Doug Hedin has been working toward environmental goals for years, serving as the president of the Lake Jennie Association, helping legislators develop policy and getting involved with private environmental groups.

So when the opportunity arose to naturalize his shoreline on Lake Jennie, he and his wife, Beverly, jumped at it.

“We need more people to return their shoreline to a natural environment,” Doug Hedin said. “What happens to the lake is dependent upon what happens to the land around the lake.”

The couple received a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources grant to help pay for the costs of the project.

The agreement obligates the Hedins to allow others to come to their home and check out their native shoreline, keep the plants watered for the first two years, not to use fertilizers on the new shoreline, and contribute $500 to the project. The DNR covered the rest of the costs, which reached $3,000 to $4,000 and included labor, as well as the native flowers, shrubs and grasses workers installed.

“Each shoreland planting is unique,” said shoreland habitat specialist Phil Nasby. “We try to get very specific to each county.”

Read more in the July 3 Independent Review.

This story was written by Lesley Christianson, a staff writer at the Hutchinson Leader. It first appeared in the Hutchinson Leader.