The gardens restore habitat and bring beauty to an area, said Tim Baumann with the pollinator project.

“It’s kind of a cool science opportunity for everyone, too,” he said.

Principal Corey Thorson said the school had been talking about a garden project for a number of years, but the Minot Pollinator Project helped make it finally happen.

The pollinator project previously assisted in establishing gardens at Washington and Edison schools. Baumann said other interested schools can reach out to the Minot Pollinator Project through social media.

Henry Nesdahl waters the newly planted pollinator garden at Bel Air School Monday as his brother, Jack, looks on. In the background is their father, Joey Nesdahl, a Minot teacher. The Nesdahl family was helping other volunteers establish the garden.

The project also has pollinator gardens in other areas across the city, including in the roundabout near John Hoeven Elementary School in southeast Minot, next to the Sleep Inn & Suites at Dakota Square, at Lowe’s Garden Center near the fairgrounds and in the area of the Minot Water Treatment Plant and Souris Valley Golf Course.

“It’s been a really great project so far. It’s been good to see the community come together,” Baumann said.

The project has been funded with the help of private donations and fundraiser sales of clover seed. The Aggie Foundation and Best Kept Secret Lounge provided a recent donation, and Hess Corp. has contributed in the past. The City of Minot provided wood chips for the Bel Air garden.

Baumann said a native prairie restoration project will take place at Minot Air Force Base this weekend.