Inver Hills Community Garden & Orchard

Inver Hills Community Garden & Orchard We are uniting people through hands-on education and fostering healthy, sustainable communities.

Founded by August Hoffman & Barb Curchack in 2012, our garden is an interdisciplinary, cooperative effort among Metro State University, Inver Hills Community College & community members. We have a large communal garden, 40 individual plots and an apple orchard. All are located behind (east of) Heritage Hall and the Business Building of the IHCC Campus. Our grounds are pesticide free, and while not

completely organic, we do support organic gardening practices. All produce from the communal garden and orchard is donated to food shelves and non-profit organizations. The Garden Committee welcomes all community members to participate in all activities in the communal garden and orchard. Individuals can apply for one 10’ X 10’ individual plot in our pesticide-free garden for the entire growing season. There is also a 50 seat outdoor classroom used for classes, visiting speakers and concerts.

We want to hear from YOU! Our community garden has been closed for the past two years, and as we look toward the future,...
04/21/2026

We want to hear from YOU!

Our community garden has been closed for the past two years, and as we look toward the future, your voice matters more than ever.

We’re asking community members to take a few minutes to fill out our interest form and share:

- What you loved about the garden.
- What you’d like to see happen next.
- How the space could better serve our community.

Whether you participated before or are brand new, your input will help shape what comes next for the garden.

Thank you for helping us imagine the future of our community garden together!

🔗 https://forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=xscRULQKq0ae9PrnSpIafy7j12tVfyBAgKDlEjz1J_dUQ01OVlQ3QVhBWElRN043M0Y2QzYwNkwyMS4u

🐝 Thank you, Builders of Bee Homes! Thank you to everyone who attended and helped out at today’s Build‑A‑Bee Home event....
02/24/2026

🐝 Thank you, Builders of Bee Homes!

Thank you to everyone who attended and helped out at today’s Build‑A‑Bee Home event. We hope you had fun! Because of your energy and teamwork, we took real, hands‑on action to make a positive impact in our community, learn a new skill, and help save the bees.

We now have 4 beautiful new habitats supporting our campus’s solitary bee populations, such as mason or leafcutter bees, and that’s something to be proud of. And hopefully you also picked up the know‑how to build your own at home so you can keep the impact growing!

A huge shout‑out to Kimberly, Shannon, Scott, Rachel, Jay, Joel, Michaela, and Sameeha for lending your time and talents to make this event happen. Your individual efforts came together to create something meaningful for our environment.

Up next: keep an eye out for details on cocoon harvesting and cleaning—our next step in keeping our pollinators healthy and thriving!

Thank you again for your enthusiasm, teamwork, and care for our campus ecosystem and for maintaining our status as a Bee Campus certified by The Xerces Society . Someday, you’ll be able to walk the Unity Trail, see these bee homes, and say: “I made that!” 🐝🏡

View more photos on Flickr: 86284284@N07/albums/72177720332213248" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://www.flickr.com/photos/86284284@N07/albums/72177720332213248
Also coming soon...a video recap!

Build‑A‑Bee Home Workshop — Next Week! 🐝Tuesday, February 24, 20261–3 PM • FA‑138Help us give native pollinators a place...
02/19/2026

Build‑A‑Bee Home Workshop — Next Week! 🐝
Tuesday, February 24, 2026
1–3 PM • FA‑138

Help us give native pollinators a place to thrive! Join us for a hands‑on workshop where you’ll build and paint bee homes that will be placed along the new campus Unity Trail.

- All are welcome — no experience needed!
- Clubs can sponsor and customize a bee house with their own designs.
- Learn about solitary bees and why they’re essential to a healthy ecosystem.

Come create something meaningful, support local pollinators, and leave your mark on campus!

We hope to see you there!

What a difference a year makes! Here are some before-and-after photos of the Pollinator Patio—showing how it looked this...
09/08/2025

What a difference a year makes!

Here are some before-and-after photos of the Pollinator Patio—showing how it looked this time last year when we began planting native, pollinator-friendly plants, compared to how it looks now.

Interested in joining the Campus Pollinator Conservation Committee? Join us in the Pollinator Patio tomorrow, Tuesday, September 9th, at 2 PM for a tour of all campus pollinator spaces.

American Gothic, but make it pollinator-friendly.It’s our final Weeding Wednesday before the Fall Semester kicks off — a...
08/13/2025

American Gothic, but make it pollinator-friendly.

It’s our final Weeding Wednesday before the Fall Semester kicks off — and the Bees Knees crew is striking a serious pose (shovel included) in honor of all the hard work that’s gone into supporting our campus pollinators this summer.
As you return to campus, take a moment to visit the Pollinator Patio and see what we’ve been cultivating — one w**d, one bloom, and one bee at a time.

Come for the flowers, stay for the stoic stares.

Did you know Inver Hills is a certified Bee Campus USA? Thanks to the ongoing efforts of the Bees Knees Pollinator Conse...
08/09/2025

Did you know Inver Hills is a certified Bee Campus USA? Thanks to the ongoing efforts of the Bees Knees Pollinator Conservation Committee, our campus is thriving with pollinator life!

Check out these stunning photos captured by one of our talented staff photographers in the prairie restoration area. The first photo features a green sweat bee—the very species that inspired our campus mascot, Bo the Bee!

Explore the full album here: 86284284@N07/albums/72177720328209384/" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://www.flickr.com/photos/86284284@N07/albums/72177720328209384/

Another Weeding Wednesday with the Bee’s Knees is in the books! We planted some Joe Pye, Swamp Milkw**d, and Anise Hysso...
08/06/2025

Another Weeding Wednesday with the Bee’s Knees is in the books! We planted some Joe Pye, Swamp Milkw**d, and Anise Hyssop. We removed 5 bags of w**ds and invasive plants. Overall, not a bad haul for our crew of 5!

Weeding Wednesday Recap!🐝🌼Wenesday was a great day with the Bees Knees! We had three wonderful volunteers join us for ou...
08/01/2025

Weeding Wednesday Recap!🐝🌼

Wenesday was a great day with the Bees Knees! We had three wonderful volunteers join us for our second to last Weeding Wednesday. Together, we tackled the beautiful Pollinator Patio, where we removed invasive persicaria longiseta, making space for our beloved pollinator-friendly plants.

As we worked, we also took the time to label our intentional pollinator-supportive plants, like bee balm and echinacea, ensuring that our garden remains a thriving habitat for our buzzing friends. We even spotted a beautiful butterfly in the space!

A huge thank you to our dedicated volunteers for their hard work and commitment to creating a vibrant ecosystem! We can't wait to see how our garden flourishes in the coming weeks.

Stay tuned for more updates, and join us next Wednesday and 11 AM for more gardening adventures!

Address

Inver Hills Community College 2500 East 80th Street
Inver Grove Heights, MN
55076

Telephone

+16514503526

Website

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