It’s estimated that only 1% of Minnesota’s historic prairies remain today, making less dominant species especially scarce. Within this delicate web of life is a relationship between two extraordinary species, the prairie violet and the federally threatened regal fritillary butterfly. As regal fritillary populations dwindle, Great River Greening’s work takes us to Lamberton, Minnesota—the future home of 15,000 prairie violets.  

As the world begins to wake up in the spring, the early risers have an especially important role. These first flowers of the season, known as spring ephemerals, sprout soon after the ground thaws, offering pollinators their first taste of pollen after a long hibernation or far migratory journey. Read along to learn about a few of our early spring favorites to look out for.

This Women’s History Month, we’re spotlighting our hardworking team of women who work to make Minnesota a better place every single day! Whether in field work, education, fundraising, operations, or community engagement, each of these women make our work possible, and we’re so grateful to their commitment to Minnesota’s lands, waters, and communities. 

At Great River Greening, a lot of our restoration work begins with invasive species removal, but clearing out these aggressive plants is only step one. Once the buckthorn has been removed, how do we ensure it’s gone for good? And how can we establish native plant communities that can outcompete invasives? In conversation with Alex Bahr, a Metro Project Manager, we explore a few strategies to bring a native ecosystem back after buckthorn takes over.

Thirty years of Great River Greening, and we made every moment count. 2025 was a year of both unprecedented obstacles and record-breaking achievements, thanks in no small part to the support of our amazing community. Last year, you showed up with the highest engagement numbers we’ve ever seen, helping us to restore more acres than ever before. We’ve tallied up some of our biggest wins to celebrate an amazing year and to get excited about the year ahead. 

Native habitats aren’t just better for the land, water, and animals, they can drastically cut maintenance costs, time, and effort. But not all lands or projects fit our nonprofit model, even though many private and commercially owned lands have great potential for restoration.

That’s why we created Greening Solutions— our full-service division that delivers practical solutions for sustainable land management, all while supporting our conservation work, volunteer engagement, and youth environmental education across our state.

If you’ve been following along with our work, you’ve probably heard us talk about Kernza. As the world’s first commercially available perennial grain, Kernza opens exciting new possibilities in the world of sustainable agriculture.  

While the benefits of Kernza are easy to recognize, the reality is that it’s still a new crop with a developing market. That means equipment, resources, and demand can be a challenge for farmers. One of the ways we’re helping build local Kernza markets might surprise you: beer! 

If you picture a prairie in your mind’s eye, you might imagine vast rolling plains of grasses and wildflowers. But what if we told you that some of the most vital prairies may be only a short stretch of land along a road, or in the boulevard of a high school? Our Pollinator Central program supports prairie restoration on a wide scale, transforming often-overlooked green spaces with a broader vision: How can we see our impact more than just plants?

As part of our 30th anniversary celebration, Greening is proud to spotlight Fox Rothschild and Stoel Rives, two corporate partners whose steady current of support keeps restoration work flowing across Minnesota.

30 years. 50,000 acres transformed.

While we take great pride in these numbers, the true measure of our work is not so easily quantifiable. Really witnessing the impact of our work is better done in the parks, rivers, and public lands that we’ve dedicated our services to since 1995. What does three decades of restoration look like in trees, prairies, and shorelines? We revisited several key project sites to reflect on what it means to care for the land across generations.