 Educators and program managers from cities, watershed districts, nonprofits, schools, and neighborhood organizations gathered on Thursday, March 21, for the first Hennepin County environmental education network meeting of 2024. The topic was environmental podcasting.
Participants heard from Jenny Vickers, the communications manager for Clean Water Action and host of the We All Live Downstream podcast and Brandon Baker and Angela Grill, the hosts of The Wandering Naturalist podcast from Three Rivers Park District. Presenters shared their insights and experiences about how to create and grow a podcast including tips about:
- Logistics of planning a podcast including choosing topics and guests
- Helpful software for recording, producing, editing, and publishing podcast episodes
- How to invite guests and ask questions that tell a bigger story
- Metrics available to measure success and incorporate feedback from listeners
- And more!
Watch a recording of the meeting on YouTube.
 Earth Day and Arbor Day are both coming up in April, and there are many events planned locally to celebrate our community and environment.
Learn what we are doing and find an opportunity to celebrate and get your audiences involved!
Contribute to the Mighty Mississippi Cleanup Challenge
This year, Hennepin County has accepted the challenge to participate in the Mighty Mississippi Cleanup to help keep our lakes, rivers, and streams clean and healthy. There are three ways for you and your organization to contribute to this effort between April 15 and May 15:
Learn and connect
Beyond participating in a cleanup, you can celebrate Earth Day and Arbor Day by helping to plant trees, joining a bike ride, planting for pollinators, learning about local sustainability resources, participating in a clothing swap, going on a nature hike, and much more! Explore all the opportunities on our Earth Day and Arbor Day events map.
Hennepin County is seeking a full-time Environmental Educator to implement environmental awareness and outreach strategies for department programs, including zero waste, climate action, and protecting natural resources.
The person in this position will:
- Develop and implement environmental communication and education plans on topics such as living a low-waste lifestyle, properly disposing of household items, reducing wasted food, protecting water and habitat, and taking action on climate change.
- Produce environmental education content and messaging strategies for a variety of communication channels, including websites, social media, digital newsletters, online forms and surveys, print materials, and reports.
- Develop and maintain environmental education resources, including activity guides, education kits, and outreach displays.
- Conduct environmental education through presentations, tours, classes, and events.
Salary range: $48,600 to $76,750 annually
Applications are accepted until Monday, April 22. Learn more and please share with anyone who might be interested!
Trees and forests learning series
 Hennepin County forestry is offering free monthly learning opportunities about trees and forests for residents. These sessions require no previous knowledge, are open to the public, and rotate between virtual webinars, in-person trainings, and hybrid webinars and trainings. Recordings from webinars will be available for those who are unable to attend.
Download a flyer of upcoming sessions to promote to your audiences (PDF)
- Identifying common diseases and infestations in trees webinar, Thursday, April 25 from 6 to 7 p.m.
- Tree planting and selection webinar, Thursday, May 23 from 6 to 7 p.m.
- Tree identification in-person workshop, Thursday, June 20 from 6 to 8 pm.
- Diagnosing common tree defects and health issues in-person workshop, Thursday, July 25 from 6 to 8 p.m.
- Get to know your soil hybrid workshop, Thursday, August 22 from 6 to 8 p.m.
Find details and register to attend a session.
Free composting workshops
 If you're considering composting at your organization or school or need tips for your garden compost bin, join a free online webinar or in-person workshop with a composting and recycling specialist from Hennepin County. Learn how to set up your compost pile, what materials you can compost, and more.
There is no charge to sign up, but registration is required.
Webinar dates:
- Tuesday, April 30 from 7 to 8 p.m. Virtual on Zoom. Register.
- Monday, May 6 from noon to 1 p.m. Virtual on Zoom. Register.
In-person workshop:
- Saturday, May 18 from 10 to 11 a.m. In-person. Register.
- Location: Hopkins Library, 22 11th Avenue North, Hopkins
Green Partners environmental education grants
 Applications are being accepted for Green Partners grants until Thursday, April 25. Grants are available to nonprofit organizations, community groups, youth programs, schools, congregations, early childhood family education programs, and park districts.
Types of grants
Three types of grants are available:
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Environmental action: For projects focused on motivating adults to do more to protect the environment and act at home, at work, or on-the-go.
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Youth environmental education: For projects focused on working with youth to develop awareness of environmental issues and increase interest in environmental stewardship.
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Youth green jobs: For projects focused on offering green jobs exploration and training to individuals ages 14 to 24, especially those facing disparities.
Learn more about the grants and how to apply. For more information, contact greenpartners@hennepin.us.
NOAA Planet Stewards funding
 NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) Planet Stewards supports educators working in formal and informal settings to carry out hands-on action-based stewardship projects with elementary through college age students, as well as the general public. Projects must make a substantive, measurable impact on an environmental issue related to the educator’s community.
Projects should focus on the conservation, restoration, and/or protection of human communities and/or natural resources from environmental issues in one of these four focus areas:
- Marine debris
- Habitat conservation and restoration
- Carbon footprint reduction
- Carbon sequestration
Funding of up to $5,000 per project is available. Applications are due by Sunday, June 2. Get details and apply for Planet Stewards funding.
Outdoor skills workshops from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Wednesdays at noon
 Learn about or sharpen your outdoor skills with these free webinars in the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ Minnesota outdoor skills and stewardship series.
- April 24: Experiencing the spring warbler migration
- May 1: Catch a record fish
- May 8: Live: get ready for the fishing opener
- May 15: Creating communities with alternative lawns hosted by Altlawns of Richfield and Bloomington, a Green Partners grantee. Learn about the benefits of reducing the size of your lawn by planting native habitat and get tips to manage and maintain a native landscape.
- May 22: New invasive worms ‘jump’ to Minnesota
Register for an outdoor skills workshop.
Just Grow! Gardening with Kids webinar
Friday, April 26 at 1 p.m.
 Presenters will share the work they are doing with their communities, hands-on gardening activities that parents, caregivers and educators can facilitate with children – even if they have a small space and poor soil conditions, and sage advice on how families can get the most out of garden and farm projects. Leave the webinar with a plan and desire to get your hands into some dirt!
Learn more and register for the Just Grow! Gardening with Kids webinar.
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.
Beloved Community youth tend honeybees in south Minneapolis
 Youth from Beloved Community Minneapolis are using their Green Partners grant to learn about beekeeping and support honeybees in their community. They will tend bees in 10 honeybee hives this spring in the Bancroft neighborhood. The group has kept bees since 2021 and added four new hives to their gardens in 2022 and 2023. As the youth get more education and become certified in beekeeping, they plan to continue this youth-led bee education and honey tasting program in the community forever! The group will host “beautiful bee streets” tours this spring through fall. Follow Beloved Community Minneapolis on Facebook for tour dates and times when announced.
ReUse Minnesota engages youth in reuse at Minneapolis high schools
 ReUse Minnesota is a Green Partners grantee working to introduce reuse to high schoolers at Edison High School, Longfellow Alternative High School, and Roosevelt High School through guest speakers and interactive activities. Presentations have exposed youth to possible career opportunities in reuse and repair including sustainable deconstruction, electronics repair, and textile mending and repurposing. Later this year, students will take field trips to Minnesota Tool Library, Free Geek, and Better Futures to learn more.
Learn more
hennepin.us/environmentaleducation
Environmental education network Facebook group
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