This September marks the 10-year anniversary of Hennepin County Fix-It Clinics, which teach repair skills, build community connections, and reduce the number of repairable objects thrown in the trash. 

Hennepin County waste reduction and recycling specialist Nancy Lo, who coordinates the program, credits the success of the events to the numerous volunteers who help residents disassemble, troubleshoot and fix everything from vintage toys and dog harnesses to blenders and hairdryers.

In 2020, in-person Fix-It Clinics were put on hold in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. During that time, Fix-It Clinic volunteers offered individual virtual repair assistance to members of the public. This was a valuable service, but there’s nothing like the energy of being in person in a big room full of people working on stuff.

“I have witnessed many people experience that eureka moment when they realize they can fix their own stuff!” Lo said. “Being able to repair something rather than throwing it away is a great feeling and avoids waste.”

This summer, in-person Fix-It Clinics have made a successful return, with over 230 people attending the first three clinics.

Help provide more organics recycling options in your community! Funding is available for businesses, cities, multifamily properties, nonprofit organizations, and institutions in Hennepin County to establish organics recycling drop-off sites.

About the grants

Up to $15,000 is available for each drop-off site. Funding can be used for hauling and disposal costs, construction, dumpsters or carts, and promotions and educational materials.

Priority will be given to drop-off sites that increase access to organics recycling for residents in multifamily properties without access to city service and in cities with limited organics recycling options.

Learn more and apply

See the organics recycling drop-off funding guidelines (PDF) to learn more, and access the application materials on the Hennepin County supplier portal.
For more information, contact Kaitlin Steinberg at kaitlin.steinberg@hennepin.us.

The Cullen Nature Preserve and Bird Sanctuary is one of the last parcels of oak savanna in Minnetonka. The preserve, located near 494 and the Ridgedale Mall, has been protected from development but unmanaged for decades, leaving the 31 acres of prairie and oak trees overrun by buckthorn. 

To combat the buckthorn, the City of Minnetonka and the Friends of the Cullen Nature Preserve received a 2021 Hennepin County Good Steward grant to first remove the buckthorn, which takes several years, and then restore the oak savanna plant community.

“We’ll get grassland type species, and flowering forbs throughout the seasons,” said Matt Kumka, park and trail manager, City of Minnetonka. “We’ll get the pollinators coming in, and the birds following the pollinators. There’s just more habitat created when it’s not severely impacted by the buckthorn.”

The preserve includes one unique longtime resident – a 100-year-old ironwood tree. Ironwoods wouldn’t normally survive in an oak savanna because they can’t withstand prairie fires, and in general it’s rare to see an ironwood ever get this big and survive this long.

While the restoration is in progress, the public is only allowed into the preserve during certain events. Future plans include the installation of walking paths that will be open to the public.

Support the preserve during at their annual fundraiser

Learn about oak ecosystems from Dr. Lee Frelich, director of the Center for Forestry Ecology at the University of Minnesota. 

Friday, September 9 from 5:30 to 8:45 p.m. at The Marsh, 15000 Minnetonka Blvd, Minnetonka. Reserve $20 tickets

After a hiatus due to COVID-19, Hennepin County is again offering facility tours at the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center (HERC). HERC is a waste-to-energy facility where waste is burned to generate steam for the downtown district energy system and electricity sold to Xcel Energy. Tours describe how the plant works and how it fits within the county’s solid waste management system to divert waste from landfills.

The following HERC tour options are available:

• Group tours: Complete the HERC tour request form for groups of five to 16 people.
• Outdoor tours: Put “outdoor tour” in the “goal for visiting the facility” question on the tour request form to take a tour that stays entirely outside on the HERC grounds and does not enter the facility.
• Individual and small group tours: Complete the HERC tour sign up form to secure a spot on a pre-scheduled tour. This option should be used for groups of less than five people.
• Virtual tours: Watch a video about HERC (YouTube) to learn more about how waste is managed in the county and how HERC converts waste to energy.

Hennepin County's recycling and organics recycling guides provide an overview of what can be recycled, important items to keep out, and tips for setting up. These guides have recently been updated and are now available in eight languages: English, Hmong, Lao, Oromo, Russian, Somali, Spanish, and Vietnamese. In addition, a new large print version of the recycling guide is available.

Download or order free print copies of these materials from our environmental resources order form. These resources and many more are available for free to community groups, cities, schools, and residents in Hennepin County.

One of the volunteers was Krista Espelien, a SCUBA diver who visited many of the Lake Minnetonka sites to help in the search for aquatic invasive species. No potential new aquatic invasive species populations were recorded this year in Hennepin County.

“The search for starry stonewort on Lake Minnetonka was ‘unsuccessful,’ as in no starry stonewort was found…so successful!” said Espelien.

See where volunteers have searched over the years. Final results for 2022 will be posted soon on the Starry Trek website.

Recently, several of the county’s environmental programs received achievement awards from the National Association of Counties, which recognize innovation in county government programs. The following programs received awards:

• Deconstruction incentive program, which offers grants to homeowners and developers to deconstruct buildings rather than demolish them in order to salvage reusable building materials.
• Plastic-Free Challenge, which engages residents in learning about plastics and plastic waste and committing to actions to help them avoid single-use plastics. Two rounds of the challenge engaged over 1,700 residents in taking over 11,600 actions.
• Climate Action Plan and creation of the Climate and Resiliency Department, which seeks to mitigate the effects of climate change, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and create a more equitable and resilient Hennepin County.

Hennepin County is a unique urban area. With 200 lakes, 640 miles of streams, three major rivers, 45,000 acres of wetlands and 50 public water accesses, there are so many opportunities to enjoy being on and around water.

But that also means it takes everyone, including people fishing, boating, kayaking, or sailing, those who live on lakes, and those with aquariums or ponds, to help keep our lakes clean and healthy by preventing the spread of aquatic invasive species. That’s why Hennepin County is encouraging anyone who enjoys our lakes to sign up for Lake Pledge.

On the website or app, you select what lake you visit most and what activities you enjoy doing on and around the water. You then learn how those activities may introduce aquatic invasive species, pledge to take actions to prevent the spread, and see how well your favorite lake is doing compared to others in the county. Learn more in the Star Tribune and on CCX Media.

Start recycling your food scraps and yard waste into compost right in your own backyard! This September, Hennepin County composting and recycling specialist Kira Berglund will be offering free online webinars and in-person workshops to help you get started. The workshops will cover how to set up your compost pile, what materials you can compost, how to get the mix right, and more.

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

• Online webinar: Monday, September 12 from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Register here.
• In-person workshop: Tuesday, September 20 from 7 to 8 p.m. at the Brooklyn Park Library, 8500 W. Broadway Ave. in Brooklyn Park. Register here.
• Online webinar: Friday, September 30 from noon to 1 p.m. Register here.

Take an environmental education field trip and get free transportation with a Hennepin County-provided bus service. First, select a field trip location and activity that aligns well with the age group and interests of your audience and your educational goals. For easier approval, select a field trip site and activity from our pre-approved list (PDF). Then, complete the bus reservation request form to request field trip transportation.

Environmental education activity supplies

Order free activity supplies to engage people in environmental education activities. Supplies in stock include spray bottles for making all-purpose green cleaners and reusable canvas bags that participants can decorate. Supply orders must be used in conjunction with a Hennepin County environmental education activity guide or closely related activity, such as the clean and green (PDF) or the create or decorate reusable bags (PDF) activities.

Education kits