This Arbor Day, we’re celebrating the important role that trees play in fighting climate change.

To maximize the benefits that trees provide, the county’s forestry program focuses on growing healthy trees, partnering in large-scale planting events, managing threats to the tree canopy, raising awareness about tree pests and disease, educating the public on the benefits of trees, and supporting partners through the healthy tree canopy grant program.

Trees remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis and store carbon in their wood. The older the tree, the more climate benefits it provides. The shade from trees also lessens the need for cooling in buildings, which reduces carbon dioxide and other pollutants from power plants.

For example, an oak tree with a 20-inch diameter – big enough that an adult could barely wrap their arms around – reduces carbon in the atmosphere by about 1,000 pounds annually. The energy that tree saves is enough to charge your smartphone about 55,000 times!

Trees provide many additional benefits. That same tree near a single-family home provides overall benefits of about $200 per year by increasing the property value, conserving electricity, intercepting and filtering stormwater, and improving air quality. Imagine the benefits multiplying for each tree in your neighborhood!

Learn more about the climate fighting power of trees and find a list of trees that can thrive into the future on Hennepin County's Climate Action website.

Hennepin County has healthy tree canopy grants available for tree plantings, ash tree removals, tree inventories, outreach and more. Grants are available to cities, affordable housing properties, schools, and nonprofit organizations.

Applications are due by 3 p.m. on Thursday, June 9. Learn more and apply.

For more information, feedback on your project ideas, or help with your application, contact the Hennepin County forestry team at trees@hennepin.us.

Hennepin County has a new GIS story map to highlight successful tree and natural resource grant-funded projects. The story map connects places to project stories in a compelling and interactive format.

The new GIS story map provides ideas and inspiration for future projects. Applications for good steward natural resource grants will be available in fall 2022. Eventually, the site will expand to include more stories about the county’s environmental grant-funded programs.

The week of May 1-7 is International Compost Awareness Week. During that week, Hennepin County is delivering free compost to schools with organics programs to show appreciation for their efforts to collect organics. The compost will be used in school gardens to “close the loop” for the schools that helped generate it.

Composting is one of the best opportunities to reduce our trash – about 25 percent what we throw away is organic materials like food scraps and compostable paper that could be put to better use as compost.

Register for a free webinar hosted by Hennepin County to learn how to set up your compost pile, what materials you can compost, how to get the mix right, and more.

Webinar dates:

• Thursday, May 12 from 7 to 8 p.m. Register here.
• Friday, May 20 from noon to 1 p.m. Register here.

There is no charge to sign up, but registration is required.

Learn more about backyard composting.

If you are looking for ways to volunteer in your community, consider becoming a Master Recycler/Composter! The summer Master Recycler/Composter class will be held every Wednesday at 6 to 8 p.m. from May 18 through June 22.

The application is open now and will close at 11:59 p.m. on May 6, 2022. Applicants will be notified whether they are accepted into the class by the end of the day on May 11, 2022.

Learn more about the program and fill out your application.

This May, Rethos is hosting a three-part webinar series about the economic, environmental, and cultural values of building deconstruction. Learn from leading experts in architecture, government, construction, historic preservation, and salvage, including a presentation from Hennepin County staff at the May 4 session. The series is free and open to all.

• Deconstruction Masterclass: The Essentials – May 4 at 10 a.m.
• Deconstruction Masterclass: Climate & Environmental Impacts – May 11 at 10 a.m.
• Deconstruction Masterclass: Giving New Life to Old Buildings – May 18 at 10 a.m.

Hennepin County residents have prevented thousands of pounds of algae from growing in our lakes and streams by doing this one simple thing: adopting a storm drain!

Trash and decaying organic debris like fallen leaves are harmful to lakes, rivers, and streams. As leaves decompose, the resulting nutrients fuel algae growth. The unsightly algae blooms can cover the surface of polluted lakes, sucking oxygen out of the water and choking fish and native plants. Keeping leaves and other pollution out of our storm drains helps keep our lakes and rivers clean and clear.

Since the start of the Adopt-a-Drain program, over 9,400 people have adopted drains throughout Minnesota and collectively prevented 470,000 pounds of pollution from getting into our waters. This is the largest community engagement program of its type in the entire United States!

Getting involved is simple and only takes a few minutes. Just follow these steps:

1. Adopt an available storm drain near you at mn.adopt-a-drain.org
2. Gather the tools you'll need. These might include: gloves, rake, trash grabber, dust pan, safety vest, bins for separating waste, yard and/or trash bag.
3. Collect and separate trash and recycling from the area around your adopted drain. To learn how to sort the litter you clean up, refer to the waste sort guide (PDF).
4. Rake or sweep up leaves, sediment, and sticks and place in compost or yard waste bag.
5. Report the debris you collect on mn.adopt-a-drain.org

Adopt a Drain and get Twins tickets for $15!

The Adopt-a-Drain program is close to hitting a major milestone: 10,000 storm drain adopters in Minnesota! You're invited to celebrate with us and other adopters at a Minnesota Twins game on Sunday, May 15 at 1 p.m.

Adopt a storm drain at mn.adopt-a-drain.org and you will receive a link to purchase tickets at the reduced rate of $15. All storm drain adopters at the event will also receive a free Adopt-a-Drain baseball cap! We hope to see you at the game!

To learn more and sign up, visit mn.adopt-a-drain.org.