Adopt-a-Drain
Water entering the storm drains on our streets flow directly into the nearest body of water, carrying leaves, grass, soil, litter, and anything else picked up along the way. This clogs stormwater infrastructure, contributes to street flooding, harms wildlife, and pollutes our waters. You can help by adopting a storm drain and volunteering just 15 minutes, twice a month, to keep it clean.
- Age level: All ages. Classroom resources for Kindergarten through 12th grade.
- Cost: Free to participate. Teachers can receive materials and supplies for free.
- Time required: 15 minutes twice per month.
- Topics: Water quality and stormwater.
- Learn more, sign up, and report your impact.
- Teachers, visit the educator website to request free classroom materials.
Tour a waste facility
Tour a Hennepin County waste facility and learn how waste is collected and managed and what you can do to reduce waste. Learn how the county processes trash, recyclables, organics, and problem materials. Tours describe how each facility works and highlights the importance of reducing, reusing, recycling, and preventing pollution.
Tour the Brooklyn Park Transfer Station
- Age level: Tour participants must be 7 years of age or older.
- Cost: Free.
- Time required: 1 to 1.5 hours.
- Topics: Solid waste, recycling, and zero waste
- Learn more and schedule a tour.
Tour the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center
- Age level: Tour participants must be 14 years of age or older.
- Cost: Free.
- Time required: 1.5 to 2 hours.
- Topics: Solid waste system, waste-to-energy, and zero waste
- Learn more and schedule a tour.
Watershed Connections
Watershed Connections provides hands-on environmental education for 6th to 12th grade students in Hennepin County. Through the program, students and teachers will experience time in the field at a body of water near their school.
Participants will collect and identify aquatic macroinvertebrates (organisms such as dragonflies, mayflies and beetles), learn what impacts water quality, gain knowledge about how to protect water, dive into the impacts of climate change on water in Minnesota, and experience a sense-of-place near to their school. All activities in the program are linked to Minnesota State Education Standards and pre-and post-curriculum is available to enhance the experience.
- Age level: Grades 6 through 12
- Cost: Free. Hennepin County will provide all equipment, training, and program facilitation at no cost.
- Time required: 2 to 4 hours in the spring and/or fall.
- Topics: Biology, water resources, water quality, and ecosystems.
- Learn more and sign up.