10/01/2026
On a warm evening in early August, a group of people gathered in a circle in Lisa’s North Minneapolis front yard.
By the end of the night, everyone helped plant two triangle-shaped garden beds hugging the walkway to Lisa’s front porch, filled with native plants especially preferred by the monarch butterfly. 🌱🦋
“It was such an emotional time” Lisa says, recalling planting during the workshop. “The community, the people who came to help, that was a whole different level.”
Thanks to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Small Grant, Metro Blooms was able to provide free native plants and gardening resources to 30 Twin Cities Metro residents who would otherwise not be able to afford a pollinator garden.
We worked with participants to select plants and tools, and then shared a workshop at Lisa’s house to get hands-on practice prepping a site, laying out plants, planting, and garden care basics like watering and weeding.
“To see people willing to help with the process was amazing,” Lisa remarked. “That’s what community should be like—that in spite of difference, we can come together.”
Learn more about the project in our latest blog post: https://metroblooms.org/bringing-in-the-butterflies/
Minnesota Valley Refuge Friends Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge
