We recently completed an overhaul of our environmental education activity guides (formerly called toolkits). The activity guides can be used to engage audiences of all ages in learning about and taking action to protect the environment.

The activity guides cover a variety of topics, including air, energy and climate change, recycling, reducing food waste, reducing waste, and toxicity and hazardous waste. There are also general activities that can be applied to any environmental topic, background information to help educators and participants get up to speed on the issue, and tips for motivating behavior change.

Each activity guide includes essential background information, activity instructions and ideas, and resources specific to each topic. 

Learn more and download the activities.

What is better than buying something new? Finding something cool to reuse! Like a one-of-a-kind set of dishes or a classic edition of a favorite book. The wedding dress worn only once, now half the price, or a baseball glove ready for another season. Sounds like a deal – because it is.

Hennepin County is partnering with 50 reuse retailers to offer Choose to Reuse coupons with discounts through October.

Spread the word

Get coupon books to distribute or business cards to promote the mobile app by contacting Kristin Pierskalla at kristin.pierskalla@hennepin.us or 612-348-4787.

A newsletter article, social media posts, and images are also available to promote Choose to Reuse.

Join fellow waste reduction enthusiasts and become an advocate for the three Rs in your community as a Hennepin County Master Recycler/Composter.

Many organizations looking to improve recycling, start organics recycling, reduce waste or hold greener events have found it helpful to send a staff person or volunteer through the Master Recycler/Composter training.

The fall course will be held on Wednesday evenings starting October 5 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the Edina Senior Center. An optional field trip will be held on Friday, October 14. Learn more and apply.

For more information, contact Carolyn Collopy at carolyn.collopy@hennepin.us or call 612-596-0993.

Two environmental education displays are rotating through various Hennepin County libraries. Displays focus on “wish-cycling” and protecting water.

The wish-cycling display will be at the Golden Valley Library from until September 29 and at the Plymouth Library from September 29 – November 10.

The water quality display will be at the Nokomis Library until September 15, the Brooklyn Park Library from September 15 – October 20, and the Minneapolis Central Library from October 20 – November 17.

The visitor center at the Brooklyn Park Drop-off Facility has been revamped to include interactive displays and informational posters. Tour curriculum has been created to teach to state education standards, offer different topics of concentration, and include more experiential components for visitors’ tours. Learn more and schedule a tour.

Hennepin County has staff available to give classroom presentations to engage students in hands-on learning about waste generation, the benefits of recycling, and the importance of sorting waste correctly at school and everywhere else. Learn more.

River Watch is a hands-on environmental education program that gets youth into streams to collect aquatic organisms and assess water quality. Learn more.

Hennepin County has funding available to help businesses, non-profit organizations and institutions start or improve recycling and organics recycling programs. Grant funding can be used to purchase recycling containers and equipment and cover some of the costs of hauling services and improvements to loading docks and waste enclosures. Applications for the current funding round are due October 15. Learn more and apply.

Not sure how to get started? Staff is available to answer questions about the application, review project ideas, evaluate potential costs and savings, and offer resources. For more information, contact Andre Xiong at andre.x.xiong@hennepin.us or 612-543-1316.

We recently awarded grants to 14 organizations for projects that will engage more than 4,250 residents in taking action to protect the environment.

The projects will engage a wide range of audiences in a variety of activities, including:

Fix-It Clinics provide an opportunity to receive free, guided assistance from handy volunteers on disassembling, troubleshooting and repairing small household appliances, clothing, electronics, mobile devices and more.

Upcoming Fix-It Clinics are scheduled for:

Hennepin County organizes collection events to give residents more convenient local options for disposing of household hazardous wastes. Materials accepted include unwanted automotive wastes, household, lawn and garden products, batteries, mercury-containing items and more.

Last spring, students from Freedom Academy Charter School learned about gardening and composting by planting their own vegetables. Students will harvest their plants when they return to school this fall. Students also investigated water runoff and learned how rain gardens reduce runoff and prevent pollution.

Students from the Hiawatha College Prep Green Team spent the previous school year researching recycling and composting programs and planting over 300 seedlings to start a pilot school garden. This school year, students will build on their recycling and composting research by implementing a compost program and building a demonstration garden. 

Minnesota African Women’s Association continues to train African peer educators on recycling, toxicity reduction and waste reduction. The most popular activity has been teaching participants how to make green cleaners.

Metro Blooms engaged over 120 students from Minneapolis Public School in lessons exploring the connections between pollinators, native plants and stormwater. Students had the opportunity to observe a live bee hive, dissect flowers and identify native plants in raingardens.