 The Hennepin County Environmental Education and Outreach Unit is hiring a recent graduate or current senior level student to help with environmental education and outreach projects.
The intern will assist with:
- Researching, planning, implementing, and evaluating communication plans
- Writing content for newsletters, social media, websites, presentations, articles and reports
- Assisting with planning and staffing of environmental education programs, presentations and events
This intern will work 29 hours a week for six months. Applications are being accepted until January 12. Learn more and apply.
Over the past five years, we have worked with 133 grantees and awarded more than $1.3 million in grant funding through our Green Partners environmental education grants program. These projects have successfully engaged audiences throughout Hennepin County in learning about and taking action to protect the environment.
To ensure the program continues to be successful, we are conducting an evaluation of the grants program in spring 2018. The evaluation will reassess goals, analyze outcomes, check alignment with community needs and county goals, look for efficiencies in program management, and develop future recommendations for environmental education grants.
During this evaluation, Hennepin County will seek feedback from about four areas of the program: program reach, application and contracting process, project outcomes, and program and project support.
We plan to release a survey in early February to gather feedback about the program and provide additional opportunities for public comment in early March. Stay tuned for opportunities to participate.
For more information, contact Patience Caso at patience.caso@hennepin.us or 612-348-9352.
 Hennepin County is funding seven community groups in 2018 to engage their audiences in learning about and signing up for residential organics recycling programs.
Through the pilot Green Partners Grow program, these community groups attended two days of training in the fall to learn about organics recycling and how to motivate behavior change. They then developed their project plans.
They will now use the information, resources and activities provided during training to engage their audiences in a variety of ways, including at events, door-to-door outreach, workshops and through block leaders. Learn about the projects awarded.
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 Hennepin County awarded grants to about 70 businesses and organizations to improve recycling in 2017. The businesses and organizations represent a variety of industries, including apartment buildings, congregations, grocery stores, medical clinics, manufacturing facilities, non-profits organizations, office buildings and restaurants.
The county will continue to support improvements in recycling and organics recycling programs at businesses and organizations in 2018.
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Three types of grants are available:
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Container only grants: Apply anytime to receive up to $2,500 for recycling containers only
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Accelerated grants: Apply anytime to receive up to $10,000
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Competitive grants: Applications accepted three times per year (February 15, June 15 and October 15) to receive up to $50,000 for large or innovative projects
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving grants provide funding to support community-based organizations in their efforts to collaborate and partner with local stakeholder groups as they develop and implement solutions that address environmental and/or public health issues for underserved communities.
The EPA plans to award 10 grants (one award per region) of up to $120,000 per award for a two-year project period. Pre-application assistance phone calls are scheduled for January 11, January 23 and February 1. Applications are due February 16. Learn more.
The following new articles are available from Hennepin County’s Choose to Reuse and Clean Water Minnesota and. Share these through your communication channels to inspire your audiences to take action to protect the environment:
SciGirls STEM Training
SciGirls, a Green Partners grantee, is offering a free training focused on gender-equitable STEM programming. Learn the latest research for engaging both girls and boys in STEM, experience hands-on STEM activities, leave with creative STEM curriculum, learn how to modify your own activities, and discover online resources that enhance the learning experience.
The training will be held Saturday, January 27 from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Twin Cities PBS in St. Paul.
Register now or contact Niki at nbecker@tpt.org with any questions.
YEA! MN Winter Mingler
Join Climate Generation, a Green Partners grantee, in celebrating ten years of youth climate action while enjoying a delicious meal. The Winter Mingler is on Monday, January 8 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Gandhi Mahal Restaurant in Minneapolis.
The following organizations are being funded through the Green Partners environmental education program. These groups have been busy engaging their audiences in taking action to protect the environment. For more information about Green Partners grants, contact Patience Caso at patience.caso@hennepin.us or 612-348-9352.
Green with Envy improves composting and organics recycling in north Minneapolis
 The University of Minnesota Extension partnered with five community garden leaders to improve the composting operations at their gardens and educate their participants about the composting process.
Project activities included building compost bins, filling bins with garden waste, and using the finished compost in the gardens. To help train their participants, they created an instructional video about how to build a compost bin. The Green with Envy project leaders also encouraged people to sign up for the Minneapolis residential organics recycling program at their events.
Minneapolis Toy Library finds creative ways to encourage toy sharing and swapping of used goods
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 The Minneapolis Toy Library continues to find creative ways to encourage reuse and waste prevention for goods that children tend to grow out of quickly. They recently hosted a shoe exchange in which members could take and leave used shoes at no cost. They also started a partnership with local coffee shops to provide them with an inventory of toys for their customers to enjoy. The toy library is looking for board members – learn more if you want to get involved.
Greater Mounty Vernon Church leads by example and educates members about eco-friendly lifestyle choices
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 Greater Mount Vernon Missionary Baptist Church hosted a “Choices 4 Change Resource Fair” during which congregation members and the public learned about recycling and organics recycling, made bags out of reuse t-shirts, and participate in other green activities. To lead by example, the church recently set up organics recycling after receiving a second business recycling grant.
Organizations partner to promote actions that protect our lakes and rivers
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 Multiple organizations have been working to promote adopt-a-drain programs and other actions that reduce pollution and help protect our lakes and rivers. The Alliance for Sustainability received a Green Partners grant to work in partnership with the Corcoran and CARAG neighborhoods in Minneapolis and community groups in Edina, Minnetonka and St. Louis Park. The Standish-Ericcson Neighborhood Association also received a Green Partners grant to encourage residents to take action to protect water.
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Collectively, these organizations have accomplished the following:
- Installed 23 rain gardens or pollinator gardens
- Signed up 170 participants for adopt-a-drain programs
- Raked out 60 storm drains
- Stenciled 45 storm drains
- Engaged 110 neighbors in raking leaves from their curb
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