A group of volunteers gathered at the solar energy site on Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls’ land, Sept. 9, and planted 11 different species, native to Minnesota.
Staff Writer
A group of volunteers gathered at the solar energy site on Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls’ land, Sept. 9, and planted 11 different species, native to Minnesota.
With a heart for improving the environment for wildlife and future generations, about 20 people gathered at the Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls on Sept. 9 to plant 11 different native plant species. The plants were placed along the drip line beneath the solar panels on the Franciscan Sisters’ land. Placing them along the drip line allows the plants to be watered when rainwater cascades down the solar panels, said Mike Tuma, project manager with Great River Greening.
Sister Mary Hroscikoski, who manages the Franciscan Sisters’ environmental and prairie restoration projects, said deep-rooted prairie plants provide several advantages for soil health, erosion control and stormwater management.
“Naming the prairie plants as deep-rooted says it all. Roots in a mature prairie can easily be 15 feet long and quite dense. They hold on to soil, reducing topsoil erosion and creating channels for air and water. Water can then infiltrate deeply without runoff. Plant decomposition creates a rich organic soil structure fostering healthy, diverse microbial development,” she said.
While the Sisters have planted prairie grasses in the enclosure where the solar panels are located, Hroscikoski said planting more under the panels allows additional native plants to help restore the landscape and environment. The plants include prairie smoke, slender penstemon, prairie alumroot, columbine, heart-leaved alexanders, June grass, tall thimbleweed, long-beaked sedge, silky wild rye, upland white goldenrod and silky aster.
“The mix includes native flowers, grasses and sedges. Plants are chosen to be drought- and shade-tolerant, to grow to heights fitting beneath the panels and to have a combination of bloom seasons — some in spring, some summer and some fall — ensuring a continuous source of pollen for the pollinators,” she said.
Besides benefiting pollinators, Hroscikoski said the native plants are of great benefit to birds and other wildlife.
“The plants will provide ‘affordable housing’ for the wildlife, meaning food and shelter for daily living, reproduction and protection from predators,” she said.
It generally takes the plants a few years to become established. It is important to keep the plant plugs adequately watered until the ground freezes so their root systems begin to take hold in the soil, Hroscikoski said. One way she likes to describe the growth process is that first the plants sleep, then they creep and, finally, they leap.
“So at first, major activity is underground, then above-ground growth slowly begins and at last plant growth is vigorous with prolific flowering,” she said.
The prairie restoration project has been a partnership among several organizations. The process began in 2024 through discussions between the Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls and Dan Shaw, senior ecologist and vegetation specialist with the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources, about the board’s Habitat Friendly Utilities Program. The board, Hroscikoski said, is striving to expand land conservation and pollinator habitat along power line corridors and at solar sites.
At the time, the Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls were beginning to restore all their campus land to native habitat and preparing to install a solar array on an invasive brome grass field adjacent to a power line corridor. The Sisters were also interested in supporting the board’s research into best practices for land preparation, seed mixtures and management practices for solar and power line corridor prairies. As a result, they were willing to serve as a test site, and Shaw engaged the Morrison Soil and Water Conservation District to be the fiscal agent. The Franciscan Sisters’ lead ecological advisers from Great River Greening then joined the effort to develop a management plan that was understandable to nonexperts and usable at other sites. The collaboration among the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources, the Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls, the Morrison Soil and Water Conservation District and Great River Greening has been a rich partnership of shared learning, Hroscikoski said.
Sometimes people wonder what makes combining solar energy production with native prairie habitat different from a conventional solar installation.
“Farmers are often understandably distressed about losing valuable cropland to solar energy production. Adding native prairie habitat to a solar array magnifies the value of the land to local ecosystems. It provides much-needed habitat for pollinators and other small wildlife that would otherwise not exist, showing that renewable energy development and ecological restoration do not have to compete. Rather, they can work together to support climate goals and biodiversity,” she said.
As for the volunteers who came out to plant, Hroscikoski said the Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls are grateful to everyone who made the event a success. That includes the 20 volunteers who planted the plugs, Tuma for orchestrating the event and Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls staff members who provided support. They were also grateful for a beautiful, sunny day.
Staff Writer
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