Minnesota Will Pay Homeowners to Replace Lawns with Bee-Friendly Wildflowers, Clover and Native Grasses

Bees are the most important pollinators in agriculture and are also extremely important in natural areas as well. They are responsible for pollinating 70 of the roughly 100 crops that feed 90% of our world’s population, which equates to $30 billion each year in crops. Despite their importance, the planet’s bee populations are struggling. Many species are at risk of becoming extinct. If we lost bees, we would not only lose those crops but the animals who rely on those crops as food, essentially the food chain would begin to collapse.

Thankfully, there are organizations and people who recognize this problem and are taking actions to improve the situation. One of those groups in the state of Minnesota.

Minnesota Pays Citizens to Create Bee-Friendly Lawns

Minnesota has set aside almost $1 million to boost the suffering bee population in their state. Their plan, set to roll out in spring 2020, is to encourage homeowners to stop caring for their lawns in the traditional sense, instead to grow lawns filled with wildflowers, clover, and native grasses.

The bees used to rely on the flowers and grasses in the wild-open fields of the state, but as Minnesota becomes increasingly urban, they are now forced to rely on suburban and city lawn flowers.

The state is providing homeowners with grants to stop spraying herbicides, cut their lawns less, and allow their lawns to return to a more natural state. People are encouraged to plant the types of wildflowers that the bees like, such as:

Dutch white clover

Creeping thyme

Self-heal

Ground plum

Dandelion