Make every day Earth Day
Earth Day, coming up this Sunday, April 22, is a common time for people to think about what they can do to protect the environment. But this Earth Day, we're encouraging people to make sure they don’t limit their green habits just to one day!
On our Earth Day web page, we outline steps people can take to make environmentally friendly changes in their daily lives by focusing on one change and using it to kick start a greener lifestyle. We also have a list of activities and resources available from Hennepin County to help people get started.
Community celebrations and volunteer opportunities
Earth Day and Arbor Day are both great opportunities to get out in the community to learn about ways you can protect the environment or to give back by volunteering at a cleanup event. To help connect residents with ways to celebrate and get involved, we created a map with more than 50 Earth Day and Arbor Day events happening throughout the county in April and May.
 Some examples of opportunities to get involved include:
 Residents now have more ways to recycle their food scraps, food-soiled paper, and certified compostable products. Hennepin County has expanded organics recycling service to its drop-off facility in Bloomington. This is in addition to the organics recycling drop-off already offered at the county’s drop-off facility in Brooklyn Park.
Organic recycling is accepted for free, Tuesday through Saturday, at both facilities. Organics must be generated in Hennepin County, and must be dropped off in closed, BPI-certified compostable plastic bags.
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Spread the word
An article, social media posts and images are available to promote the organics recycling drop-offs. You can also learn more on the Green Disposal Guide.
New video helps students learn how to sort recycling and trash at school
Hennepin County has a new video to help students learn how to sort their waste from lunch at school. The video gives a brief overview of why recycling and organics recycling is important, then instructs students how to sort their waste into recycling, organics recycling, and trash. The video is intended to be generic enough to be used by schools throughout Hennepin County.
New articles on putting away winter gear, going green with your pet, and protecting pollinators
 The following articles are available from Hennepin County’s Choose to Reuse website and Clean Water Minnesota. Share these through your communication channels to inspire your audiences to take action to protect the environment.
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Going green with your pet: Learn options for feeding and caring for your pet that reduce waste and reuse gear
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Putting away your winter gear: Learn tips to store your bikes, skis, ice skates and outerwear to increase the lifespan of your gear
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Monarch Mile: Get inspired to create habitat for pollinators by reading how a group of neighbors encouraged their community to plant a stretch of pollinator gardens connecting Lake Nokomis and Minnehaha Falls
2018 hazardous waste collection events
 Hennepin County hosts collection events across the county throughout the spring and fall to provide residents with a convenient option to get rid of household hazardous waste. A variety of items are accepted at collection events including paint, aerosols, cleaners, mercury thermostats, and much more.
There are seven collection events scheduled in 2018 throughout Hennepin County from May to September. Each event is held on Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Spread the word: see the hazardous waste collection events flyer (PDF) for the full list of dates, locations and materials accepted.
City cleanups
This spring, cities across Hennepin County are holding
cleanup events to make spring cleaning more convenient. City cleanup events
offer residents a chance to get rid of hard-to-dispose items such as old
furniture, exercise equipment, appliances, electronics, and more.
Cities offer either curbside service or drop-off sites. See if your city is holding a clean-up event, and be sure to
check with your city for details about what’s accepted and other guidelines.
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Hennepin County receives funding from the State of Minnesota to support projects that prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species, and some of the funding is distributed through grants to local organizations and agencies.
For 2018, the county recently awarded 11 grants totaling $198,000 for projects that will increase inspections at public lake accesses, provide outreach and training, conduct research on emerging aquatic invasive species and pathways of spread, and install boat cleaning facilities at public accesses.
Our new video highlights the work and accomplishments of some of these projects.
Aquatic invasive species education efforts
Educational efforts supported through this program focus on engaging audiences and raising awareness about aquatic invasive species through interactive displays, hands-on materials and messaging close to where people need to be taking action. Some of the education projects conducted through this program include:
- Supported the Wayzata Sailing Foundation to engage youth in discovery, monitoring and exploration of aquatic invasive species in Lake Minnetonka.
- Raised awareness about aquatic invasive species and actions people need to take by supporting advertising campaigns and installing signage and message boards.
- Funded the Minneapolis Park Board and Nine Mile Creek Watershed District to create interactive pop-up education carts that were brought to events and activities.
- Worked with the Wood Lake Nature Center to create an educational display encouraging the public to not release unwanted aquatic pets into ecosystems.
- Created an educational piece and pledge for classroom teachers and students to encourage them to properly dispose of classroom pets and plants and not release them into ecosystems.
- Partnered with Fortin Consulting to provide workshops and support monitoring efforts of lakeshore homeowners.
For more information, contact Tony Brough at tony.brough@hennepin.us or 612-348-4378.
SEEK, managed by the Minnesota Association for Environmental Education, is a great resources for anyone looking to work in the environmental education field in Minnesota. A variety of full-time, seasonal, part-time and volunteer opportunities are posted, and many organizations are currently hiring for summer positions!
SciGirls training on gender equitable STEM teaching
PBS' SciGirls, a current Green Partners grantee, are offering a free GO GREEN Educators’ Workshop to learn about gender equitable teaching strategies. The training will focus on using SciGirls programming, a national educational initiative that uses media, activities, and professional development to empower youth ages 8 to 12. Participants will learn about the SciGirls GO GREEN curriculum and several hands-on science inquiry lessons using recycled materials that you will be able to implement in your program.
The workshop will be offered Saturday, June 16 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Golden Valley Library.
Community Connections Learning Lab Series
The Minneapolis Department of Neighborhood and Community Relations is offering a series of 90-minutes labs to help community members and organization staff effectively engage cultural communities. The series also covers ways to plan for community engagement, disability awareness and intersectionality. Upcoming learning labs will focus on the African American community, East African community, disability awareness, Latino community, and how intersectionality can affect engagement. See the full schedule and enroll.
Peace, Love and Coffee with the Minnesota Association for Environmental Education
Join the Minnesota Association for Environmental Education in collaboration with Peace Coffee, Climate Generation, and Como Park Zoo and Conservatory for a morning of coffee, learning, and fun! The event will be held Saturday, June 9 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Spend the morning at Peace Coffee's headquarters touring the roastery and learning about the production steps they take to preserve the environment that produces coffee. Educators from Climate Generation and Como Park Zoo and Conservatory will teach attendees about the environmental landscape coffee typically grows in and how communities can help to preserve these important lands. Como Park Zoo will offer example activities and share tips and tricks on how to teach preschool through third-grade students about the tropical rainforest.
Attendees will receive a certificate upon completion that can be submitted for two hours of Continuing Education. This event is geared toward teachers and educators; however, everyone is welcome! Space is limited, so don't hesitate to register!
Community-based social marketing training
There are still spots remaining for the introductory and advanced community-based social marketing training being offered May 21 to 24 at Hamline University in St. Paul in May. Anyone working to promote behavior change related to preventing waste, recycling, protecting land and water, conserving energy, and other environmental issues will benefit greatly from this training. Learn more and register.
Scholarships to attend North American Association for Environmental Education Conference in Washington
The North American Association for Environmental Education’s Annual Conference is October 9 through 13 in Spokane, Washington. Some of the scholarships available to help educators and students attend include:
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Columbia Sportswear teacher/administrator scholarship: Honors a teacher's achievement in environmental education in the classroom as well as an administrator who supports their endeavors. Recipients receive two full conference registrations, a $2,000 gear closet, and one-year membership to NAAEE.
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Affordability scholarship: Supports professional environmental educators with limited resources and is intended to help diversify participation at the conference and ensure inclusivity in the environmental education community. Recipients get 50 percent off registration.
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William B. Stapp student scholarship: Intended to help students attend. Recipients receive a full conference registration.
Scholarship applications are due June 8. Learn more.
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.
Spark-Y empowers students to build and care for aquaponics systems
 Spark-Y worked with students at Northeast Middle School to build two new aquaponics systems in their school greenhouse, greatly increasing their indoor growing space. Students learned how to safely use power tools to transform a pile of raw materials into a unique system that will have real impact at their school. They will now focus on getting all three of their aquaponics systems thriving and growing enough produce to sell to their cafeteria.
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Climate Generation's YEA! MN program celebrates 10 years of student action projects and climate advocacy
 Youth Environmental Activists of MN (YEA! MN) engages high school students across the Twin Cities to lead action on climate change and social justice. Youth join together from different schools to support each other on school action projects and collaborate on larger campaigns.
Students are working to get solar on their school rooftops and to reduce waste at their schools. Students will gather at the Minnesota State Capitol on April 25 for a Youth Climate Justice Summit, a chance for students to experience first-hand how to participate in government.
YEA! MN is celebrating 10 years of working with high school students to promote social and environmental justice. See some highlights from the past 10 years.
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Nawayee Center School engages students and community in protecting natural resources
 Nawayee Center School worked with 30 students and local businesses in learning about sacred waters and ways in which to preserve our natural resources while giving back to the community. Students and staff worked together to build pollinator gardens at neighboring agencies, educate new students about pollinators, and create a science curriculum in partnership with Migizi Communications and the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization about stormwater management and soil testing. Students also met with Ojibwe elder, Sharon Day, who taught students the important tradition of Nibi (water) walks. Students reached at least 100 residents of Little Earth, where many of them also live, by making a presentation and talking to their families and neighbors.
The project created a sense of purposeful community among students, staff and all of those who participated. The physical outcomes improved the neighborhood, both in appearance and health, and the program has shown an increase in attendance and overall student engagement.
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Kids for Conservation provides outdoor and community engagement experiences for youth
 Kids for Conservation (now Refuge Friends) engaged more than 50 youth from Little Earth in recycling, reducing waste, improving water quality, and reducing use of hazardous chemicals. Youth were engaged through on-site workshops and field trips. Youth participated in two fishing fun days in July and a multi-day summer camp experience at Carpenter Nature Center in August where kids could hike, swim, fish, catch and identify bugs, learn to make a fire, and learn to make an outdoor shelter.
Kids made green cleaners for distribution at the National Night Out event at Little Earth, where more than 100 community members talked with youth or received recipe cards for green cleaners.
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