Coexist With Nature? Absolutely.

When it comes to taking care of the environment, the little decisions we make can often be the most important. Donating 70 acres to the Minnesota Land Trust to be preserved as open space in perpetuity is a small gesture in the grand scheme of things, but the positive impacts on the ecology and the quality of life at Cedar Bluff will be far-reaching and meaningful.

Great care is being taken to restore the original character and natural beauty of the Cedar Bluff landscape, and to make sure we tread lightly there from now on.

The fields will be dappled with wildflowers and tall grasses that will brighten our eyes, absorb tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and provide habitat to rare birds, such as bobolinks and dickcissels. With recent advances in alternative energy, those same prairie grasses might even be converted into biomass to heat your home.

Water will be managed thoughtfully as well. Stormwater will be absorbed by rain gardens amidst the prairie rather than flowing untreated into the water supply. Wastewater will be treated in an ecologically sensitive way through engineered wetlands.

Overall, the community will be remarkably sustainable. Homeowners will join the land stewardship role through their own building decisions. This is an exciting prospect as sustainable design technologies become more efficient and cost-effective.