Sustainability Newsletter

Warming stripes showing increase in temperatures from 1895 to 2018

Summer 2022

Welcome to the Summer 2022 Minneapolis Sustainability Update

This quarterly newsletter contains resources, initiatives, and opportunities to get involved.

Summer is fast approaching.

Remember to:

Live in the Sunshine - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Summertime is always the best of what might be - Charles Bowden

In early June the world of leaf and blade and flowers explode, and every sunset is different - John Steinbeck

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City Trees Program

In 2022, the City Trees program is working with Tree Trust (a local nonprofit organization) to provide 1,800 trees to Minneapolis property owners. Trees will cost $30 each and all residents are able to order two trees per property. The ordering window for 2022 is as followed: 

  • 8 a.m. Monday, March 7: Green Zone property owners can begin ordering trees.
  • 8 a.m. Wednesday, March 16: Minneapolis property owners who haven’t ever received a tree from the Minneapolis tree sale, who aren’t in a Green Zone, can begin ordering their trees. Rental property owners citywide can begin ordering their trees, maximum of 5 properties. Please fill out a separate order for each property.
  • 8 a.m. Wednesday, March 23: All Minneapolis property owners can begin ordering their trees.

Order your tree at https://mpls-tree-sale.myshopify.com/
Purchasing will close April 15 or when the trees run out, whichever is first.
Pick up your tree May 21, 22 or 23 (subject to change). Location is to be determined and will be emailed to people who bought a tree.

Don’t know if your property is in a Green Zone? Check the map at  minneapolismn.gov/greenzones or call 311.

Questions? Email city_trees@treetrust.org for answers.

North and South Side Green Zones Environmental Justice Summit at Community Connections Conference

The North and South Side Green Zones in Minneapolis are hosting an Environmental Justice Summit at the Community Connections Conference on Saturday, May 21, 2022, 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. If you or anyone you know have an idea for a Breakout Workshop, contact Angela Williams, VISTA, Sustainability Department, at angela.williams@minneapolismn.gov. 

DOE's Communities to Clean Energy Focus Group 4/14

Upcoming session for the upcoming Communities to Clean Energy (C2C) focus group webinars on April 14, 2022 from 1:00–2:00 p.m. MT. 

We hope you will register here to join us.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is planning a new program called Communities to Clean Energy (C2C) that will leverage the expertise of its national laboratories to provide communities across the United States with tools, technical assistance, and implementation support to help them achieve their clean energy goals.

Last fall, the C2C design team at DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) held listening sessions with nearly 50 communities across the United States—including local governments, utilities, community-based organizations, and Tribes—to better understand the challenges communities are facing and the types of support DOE can provide to help them reach their clean energy goals.

Our team used information from those sessions to prioritize the strategies we could use to provide technical support to communities through the C2C program. Now we want to hear from you!

We look forward to connecting with you in this session. Please feel free to forward this information to others in your network who might be interested. And, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact our team by replying to this email or contacting us at c2c@nrel.gov.

If you are a representative of a Tribal Government or community-based organization, we do have funding to support your participation in this focus group. Funding details are as follows:

Participants representing Tribal Governments or community-based organizations are eligible for a $100.00 payment for attending the focus group and sharing their feedback, based on the following criteria: 

·       The participant must attend the entire focus group webinar. 

·       Only one payment per organization, regardless of the number of attendees. 

·       The organization must be: 

o   a Tribal Government or 

o   a local representation, that is not in an official capacity representing the municipality, utility, or other regulated function and is not a university. Chapters or branches of national organizations are ineligible. 

To receive the payment, the organization must submit to NREL within 30 days of the event: 

·       a feedback survey response 

·       an invoice containing the date and the time of the workshop, the $100.00 payment amount, an invoice number, and all standard organization information 

·       the organization’s signed W9 and ACH banking information 

Green Partners Environmental Education Grants

Engage, educate, act and collaborate for the environment. Hennepin County provides funding and support to organizations to actively educate, engage and motivate residents to become environmental stewards and make positive behavior changes. Through the Green Partners grant program, Hennepin County supports organizations to actively educate, engage, and motivate residents to become environmental stewards and make positive behavior changes, such as taking action to prevent waste, recycle, reduce household hazardous waste, combat climate change, care for trees, protect pollinators, and improve our air and water quality. For more information: https://www/hennepin.us/greenpartners

Community Air Monitoring Project

“The City of Minneapolis is partnering with community residents and organizations and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency on a Minneapolis Community Air Monitoring project, starting in spring 2022.

The purpose of the Community Air Monitoring project is to collect air quality data at neighborhood / community level, particularly focused in the two Minneapolis Green Zones and other areas of concern for environmental justice.

The project goals include:

1. Collect data that leads to greater knowledge of very localized air quality in Minneapolis.

2. Take action to reduce pollution (action-items driven by data gathered)

Residents and businesses will host air sensors to collect air quality data right at their home or business.  Community members hosting air sensors can record when they are noticing odors, symptoms from poor air quality, etc. and take notes if there are idling vehicles, gas-powered lawn equipment, backyard burning or other activities happening. This will give the City a much better idea of the sources of air pollution and whether these activities are contributing to unhealthy levels of air pollution.

There are two types of air sensors that will be used for the project:

1. Purple Air sensors measure particulate matter and only particulate matter. Residents and businesses will host the Purple Air sensors.

2. AQMesh have pods with attachments for different types of air sensors including: particulate matter and gases (nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, ozone and total volatile organic compounds (VOCs)).  AQMESH will be placed on city-owned light poles.

We are initially planning for about a two-year project. You can direct questions to sustainability@minneapolismn.gov.”

Serve on the Southside Green Zone Council or the Northside Green Zone Task Force

The City seeks applicants with a diversity of backgrounds and experiences representing the demographics of Minneapolis to strengthen the work of the City. Translation and interpreting is available so all residents can participate. Applications are open now. 

Attend an Upcoming Meeting with Sustainability's Advisory Committees:

Joint Northside/Southside Green Zones meeting on Wednesday, April 6, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Community Environmental Advisory Commission is on Tuesday, April 12, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Minneapolis Clean Energy Partnership Board on Tuesday, April 26, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.