his wife Brianna, an elementary school teacher, have two daughters, Hailey - six and Ashlee - three, live in Chisago City with their big lab Baxter. Life is busy and full with this family but when they get a little down time they all enjoy being together outdoors fishing, camping and hiking.
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Project News: Design Ready Controls
 Our Princeton services team will soon have the pleasure of installing a little over four acres of landscape into native plantings at Design Ready Control's new campus. The goal for the site will be to introduce native plant species surrounding the entire building, which will not only be beautiful, but will follow in the steps of LEED certification by being sustainable as well as eliminating the normal inputs required to maintain many traditional corporate landscapes, such as weekly mowing, fertilizers and irrigation. The project site was formerly in agricultural production and is one of many other corporate campuses in the neighborhood taking steps towards ecologically sound landscapes.
The building project began in April of 2015 and final grade of the landscape is currently under way. The next step will be to install tree and shrub species that would be found in that area naturally. Then preparation of the various seeding areas will occur once the tree and shrub species are installed, such as harrowing the soil to loosen it, seeding, and then erosion blanket and native little blue stem straw to stabilize the site. We will then install native sod flats as well as more mature grass species to enhance the areas around the building as well as add further diversity in the planting with species that may not establish as well from seed.
Design Ready Controls will be creating educational signage to educate their employees, visitors and the public on the benefits of this native landscape. These benefits include reducing inputs normally required to maintain traditional turf landscapes, providing essential habitat for wildlife and pollinators that will visit this new area and having a dynamic, beautiful landscape that will be enjoyed by their many employees and visitors to the campus.
As part of a new initiative, we will be featuring key projects on our website. The Featured Project Page will include interesting background information on the project, why the project is happening, design aspects, before and after photos, comments from the owners, etc. Check our website soon for the DRC Featured Project Page!
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Retail News: Tree and Shrub Sale
 Trees and Shrubs at the Princeton and Scandia retail stores are on sale now!
We still have a fantastic selection of native trees and shrubs.
Through the month of September select in-stock* trees and shrubs are up to 50% off.
Plant selections and discounts will vary by location and supply.
Stop by or call either location for great deals and availability! Princeton: 763-631-9458 and Scandia: 651-433-1437.
*In Stock Only - Does not apply to orders
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Spotlighting: Lindley's aster
 Once we really get into fall, it's the asters that take center stage while other native plants take more of a supporting role. The asters, with their white, blue and purple blooms add color to a mostly waning and dormant landscape. They fill out and extend our blooming season by just a few weeks but more importantly, they provide nourishment for our pollinators; butterflies, birds, but bees in particular, who are still active and looking for something to sustain themselves through the winter. There are many species of asters that are native to Minnesota (PRI grows around 13 different species). They're found growing in a large variety of conditions, from dry prairies, to wetlands and woodlands.
Lindley's aster (Aster ciliolatus) is a woodland species that is found in the northern two thirds of the state. It grows in full to partial shade but is most often found growing on the woodland's edge in dry to moist soils.
Lindley's aster is a great addition to your woodland garden and is a wonderful companion to Pennsylvania sedge, wild geranium, Solomon's seal, columbine and large-leaved aster. It's available in both seed and plants, but with any woodland species, we highly recommend starting with plants.
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Resource Library
Interested in the concept of landscaping with native plants but wondering just where to begin? A visit to our Resource Library may be the answer. Packed with pages of useful information, this library can help you get acquainted with all things native. And remember, an on-site consultation with one of our restoration ecologists is only a phone call away!
"Get a life in which you are generous. Look around at the azaleas making fuchsia star bursts in spring; look at a full moon hanging silver in a black sky on a cold night. And realize that life is glorious, and that you have no business taking it for granted."
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