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Integrating weather in environmental education

Tuesday, June 11 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

In person at the Hennepin County Public Works Facility, 1600 Prairie Drive, Medina (map to Public Works Facility)

Join other environmental educators and get a behind-the-scenes view from Hennepin County Emergency Management about how weather plays into their work and tools they use to educate and engage others. Have you ever wondered what happens before an emergency warning siren goes off? Get that question answered here!

There will also be time to share weather education resources, curriculum, and activities, and learn from other network educators. The meeting will conclude with an optional outdoor tour of an on-site Mesonet Station to learn about the equipment and see real-time sensors. Lunch will be provided for RSVPs received by Tuesday, June 4.

Celebrate Arbor Month

Arbor Day is celebrated each year on the last Friday of April and Arbor Month is celebrated throughout May. This is a time to recognize the many benefits that trees provide to our health, well-being, and environment and take action to care for and plant trees.

Planting trees for a changing climate

Minnesota’s changing climate is affecting what trees will thrive in our area. Planting a diversity of trees will make our communities more resilient to climate change. Learn more about trees and a changing climate (PDF) from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Consider incorporating tree planting into your programming or classes this spring.

Updated resources for raising awareness about emerald ash borer and managing ash trees

Emerald ash borer is the biggest current threat to our tree canopy. There are over 1 million ash trees in Hennepin County, and 100 percent of them are threatened by emerald ash borer.

The following resources have been refreshed in 2024 and are available to help you spread the word about emerald ash borer and managing ash trees: 

• Ash trees and emerald ash borer website 
• Newsletter article, social media posts and images (DOCX)
• Spread of emerald ash borer in Hennepin County GIF
• Identifying ash trees video (YouTube)
• Emerald ash borer and options for managing ash trees booklet (PDF)
• Ash trees identification card (PDF)
• Decision guide for managing ash trees (PDF)

Order printed copies of the booklet, identification card, and decision guide from the environmental resources order form. Translations and large print versions of print materials will be available for order in June.

Environmental education resources

Using environment-themed BINGO to engage youth

Are you looking for fun and educational activities to engage youth in environmental topics? Hennepin County has three BINGO games focused on trees, birds, and recycling that can be used to teach your audiences about these topics. Each can be downloaded and printed for free.

• Bird BINGO (PDF). Use this BINGO card to get to know the birds in your neighborhood.
• Tree BINGO (PDF). Take a walk around your neighborhood or visit a local park and see how many of these common urban trees you can find.
• Recycling BINGO – Cards are customized to feature both items that are recyclable and the natural resources they come from. There are beginner and advanced versions of this game. Start by reading the recycling BINGO instructions (PDF).
  • Beginner version:
    • Beginner BINGO caller sheet (PDF)
    • Beginner BINGO card (PDF)
  • Advanced version:
    • Advanced BINGO caller sheet (PDF)
    • Advanced BINGO card (PDF)

New locker cleanout guide

Hennepin County now has a guide available to assist schools with locker cleanout at the end of the school year. Plan a locker cleanout for this year or start prepping for next year! Read the locker cleanout guide (PDF) for details.

Fostering empathy for wildlife through community science

This blog article from the North American Association for Environmental Education explores the topic of empathy toward animals and how developing empathy in your audiences can lead to behavior change and environmental action. The six best practices include framing, modeling, increasing knowledge, providing experiences, practice, and activating imagination. Read the blog to learn about the six best practices for developing empathy.

Great Lakes Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center

Is your organization looking for help to find, apply for, or manage funding for community-driven climate and environmental justice projects? The Great Lakes Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center (Great Lakes TCTAC) helps community organizations successfully navigate funding opportunities to access the resources they need to lead in the clean energy transition, pollution cleanup, and green workforce development. 

Partners of the Great Lakes TCTAC include the University of Illinois, Michigan State University, University of Minnesota, Ohio State University, Purdue University, and University of Wisconsin, as well as the Midwest Tribal Energy Resources Association, the Great Plains Institute, Community Engineering Corps, and the Environmental Protection Network.

If you are interested in receiving support from the Great Lakes TCTAC, fill out the intake form.

Training and professional development

Summer Institute for Climate Change Education

Three days during the week of July 15 to 19

The Teach Climate Network's three-day virtual climate change education institute helps educators explore curricula and tools to teach climate change concepts in all subject areas and settings.

Cost: $250, scholarships available

Details and registration for the Summer Institute for Climate Change Education

Mississippi River Institute

Free in-person training July 22 to 24

The Mississippi River Institute is a free in-person three-day professional development opportunity hosted by Hamline University’s Center for Global Environmental Education. The training inspires, educates, and prepares third-through eighth-grade teachers to engage students in STEM disciplines through experiential, inquiry-based science and engineering investigations at local watersheds.

New this year: a wastewater treatment tour is included to focus on the “built” water cycle vs the natural water cycle.

Additional details and registration for the Mississippi River Institute.

Green Partners grantee highlights and events

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.

Earth Day festivities with Green Partners grantees

Green Partners grantee, Resilient Cities and Communities, co-hosted the Lake Hiawatha/Bde Psin cleanup on April 20 for Earth Day. Seventy volunteers removed 300 pounds of mostly plastic trash from the lake in three hours!

Former Green Partners grantee, Alyson Quinn from Minneapolis Nature Preschool tabled at the Phyllis Wheatley Earth Day event. 

Green Partners grant manager, Patience Caso, visited Beloved Community Minneapolis in the Bancroft Neighborhood as they prepared boulevard gardens.

Doors Open and Free Ink Day at the Highpoint Center for Printmaking

Saturday, May 18 at 912 W Lake Street, Minneapolis

Doors Open tours from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Free Ink Day from noon to 4 p.m.

Highpoint Center for Printmaking visitors will have the chance to tour facilities and get a behind-the-scenes tour of the artist co-op, print study room, and studio. Watch live printing demonstrations within the gallery, create your own prints during Free Ink Day festivities, and learn more about printmaking!

The exhibition of artwork from Hennepin County 5^th graders as part of the Creative Clean Water Stewardship Program is ongoing until June 1. Each year, Highpoint engages 250 5^th graders in a year-long interdisciplinary environmental education program designed to teach students about clean water initiatives, rain gardens, and pollinators and create artwork around sustainability. Participating students hail from Burroughs Community, Ella Baker Global Studies and Humanities Magnet, Nellie Stone Johnson, and Whittier International elementary schools.  

Youth-led community gardening event with Project Sweetie Pie, Spark-Y, Environmental Initiative, and other partners

Wednesday, May 29, from 4 to 6 p.m. at Celestial Gardens, 2210 Emerson Avenue North, Minneapolis

Come participate in hands-on gardening experience with Minnesota Master Gardeners at this event hosted by several Green Partners grantees. Discover the joys of vegetable growing and native plants at this community gathering. This event is led by north Minneapolis youth leaders and is open to the public.

If you have any questions, contact Jessica Drummond at jdrummond@greatrivergreening.org or 651-272-3989. 

Learn more

hennepin.us/environmentaleducation
Environmental education network Facebook group