Living catchment to help clean lake

What are these folks up to in Lake Hiawatha? They're planting a living catchment, one piece of a larger project designed to capture litter entering the Lake Hiawatha/Bde Psin. Neighborhood volunteers, along with students from Sean Connaughty's art and ecology classes at the University of Minnesota, planted a variety of items to help catch trash entering the lake through the city's stormwater sewer drain on the northwest side. Plants included willow, rushes, obedient plant, blue flag, and pussy willow. The rest of the project will be installed Saturday, June 3, along with a cleanup and celebration event from 9-11 a.m. "Come pick up trash, canoe, look for invertebrates, make a DIY environmental cleaner, and see what this innovative pilot project is all about!" urge organizers. (Photo courtesy of Sean Connaughty)