Farmington Feed: Earth Day 2025
This is the Farmington Feed, bringing you information from the city of Farmington.
Caryn:Hi, and welcome back to the Farmington Feed. I'm Caryn Hojnicki, the city's communications specialist, and I'm hungry for another episode of the feed. It's April, and you all know what month it is, Earth month. I have with me today three special guests that work for the city and have a little something to do with the Earth.
Caryn:Welcome back Violet Penman, our solid waste and recycling coordinator.
Violet:Hi.
Caryn:I also have with me two new guests, McKenna Rodine, water resources specialist, and Ben Humlie, natural resources specialist. Welcome, guys.
McKenna:Thank you.
Ben:Thank you.
Caryn:So thanks for joining us today, and we're gonna talk about Earth Day twenty twenty five and what that has to do with your positions here with the city. So, Violet, we'll start with you. What are some ways people can celebrate Earth Day this year?
Violet:I think you can celebrate Earth Day however you wanna celebrate Earth Day, but I do challenge everyone to make a sustainable switch this Earth Day and try and keep it up until at least the end of the month just to get that habit going. So a few examples of a sustainable switch you could do is keep a few extra reusable bags in your car so that you don't need to use a plastic bag or a paper bag when you're shopping. If you do use a paper bag, I would recommend bringing it to, like, a local food shelf. We'll often use those.
Caryn:Oh, yeah. We collect them here at our front desk.
Violet:You do collect them at Farmington too. Bring them to the Farmington City Hall, your paper bags to be reused too if you do have to use paper bag. One thing that I started doing last year is I will use old washcloths instead of paper towels to pick up spills. It's super great because then you just wash those towels and you don't have to throw the paper towels away. It saves me money too, which is awesome.
Caryn:Yeah. I do napkins. I have reusable napkins.
Violet:Yeah. I've I've heard of those, the, like, un napkins or whatever they're called. They're pretty cool too. Some people, like, soak them beforehand, but I don't even do that. I just put a little bit of soap and water, cleaning spray on it, and it works great.
Violet:Yeah. So another thing that kinda drives me insane with my coworkers, people using sandwich baggies or, like, plastic utensils in their lunch. I would challenge you to, like, bring your own spoon, bring your own fork, bring your own reusable Tupperware, and just wash it out every day rather than getting a paper plate at lunchtime in the lunchroom and reusing it. So another thing you could do, with your food scraps, we just recently changed many of you probably know our organic drop off site. It just changed its name to the food scrap drop off site.
Violet:Exact same great program, just a different name. But that's a great option for your banana peels, your apple cores, stuff that you can't eat. But instead of throwing it in the trash, you can bring it to a drop off site or compost it in your back yard, and it'll turn into compost, which just goes back to the earth, which is super great. So I will put in a promo for our swap here. It's happening in Rosemount, so just up the road on Highway 3 a little bit, but everyone is welcome to come to our sports equipment swap on April 10.
Violet:It's from six to 8PM at the Rosemount Steeple Center. Bring any, old sports equipment you or your child doesn't want anymore, and you can see if someone brings something that would be new to you.
Caryn:This is a great time of year to have it too. Mean, it's the change of seasons for sports and cleaning out your closet and saying, Oh, that doesn't fit this year.
Violet:Exactly. Yeah, we always get a lot of hockey gear this time of year.
Caryn:Oh, right.
Violet:Because it's kind of that weird transition season for hockey players. So, yeah, come on over, help support reuse that way.
Caryn:You did inspire me last time. I think we talked to put my food scraps in the freezer.
Violet:Yes.
Caryn:Before I take them to the drop site because you don't wanna take a small little bag every time. Mhmm.
Caryn:Like, I don't wanna go a couple times a week or whatever. Yeah. I go every other week maybe. Yep. pushing it.
Violet:That's about what
Violet:I do too. I put mine in the freezer. And I don't have a lot, but I I just don't wanna go.
Caryn:Well, we have a lot because we got a family of five. But, yeah, I have, like, four bags, and my husband's like, I think it's time we gotta go drop it off.
Violet:Yeah. Yeah. The freezer works great. You don't get any fruit flies. You don't even need to worry about it.
Violet:Like, if you're on vacation and it's half full, it's fine. You don't And
Caryn:then it doesn't smell either.
Violet:It doesn't smell. Yeah. People are always freaked out about the smell and the fruit flies and stuff, and it's like, just put it in your freezer if you have space. So I'm For sure. Advocate.
Caryn:So thank you. Mhmm. So let's highlight some of the other opportunities that may be coming up specific to Farmington and or Dakota County besides this, sports equipment swap.
Violet:Well, one thing that I am planning to do is Dakota County is holding an outdoor gear swap on Earth Day, which is April 22 up at Lebanon Hills. So that's more like camping gear, hiking stuff. So I'm a big outdoor enthusiast, so I'm gonna go try and meet that up there on that day. Otherwise, in Farmington, we do have our mattress and box spring drop off and document shred event, which we do this every year.
Caryn:That's a mouthful.
Violet:I know. We thought about changing the name, but I'm like, well, just so well. And so that event is May 10 from 9AM to noon at the Farmington Maintenance Facility. You can bring your mattresses or box spring. That will be $30 per piece.
Violet:But our company that we use recycles them, takes them apart into their parts, and recycles the scrap metal or the wood. And then ones that are nice, they pull aside and they donate it to a local shelter. So that's really nice. And then obviously, the document shredding part of that, you can bring your documents. Document shredding is free.
Violet:You can bring as much as you want, but do be courteous of the people behind you in line. No business documents. That's for residents only. But, yep, that's May 10.
Caryn:Oh, wow. And then just remind our listeners, quickly about your position and what you're responsible for in case they haven't heard you on our podcast before.
Violet:Yeah. So I'm a solid waste and recycling coordinator for Farmington and also Hastings and Rosemount as well. So you may see me running around back and forth on the Eastern End Of Dakota County here. My job really entails helping educate people about ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle. That's a big part of my job.
Violet:I also help make sure our facilities are up to snuff, that our bins are labeled, that we always have a recycling can with each of our trash cans. I organize our events or swap our very lovely named mattress and box spring drop off and document shred events. I help multifamily properties recycle if they need a little bit help. Those properties sometimes don't have all of the resources that single family homes do. And yeah, that that's kind of the gist of it.
Caryn:And they can reach out to you if they have specific questions and you can guide Yep,
Violet:of course. Always happy to help with that.
Caryn:And you are your information is on our website under public works, so they can always look for Violet Penman.
Violet:Yep. Look for me or look for the recycling guide is a great resource too if you type stuff in there. Super easy to use.
Caryn:Let's switch gears a little bit. McKenna, you're our water resources specialist. Can you tell us and our listeners a little bit about your background?
McKenna:Sure. Prior to joining the city of Farmington, I worked for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency as an environmental specialist, primarily in the construction stormwater unit.
Caryn:Okay.
McKenna:And then prior to that, I graduated with a bachelor's degree from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, in fisheries, wildlife, and conservation biology.
Caryn:Oh, awesome. Yeah. So have you always wanted to do this?
McKenna:You know, I kinda found a niche in the stormwater
Caryn:Yeah.
McKenna:Realm. But, yeah, I've always, similar to Ben as our natural resources specialist, I've always wanted to do something outdoors and do something with the natural environment and protect it.
Caryn:Yeah. Awesome. What are some of your responsibilities for the city?
McKenna:I primarily work to ensure compliance with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's municipal separate storm sewer system or MS4 permit.
Caryn:That's a mouthful too.
McKenna:It is a mouthful, which the city of Farmington is required to be permitted under for the purpose of reducing the amount of sediment and other pollutants entering state waters from our stormwater system. So this includes inspecting and maintaining stormwater infrastructure, things like stormwater ponds, storm drains, inlets, outlets, outfalls. Also includes providing education and outreach about stormwater pollution. And also includes reviewing development plans to make sure that they have erosion and sediment controls on their sites. This also includes following up with inspections and enforcing if they actually have those erosion sediment controls at those developments.
McKenna:So overall, I help to maintain the integrity of Farmington's natural water bodies. So that includes Wetlands, Middle Creek, North Creek, and Vermillion River.
Caryn:Yeah. And I noticed that we had posted recently on our website about Adopt A Pond, and you're in charge of that. Do you want to talk a little bit about that?
McKenna:Yeah. So we have an Adopt A Pond program that allows groups or individuals to adopt a stormwater pond. We have approximately 200 ponds within the city of Farmington.
Caryn:Wow, two hundred.
McKenna:Yep.
Caryn:That's crazy.
McKenna:So there's lots of ponds to be adopted. It just entails at least three times a year, typically spring, summer, fall, going out there and picking up garbage and maybe pulling some weeds and things like that. But overall, just helps to keep the ponds clean and our environment and Farmington clean.
Caryn:For sure. And if they're interested in that, they should just reach out to you or go on our website and get some more information?
McKenna:Yep. We have a web page that lists information with our adopt a pond registration packet that individuals or groups have to fill out to adopt a pond. Otherwise, yeah, my information's out on our website also.
Caryn:Perfect. So tell our listeners why it matters. Why does it matter for us to protect this water around us?
McKenna:Yeah. Well, we use water in so many different ways. So we use it recreationally, for drinking, and even just aesthetic purposes. And ultimately, anything that goes down our storm drains or runs off of our land carries pollutants with it and ends up in our water bodies or waterways one way or the other.
Caryn:I feel like a lot of people don't realize that.
McKenna:Yeah. I don't think, you know, people think, Oh, if it runs off somewhere else, it's out of sight, out of mind. But, yeah, ultimately it all drains to typically a stormwater pond and then from the stormwater pond into one of our natural lakes or rivers.
Caryn:And this is like the reason why we want to clean our drains or
McKenna:Exactly. So yeah, I mean, swim in lakes, we swim in rivers, we want it to be clean. And we also, you know, the water that drains down there supports plants and wildlife that keep our ecosystems thriving and enjoyable. So really helping to keep our waterways clean and being mindful of, you know, the fertilizers or chemicals that we use on our lawn or leaving grass clippings or leaves in the street that add to nutrient loading into these stormwater ponds that create algae and
Caryn:All these other things down the road that they don't see or think
McKenna:Exactly. So
Caryn:And, like, that's why you gotta pick up your dog poop and
McKenna:Exactly.
Caryn:Pick up the salt when it's winter. And we've been talking a lot about these things now that I just got a dog. My daughter had to pick up the poop the other day and she did a great job while she took her on a walk.
McKenna:Teach them young.
Caryn:Right? Like that's what you need to do. Like was funny, though. She also walked by another house, and they're like, oh, they didn't pick up any of their poop. But, nope, we should, especially if it's not on our lawn.
McKenna:Exactly.
Caryn:And you don't wanna leave it on someone else's. So what are some other things that either locally or throughout the state, that people can do to help?
McKenna:Yeah, kind of similar to the Adopt a Pond program, we also have an Adopt a Drain program, or Storm Drain, or Storm Stenciling, where and those are everywhere, you know, in your neighborhood, too. So even one just right outside your house, you can adopt to ensure that it stays clean and you keep a watch on it and clear any debris from going into it. Aside from that, we also, through Dakota County, actually, there's a landscaping for clean water program.
Caryn:Oh, yeah. That was in the currents.
McKenna:Yeah. We, people can sign up for that and take courses on planting a rain garden or planting native species in their in their yard to help mitigate or, you know, soak up the stormwater runoff from their their yard before it enters the system.
Caryn:Now is that free or does is there a cost to that?
McKenna:I believe the first class is free, and then there's a design course that I think costs money. But the first syringe intro class is is free for people to attend. They just have to sign up.
Caryn:Okay. And I think I think we have a link on our website, but if they can't find it, where to Dakota County Soil And Water?
McKenna:Correct. Yeah. Soil and water district through Dakota County. But it is also on our website.
Caryn:Yeah. Okay. Now, well, let's switch gears because Ben hasn't gotten to talk yet. You're our natural resources specialist, and you've been extremely busy with the emerald ash borer. Can you update our listeners on progress?
Ben:Yeah. Thanks for having me. I came in the summer late summer of twenty twenty four into a ash tree removal project.
Caryn:Yeah.
Ben:Little updates in the Currents.
Ben:We had for 2024 approximately 1,250 ash trees removed from city property, parks, and city right of ways or boulevards. That was city work, city workers, so public works, parks and rec, and we also use contractors for those trees.
Caryn:I mean thats a lot of trees.
Ben:It was a lot of trees.
Caryn:Probably took a lot of people and time.
Ben:It did. And that that progress continues this year in, 2025 up to date. Contractors and public work staff have, removed a 170 trees so far in the boulevard this year. There is still roughly 1,200 ash trees in the boulevard alone
Caryn:Wow.
Ben:Still standing in the city of Farmington.
Caryn:Okay. So And all of them have essentially been affected by the EAB?
Ben:Yep. Some are being treated still or have treatments from last year. We're in a region where it's so prevalent that all ash trees are gonna, succumb at some point in time. So that being said, the city is no longer treating ash trees. Okay.
Ben:We're gonna be using those funds to remove them. That way we have more funds available to remove ash trees. Unfortunately, I don't have specific timelines for areas in the city. Some areas may take priority over others.
Caryn:Well, it depends on, like, the the trees status too. Right? I mean, the really bad ones you need to take down first. Right?
Ben:Correct. And the trees that were treated, say, in 2024, for the most part, are probably gonna wait till to be the last trees. So when residents call asking when my ash tree is gonna be removed, the best answer I can give them is watch for the pink x. When you see a pink x on your tree, that means that you're in an area where, on paper, we're we're hopefully gonna get in there sooner than later. By the when I say sooner, ballpark, one to three months is probably the ballpark of when we're probably gonna come in, depending on if it's public works is coming in or we have a contractor.
Caryn:Yep. There's a lot of moving parts.
Ben:Yep. Right now, have spring road restrictions that plays a factor in which trees can get removed
Caryn:Okay.
Ben:Because we can't be overweight in city. So we're working on it. Yeah. Watch for the pink x.
Caryn:Yep. And so you're not just dealing with this. This is not your whole job. Right? So you have other responsibilities.
Caryn:Yeah. You wanna chat a little bit about that? What else do you have to do? What else? You don't have enough Ben.
Ben:Well, I answer a lot of phone calls, voice mails, and emails about trees.
Caryn:Mhmm.
Ben:Dealing with a lot of boulevard trees, not always it's not always about an ash tree. Sometimes people have questions about just the general tree in their yard and if there's anything wrong with it structurally or if we're doing, clearance pruning, why we're doing that. And I relayed the information of one, health of the tree, we can do structural pruning so it's healthier for the tree, but also we're keeping it clear so we're not scratching up public works vehicles and fall trucks if we're getting closer, fire trucks going down
Caryn:Mhmm.
Ben:The the streets, and also any other high clearance vehicles, private or public.
Caryn:Yeah. I didn't even think about that. But if they're not trimmed up, they're gonna hit them.
Ben:Yeah. I also do, reporting for our EAB grants, Emerald Ash Borer grants that we have through the state of Minnesota. We have two grants still going on in the city of Farmington. One's called the preparing for EAB grant.
Caryn:Mhmm.
Ben:And the other one is the shade tree bonding grant that
Caryn:Yeah. I remember seeing that one.
Ben:Removed a lot of trees in Downtown Farmington.
Caryn:That was the downtown one. Okay. Yes. Yeah. And we got some video of that.
Ben:Yes. They had some very large equipment working through
Caryn:the city. For sure. It was kind of amazing watching it. Like, I'm just I'm gonna snip that off. Like, it's no big deal.
Ben:Yep.
Ben:So, with that one, we are in a planning stage of planting trees in replacement of the trees that were taken.
Caryn:And that's in the downtown area, though.
Ben:Right? Yeah. That is a geographic specific area that Grant is allocated for. And where applicable, trees will go in. Where we have room
Caryn:Mhmm.
Ben:Trees will go in. We are bound by utilities that are going underground.
Caryn:Yep. So Well, plus the grant probably has guidelines that you have to follow.
Ben:It does. It's a minimum of one for one grant. So we removed 331 trees. We'll be replacing. So there will be 331 trees to replace those.
Caryn:Okay. Mhmm. Give us a little bit about your background because, you know, I think this is the first time you've on. Right? So they don't really know about your position either.
Caryn:Okay. So why don't you tell them about that?
Ben:My background, before coming to the City Farmington, I worked as a park keeper at Lebanon Hills Regional Park. That's where I was based out of for Dakota County Facilities Management. Mhmm. Much of my time there was spent dealing with, hazardous trees, upkeep of the park, custodial duties, and, there was a little bit of natural resource restoration and a touch of fisheries management.
Caryn:Oh, okay. Too. Tell me you're an outdoors guy, period. Right?
Ben:I I love the outdoors. I'm a very avid, fisherman. I enjoy hunting as well, camping, downhill skiing, cross country skiing, but fishing is is my passion.
Caryn:Yeah. So Did you get out when they stocked the river to see that?
Ben:Not last year.
Caryn:Okay.
Ben:I I'm hoping to this year when they come through.
Caryn:Yeah. It's pretty fun.
Ben:I I did get to see that happen, though, when I was working, at Lebanon when they would, stock Holland Lake for trout
Ben:for the winter.
Ben:Yeah. So, I have seen it happen before. The, my background before then, I was actually I worked seasonally for Metropolitan Mosquito Control and Farmington for one of the seasons I was there was an area that I was I had to, work in
Caryn:a lot. Yeah.
Ben:So the wetlands here, I had a little background coming through, which was fun. Yeah. For schooling, I went to University of Minnesota Crookston. Got a bachelor's in natural resource management. And before that, I went to Vermillion Community College in Ely, Minnesota.
Ben:Got a associates in wilderness management.
Caryn:Okay. So So are you a certified arborist too? Or
Ben:I am certified that work? So I'm a certified tree inspector at
Caryn:this time.
Ben:Okay. I am working to get my certified arborist, license. I'm hoping to have that by the summer.
Caryn:Oh, awesome.
Ben:Or certification, not license, certification.
Caryn:Yeah. Okay. The final question, what will you all be doing for Earth Day this year? Who wants to go first?
Violet:I'll go first.
Violet:So for Earth Day this year, mentioned I'm going try and make up to the Lebanon Hills Visitor Center to go to the swap, the outdoor gear swap, which it sounds like we have a bunch of outdoor enthusiasts in this room. So that's awesome. Try and make it up there as well. And then I also went to school at UW River Falls, so I'm going to go back there that weekend to help with. They do an Earth Fest every
Caryn:Oh, cool.
Violet:So yep, I'm going to go back and help with that fun opportunity to be outside and meet people.
Caryn:And give back to your
Violet:And give back to the community where I I started at.
Caryn:Yeah. Awesome. Ben, you?
Ben:For Earth Day, it kinda coincides with Arbor Day.
Caryn:Okay.
Ben:And I will be assisting with implementation of the tree planting at Distad Park.
Caryn:Oh, okay. Yeah. And that's when again?
Ben:That will be Arbor Day, April twenty fifth. Think we're gonna plant 25 trees
Caryn:25. Okay.
Ben:in Distad Park. But for Distad Park, major funding from the planting comes from the preparing for EAB grant that we have through the state and then also, tree donations by, Dakota Electric.
Caryn:Oh, awesome.
Ben:Couple of supporting, partners in that aspect. If people are wondering where the trees are coming from Yeah. That's how
Caryn:we Oh, that's great. Now when you do a tree planting, do people realize how much work it really is? Because I went to I did one before, it's like to get to dig the hole, like, didn't dig the hole. Like, we had a big machine. I don't know what kind it was, but dig that hole.
Caryn:But, like, just trying to get the dirt back in, man, it's a workout.
Ben:It it can be a workout. And depending on the soil types, it'll it'll either be a cakewalk or, you're wondering, what did I get myself into? And the key is when you're planting a tree, make sure you plant it properly. Don't plant it too deep because they say it takes twenty minutes in planting to kill the tree, but that tree may not die until fifteen years from now because you planted it too deep and the stem decomposes itself and a windstorm just tips it over where if you're hit by the root flare, a better chance of survival for a long, long time.
Caryn:Okay. And then this this planting is done in cooperation with some fifth graders. Correct?
Ben:Yes. I'm not sure what school Okay. That we're doing at this time. It that's still getting worked out.
Caryn:Yeah. But it's one of the Farmington Schools. That's that's a really cool part of it. Yep. Alright, McKenna.
Caryn:What are you gonna do for aearth day?
McKenna:I will be helping out with our pond and park cleanup day, which is May 3 this year. On a Saturday from nine to 10AM is when our supply pickup will be, where, the community can come pick up supplies to aid in their pond and park cleanup activities.
Caryn:Well, I will be with my daughter's Girl Scout troop because we are gonna do a cleanup day. And we also have adopted a drain, a couple drains in our neighborhood.
Caryn:Awesome. We are still thinking about names because they ask you to name them, which I think is really cool. We're trying to come up.
Caryn:Oh, I think we have one name. It's Tom Petty and the Drain Cleaners.
McKenna:Love it.
Caryn:That's one because we're Tom Petty fans. But we we actually, on our walk, like, we'll just we'll do a bunch of them just because you're like, oh, well, people don't know.
Caryn:So we're just gonna clean them. But I think that stenciling thing is kinda cool because then it's, like, raising that awareness and having people, like, see it and look and read and Yeah. Yeah. For sure. Absolutely.
Caryn:Alright. So that wraps it up for Earth Day. I appreciate all of you coming on. Just want a few reminders. Arbor Day Tree Planning, Friday, April twenty fifth at Distad Park.
Caryn:Pond And Park Cleanup, Saturday, May Third. Supply pickup is nine to ten am. In City Hall parking lot. And if they can't do it that day, they can coordinate with you or Emilee for the park cleanup.
Violet:Yeah.
Caryn:And finally, yard waste pickups, right, Violet? That's going be starting here soon. So that's through DSI. You just need to call them at (952) 469-2239 or go to Dickssantation.com and schedule that and then you can pay online or it's on your bill.
Violet:Yep. They'll send
Caryn:them for you. Great. So that concludes this episode of the Farmington Feed. Thank you for listening. We look forward to connecting with residents with this podcast.
Caryn:If you have any feedback, guest requests or ideas, email me at Communications@FarmingtonMN.gov. Don't forget to subscribe to the Farmington Feed wherever you like to get your podcasts.
