- RSVP to the Hennepin County environmental education network meeting in December
- Recap of the October network meeting
- Apply for a grant to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species
- No Child Left Inside grants open for applications
- Become a water steward
- Consider partnership opportunities with the Plastic-Free Challenge
Thursday, December 14 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
 Join us for the last meeting of 2023 and share your stories of climate success. This virtual meeting is a chance to connect with other environmental educators, learn from their experiences, and get inspired by their achievements. The meeting will also provide a place for you to share personal and organizational accomplishments, learn from others who have hosted climate-specific trainings, are creating resources, and have engaged audiences around climate actions. We will also watch some clips from climate influencers and learn from their insights. Bring your lunch and join the celebration.
 Educators and program managers from cities, watershed districts, nonprofits, schools, and neighborhood organizations gathered in-person at the Kroening Nature Center on Monday, October 16, for the third Hennepin County environmental education network meeting of 2023. The topic was a show and tell of technology we use as educators to engage our audiences in outdoor and environmental education.
Attendees shared a variety of different technologies with each other at the meeting including Lake Pledge (download the Lake Pledge app on Apple’s App Store or Google Play), Moose Mission, Merlin, PlantNet, Picture This, Picture Mushroom, Seek by iNaturalist, Zooniverse, Goose Chase, and Chat GPT.
The group discussed how integrating technology into learning can help students build knowledge and provide different access points into nature. In some cases, it has become necessary to use technology to bring kids back out into nature and help kids better retain information. As one attendee shared, “technology is here to stay,” so we as educators need to do our best to integrate it into our teaching rather than shying away from it.
 Photo courtesy of Julie M Gile Photography
Nonprofits, local government agencies, institutions, and businesses in Hennepin County can apply now for funding to implement projects that prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species.
Grant funding can be used for education, to promote behavior change, to address pathways of aquatic invasive species introduction, implement early detection and rapid response efforts, and pursue other ideas that prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species.
Review the grant flyer (PDF) for more details. Applications are due by Thursday, January 11, 2024. Learn more and apply.
For more information, contact Tony Brough at tony.brough@hennepin.us or 612-348-4378.
 The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has launched the next phase of their No Child Left Inside grant program to help get more students outdoors to learn how to be good stewards of Minnesota’s natural resources. These grants will help children begin a lifetime of outdoor experiences including learning how to cast a line, study animal tracks, hike or bike, or simply experience more of the natural world around them.
Public entities, schools, and nonprofit organizations serving youth under age 18 can apply for up to $25,000. Applications are due by 2 p.m. on Tuesday, December 12.
Learn more and apply.
 Become a champion for clean water in your community! Minnesota Water Stewards is a program that certifies and supports community leaders to prevent water pollution and educate community members to conserve and protect our waterways.
Attend a virtual information session
Learn what it takes to become a Water Steward at a virtual information session on Tuesday, November 21 at noon. Register for the session.
Applications to join the 2024 Hennepin County cohort of Minnesota Water Stewards are due November 30.
For more information, contact Alex Van Loh at avanloh@freshwater.org.
 Taking steps to reduce plastic waste is one of the most effective things we can do to reduce waste and fight climate change. The Plastic-Free Challenge, offered by Hennepin, Ramsey, and Washington counties, engages residents in learning about plastics and committing to actions that help create a plastic-free world.
But we can’t do it alone!
Organizations and businesses, including community groups, neighborhoods, schools, retailers, and more, can become partners for the upcoming Plastic-Free Challenge, which will run in February 2024.
All partners will have their logo displayed on the challenge website, gain access to promotional materials, and get various recognition and cross-promotion during the challenge. There is no cost to becoming a partner.
Partnership opportunities include:
- Expanding our reach by promoting the challenge to your audiences.
- Strengthening engagement in the challenge by creating teams of colleagues, friends, and neighbors who motivate and hold each other accountable.
- Increasing our impact by offering educational events on plastic-free topics or discounts on plastic-free goods and services.
See the Plastic-Free Challenge partnership page to learn how to become a 2024 Plastic-Free Challenge partner and fill out the partnership form.
The challenge runs during the month of February 2024. Sign up opens on January 1. Sign up to be notified when registration opens.
The online Plastic-Free Challenge is offered in partnership with Hennepin County, Ramsey County, and Washington County and is powered by EcoChallenge.
The following organizations received a Hennepin County Green Partners grant. The grants provide training, support, and funding to organizations to implement projects that engage residents to learn about, protect, and improve the environment.
MIGIZI's Green Tech interns: Preserving ecosystems and exploring habitats
 MIGIZI Green Tech interns in waders at Minnehaha Creek Park. Photo courtesy of MIGIZI Communications
MIGIZI Communications received a two-year Green Partners youth environmental education grant for their Indigenous Pathways – Green Tech Institute. The program is engaging 120 high school youth about Indigenous practices and green technologies through a variety of activities including wild ricing, sugaring practices, field testing and analysis of water and air quality, environmental forensics, and education on topics of environmental pollution, treaty rights and food sovereignty, and environmental justice.
In the next two years, MIGIZI will engage youth in the critical importance of preserving healthy ecosystems amidst the challenges of climate change. One way they are doing this is by teaching youth about manoomin/psiŋ, or wild rice, and how to take care of our waterways. Last month, their interns made their way to Minnehaha Creek just below the falls, where they jumped into waders and collected macroinvertebrates to later study at the MIGIZI facility.
 MIGIZI Green Tech interns collecting macroinvertebrates at Minnehaha Falls. Photo courtesy of MIGIZI Communications
Metro Blooms wraps up a year of youth-led community learning and celebrations and embarks on more green job training for youth
As part of their recently completed Green Partners project, Metro Blooms engaged 100 residents in community workshops and hands-on opportunities to implement sustainable landscaping and pollinator plantings in north Minneapolis. Metro Blooms supported their young adult employees to lead this project by providing them with training in sustainable lawn care practices and how to be effective environmental justice advocates.
 Other work Metro Blooms completed as part of their grant included partnering with the Jordan Area Community Council and a neighborhood elder to host a harvest celebration at the Jordan Community Garden. They planted native sunflowers and educated attendees on how to do a site assessment and plan a home garden. The event attracted many neighborhood youth and families who had a blast decorating reusable water bottles, planting together, and connecting.
Metro Blooms also hosted a workshop with the City of Lakes Community Land Trust where 11 residents connected with a landscape architect to learn how to assess a site for stormwater management, do winter seed sowing in milk jugs, and plant native plants. These workshops helped residents and youth learn together about how native plants can help filter water, increase habitat for pollinators, sequester carbon, regenerate soil, and mitigate some of the extreme weather events related to climate change.
This fall, Metro Blooms began a Green Partners youth green jobs grant project. Over the next year, they will hire four youth and engage up to 50 additional youth who face disparities in learning about green jobs and completing sustainable landcare training.
|
