Gardens & Grounds

Entering our church and cemetery properties we encounter a canopy of stately green ash trees. These trees have been here for many years forming a walkway to the House of God and the resting place for those who have gone on before us. These beautiful trees are being severely threatened by a noxious insect called the emerald ash borer (EAB) which has wiped out hundreds of thousand trees in the United States. It is present in Dakota County and county officials have declared a quarantine on ash trees.

Alerted by the severity of the EAB we contacted arborists who recommended treatment. Previously, the treatment was to cut down the trees and dispose. Pesticide companies became alerted to the enormity of the issue and started formulating pesticides and injection technology.

Pesticide is injected into the tree or the soil. The survival rate is 99% provided treatment is conducted every other year. References from the cities of Burnsville, Shakopee, St. Louis Park and Fort Snelling National Cemetery were very satisfied with this injection process.

Competitive bids were taken and the successful vendor has completed the injection of all 57 trees on church property and 33 trees on the cemetery property at a combined cost of $6935.25. The pesticide used is a safe, organic option.

We now can continue to encounter those 89 beautiful ash trees for many years thanks to the latest technology.