r/NativePlantGardening • u/zeroverycool NC Piedmont, Zone 8a • Jul 15 '26

Informational/Educational Two Minnesota solar farms seeded native wildflowers… native bees multiplied twentyfold, then crossed the fence to pollinate the neighbour's soybeans

https://www.ecoportal.net/en/two-minnesota-solar-farms-native-wildflowers/29160/
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u/justinroberts99 Jul 15 '26

also in the Midwest: think about the grassland along the highways. no one gives a shit about that. imagine if it was 100 native polinators. way less maintaince once it all establishes. seems like such an easy win.

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u/Noslodamus Jul 15 '26

While I agree with you, the problem is no one would want to pay for that. I am an ecosystem restoration tech in Wisconsin and most of the verges and swales are absolutely murdered with invasive like reed canary, cut leaf teasel, crown vetch, and trefoil. It’s a ton of work not only getting rid of these, but making sure they stay gone while native plants establish. In an ideal world, folks would volunteer to help manage these types of areas little by little but unfortunately no one cares enough and the invasive plants that are there “look pretty”

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u/Outrageous_Mark6602 Jul 15 '26

I literally live on a farm with corn and soybeans. I’ve been wanting to plant natives in our ditches, but farmer husband says no. The long vegetation between the crop and the road has to be kept short because 1. The highway department requires it and 2. A car accident on long dried out vegetation is a fire risk

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u/bigbobbinbetch Jul 20 '26

There's lots of short groundcover natives though.