r/UpliftingNews • u/ArgentineBeauty • 4h ago

Two Minnesota solar farms planted native grasses and wildflowers beneath their panels. Five years later, flowering plant species had increased sevenfold, native bee numbers more than 20 fold and total insect numbers had tripled, while more bees were also visiting nearby soybean fields.

https://www.ecoticias.com/en/two-minnesota-solar-farms-turned-the-ground-beneath-their-panels-into-habitat-and-native-bee-abundance-rose-more-than-20-fold/36680/
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u/Ok_Turnover_1235 1h ago

? Planting flowers increases bee populations? That's an insane discovery! Total game changer!

Oh wait, we already knew that, and there would be even more if the solar panels weren't there 

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u/NotOnApprovedList 55m ago

The bees and flowers were already heavily diminished because the sites were agricultural fields - farmers had already disrupted the landscape. The solar farms were built on these former agricultural fields. If you read the article, native plant species were put in and invasive weeds pulled out. After the native bee species had increased by 20 times and were observed pollinating nearby soybean crops. So, local ecosystems being reinstalled. Sounds like a success story to me.

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u/Ok_Turnover_1235 1m ago

If at first you don't succeed, redefine success!