 Hennepin County offers a variety of funding opportunities to help residents and partners implement projects that protect the environment.
Grants are available to:
- Improve recycling and prevent waste at businesses, apartment buildings, schools, and in the community.
- Salvage and reuse building materials at residential and commercial properties.
- Protect and restore land and water, including preventing the spread of aquatic invasive species, cleaning up contaminated properties, planting and caring for trees, and installing projects that address erosion, plant native vegetation, restore natural areas, and improve soil.
- Provide youth environmental education, engage the community in taking action to protect the environment, and offer green jobs and training to youth.
Many grant programs are accepting applications now or opening soon. See our grants for environmental projects guide (PDF) to explore what’s available and start planning your project!
 If you are looking for ways to volunteer in your community, consider becoming a Hennepin County Community Recycling Ambassador!
How the program works
Community Recycling Ambassadors are trained on waste prevention, recycling, composting, and effective communication skills through a six-week course, with one class each week, taught by industry experts and community leaders. This training program is free to participants.
Once training is complete, participants commit to 30 hours of volunteering putting their skills to work on projects and activities that minimize waste and provide waste reduction, recycling and composting education.
Apply for the spring 2025 class
The spring 2025 class will be held every Thursday from February 20 through March 27 from 6 to 8 p.m. The class will take place virtually via Zoom.
The application for the spring class is open now and will close on Thursday, February 6. Learn more about the program and apply.
The impacts of extreme heat are not experienced equally. Knowing where the hottest areas are in order to focus resources and solutions is critical as the Twin Cities experiences more extreme weather.
About the study
To better understand the uneven distribution of heat and related impacts, more than 200 volunteer community scientists collected data in Hennepin and Ramsey counties on July 27, 20204 – one of the hottest days of the summer – as part of NOAA’s 2024 Urban Heat Island Mapping Campaign. The volunteers put sensors on their cars and traveled designated routes in the morning, afternoon and evening, gathering temperature, humidity, time and location data.
The data collected was analyzed to map the hottest parts of the Twin Cities. See the urban heat mapping summary report (PDF, 10 MB), explore an interactive map of the data, or visit the urban heat mapping study web page for more information.
Morning temperature model (6 to 7 a.m.)
 Key observations and next steps
Key observations from the data include:
- Highly developed urban areas, such as downtown Minneapolis and downtown St. Paul, have higher temperatures than other areas throughout the day and evening.
- Areas with sparse development but industrial land use, such as airports, seem to create a pocket of higher temperatures near residential areas.
- Street trees, greenspace, and water help to alleviate heat in residential areas. For example, neighborhoods near Lake Harriet in Minneapolis and Vadnais Lake in Vadnais Heights are cooler than areas without shade, greenspace, or water.
Hennepin County will use the data and maps from this study to identify priority areas for extreme heat mitigation and response planning.
Contact urbanheat@hennepin.us to request copies of the raw data for further research or analysis.
The Plastic-Free Challenge starts February 1
 Kickstart your plastic-free journey with the Plastic-Free Challenge in February!
Get started by signing up, joining or creating a team, and creating your profile. Then browse the categories and actions, check off the actions you already take, and select up to five one-time actions and five daily actions to make progress on during the four-week challenge.
You could focus on learning about plastic recycling, making plastic-free swaps, or advocating for changes in your community. As part of a community acting together, see how our individual actions add up to a big impact!
Fix-It Clinics
Get help with your broken stuff and learn valuable repair skills at free Fix-It Clinics.
Fix-It Clinics offer free, guided assistance from volunteers with repair skills to disassemble, troubleshoot, and (hopefully) fix small household appliances, clothing, electronics, mobile devices and more. Watch our video from the January Fix-It Clinic to see how it works.
 Clinics are held on the second weekend of most months at different locations throughout the county from noon to 4 p.m., with the last items accepted at 3:30 p.m. Events are first come, first served. No pre-registration required. See the schedule of clinics through August.
Trees and forests learning series
 Hennepin County forestry offers free monthly learning opportunities about trees and forests for residents. Sessions are family friendly and require no previous knowledge. Join an upcoming session:
- Tree seed art on Monday, February 24 from 3 to 5 p.m. at Golden Valley Library
- Winter tree identification on Tuesday, March 18 from 4 to 6 p.m. at Folwell Park in Minneapolis
An Arbor Day celebration will be held in April and a tree planting will be held in May. Learn more about the session and register to attend.
Small things add up. If you’re looking to start or reboot your low-waste lifestyle, consider these eight simple yet impactful waste-reduction actions to make sustainability part of your 2025 routine. See our latest Choose to Reuse article for more details.
 Compost food scraps
Food scraps make up almost 25% of our trash, and they can be put to better use as compost – whether that be through curbside or drop-off organics recycling or backyard composting.
Switch to reusable shopping bags
Plastic shopping bags create waste and litter and cause big problems at recycling sorting facilities. You can bring them to a retailer that accepts plastic bags for recycling, but getting in the habit of using reusable bags is better.
Use and then properly dispose of rechargeable batteries
Rechargeable batteries cut back on waste and perform well in devices that drain batteries quickly. Dispose of them properly at a Hennepin County drop-off facility once they are used up.
Repair items instead of replacing them
Many household items that seem broken can be fixed relatively easily. Visit a Fix-It Clinic or repair shop or look for online tutorials.
Donate unwanted items
Donating is a great way to give your items a second life. Bring them off at a local thrift store or reuse retailer, post them online, offer them to family and friends, or look for community swap events.
Make your own snack mixes
Cut down on waste by avoiding single-serve, plastic-wrapped snacks when you can. Snack on unpackaged fruits and veggies or prepare smaller portions of snacks in reusable containers.
Use reusable water bottles
Choose refillable metal water bottles over water in plastic bottles. Tap water is regularly tested for safety and is cheaper than bottled water.
Use a reusable coffee pod
With no recycling options for the pods, single-serve coffee makers create a lot of waste. Reusable pods are widely available in stores and online. Remember to compost the coffee grounds!
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