Planting a Green Future for Minnesota
As part of our ongoing environmental stewardship, CenterPoint Energy is planting a green future with sustainable pollinator gardens in Minnesota.
In September 2021, we began developing three pollinator gardens near our training facility on West River Parkway at 13th Ave. S., by the Mississippi River in downtown Minneapolis. The largest is located along the Bluff Street Bikeway near 13th Ave. S.
Historic Site
This pollinator habitat is located near the birthplace of CenterPoint Energy, which was founded in 1870 as the Minneapolis Gas Light Company.
In those early days, gas was produced from coal and then delivered through hollow wood logs to provide the first artificial nighttime light on the downtown streets of Minneapolis. Today, the coal is long gone, the soil has been cleaned up and the once-industrial riverfront is now a vibrant downtown neighborhood and recreational destination.
Our Planting Partners
Great River Greening, a longtime CenterPoint Energy nonprofit partner, is providing expertise to help create and manage these pollinator gardens. Another nonprofit partner, Great River Coalition, is providing assistance with volunteers.
Garden Showcase
The pollinator gardens feature native flowers, plants and grasses that offer a critical habitat for bees, butterflies and other pollinating insects – providing a much-needed oasis for these species that play a vital role in our ecosystem. It takes several years for the mixture of plants and seeds in these gardens to grow and fully develop. The gardens will ultimately showcase a variety of blooms throughout the spring, summer and fall. Here is a sampling of plants you may see blooming as the CenterPoint Energy pollinator gardens grow and develop. You may also spot some of these in your community, neighborhood or even your own backyard:
Stiff Sunflower
(Helianthus pauciflorus)
Wild Lupine (Lupinis perennis)
Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)
New England Aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae)
Purple Prairie Clover (Dalea purpurea)
Rattlesnake Master (Eryngium yuccifolium)
Dotted Blazing Star (Liatris punctata) )
