Even in the heart of the city, surrounded by buildings and busy streets, the Midway community is rooted in nature. Whether we notice it or not, we are always in nature – and part of nature. It surrounds us, sustains us, and quietly supports our everyday lives.

Nature’s gifts are profound: it cleans the air we breathe, filters the rain that falls on our rooftops, pollinates our gardens, and nurtures the living soils beneath our feet – even drawing carbon from the air to help protect our future. These ecosystems care for us in ways that often go unseen.

In return, we have a simple yet powerful role: to care for the land we share. As community members in the Hamline Midway, tending to our community’s green spaces isn’t just about stewardship – it’s about gratitude, connection, and joy. 

What is ‘The Bee Line’?

Began as….

Pierce Butler Route is the northern border of two adjacent neighborhoods in St. Paul – the Hamline Midway and Frogtown. It is a roadway of deep boulevards and connected greenspaces that brings an important balance to these low-greenspace communities. The first spaces along Pierce Butler Route to be repurposed from lawn grass were the Midway Greenspirit Community Garden, the Tatum Community Garden, Our Village Community Garden, and some urban farm sites. Then in 2016, efforts to re-naturalize plots at Dale Street (Monarch City) and Snelling Ave (Pierce Butler Meadow) were independently nurtured by different community groups in each neighborhood. In 2020, Frogtown and Midway groups came together and were awarded a state of MN Lawns to Legumes grant, and Pierce Butler Route was affectionately given the name “Bee Line” by the project team. 

Became a Movement…

With support from multiple sources, community members have been carefully expanding the number of naturalized sites along Pierce Butler route, including plantings on Grotto Ave and the TEST_PLOT at the Lexington bikeway as well as expanding plant diversity at existing sites. In 2024, the Bee Line rewilding movement merged northward and now incorporates activities in the Como neighborhood, with support from Lawns to Legumes. Pollinator plots are being established at schools, rec centers, boulevards, places of worship, and other public and private spaces. The boulevard plantings along Pierce Butler Route are being envisioned as a model for maintaining roadways with native plant landscaping at the county level and beyond.