About the environmental education network
Hennepin County coordinates an environmental education network that is open to anyone working to engage their community in learning about and taking action to protect the environment. The network has quarterly meetings and a Facebook group that provide opportunities for environmental educators to learn about environmental topics, share resources and project ideas, and network.
Join the Facebook group
The environmental education network Facebook group serves as a forum for collaboration around environmental, outdoor and place-based education and motivating environmental action. Members can use this group to share environmental education opportunities and resources, job postings, volunteer opportunities, success stories, and project updates.
Network meetings
Network meetings provide opportunities for to learn about environmental topics, share resources and project ideas, and network with fellow environmental educators. Meetings are held quarterly and are open to the public.
Social media for the environment
Held virtually on December 5, 2024
This meeting focused on using social media for environmental education. We showcased outstanding accounts and content to provide inspiration from successful examples of environment-forward social media content. Participants voted on their favorite content with high engagement and favorite funny post.
Hennepin County staff shared best practices for social media including how to increase accessibility, engagement, emoji tips, and platform-specific information. Use these resources to learn more:
- Hootsuite emoji meanings glossary
- Social media use by age group
- Sprout Social’s making social media more accessible
- Alt text tips from the Nielson Norman Group
Tree-mendous networking meeting
Held in person on October 8, 2024
Educators, volunteers, and several interested staff members gathered on Tuesday, October 8, for the third Hennepin County environmental education network meeting of 2024. The meeting was largely dedicated to networking with fellow environmental educators while exploring an urban forestry site.
Attendees spent time getting to know each other, building connections, and learning about the new Tree Trek site in north Minneapolis from Hennepin County Forester, Jack Lucas. The site was installed in 2023 when Hennepin County foresters worked with interns at Northside Safety NET to design a tree planting for the 2.1-acre vacant lot at the intersection of 8th and Washburn Avenue North in the Homewood neighborhood of Minneapolis. Trees were planted in May 2023, and interpretive Tree Trek signage was installed in 2024. The group discussed how this youth-led project came to fruition and other urban forestry goals.
In addition, participants spent time networking, completing a fun BINGO activity to learn about each other and the trees at the site, and drawing a picture of a tree that was important to them growing up.
Integrating weather in environmental education
Held in person on June 11, 2024
Educators, volunteers, and several interested staff members gathered for the second Hennepin County environmental education network meeting of 2024. The topic was integrating weather in environmental education.
Attendees learned about weather patterns, climate, forecasting, and more from Emily Jackson, a meteorologist with Hennepin County Emergency Management. The group discussed severe weather warnings, cloud types, how thunderstorms form, and various tools used to forecast weather. They then got a behind-the-gate tour of the various weather sensors and data-recording tools that are part of the Mesonet station at the Hennepin County Public Works Facility in Medina.
Several resources and volunteer opportunities were shared:
- Partner websites with timely forecasts, weather, and climate data included the National Weather Service, the Storm Prediction Center, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency air quality conditions, and the Minnesota State Climatology office.
- Opportunities to get involved included volunteering to map the urban heat island, the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail & Snow Network (COCORaHS), and the SKYWARN storm spotter program from the National Weather Service.
- Numerous resources for educators:
Environmental podcasting 101: learn from the pros
Held on March 21, 2024
Watch this recording of an exciting and informative virtual meeting where we hear from hosts of The Wandering Naturalist (Three Rivers Park District) and We All Live Downstream (Clean Water Action) podcasts. They share their insights and experiences on how to create and grow a podcast that engages and entertains your audience. Presenters share about their podcast topics, production processes, recording techniques, feedback mechanisms, and more.
Celebrate a year of climate action with the Hennepin County environmental education network
Held on December 14, 2023
Watch the last meeting of 2023 all about climate success. The meeting included highlights of climate engagement in community, new resources, and climate positive videos from influencers online.
Show and tell: integrating technology in outdoor and environmental education
Held on October 16, 2023 in Minneapolis
Educators and program managers from cities, watershed districts, nonprofits, schools, and neighborhood organizations gathered in-person at the Kroening Nature Center on Monday, October 16, for the third Hennepin County environmental education network meeting of 2023. The topic was a show and tell of technology we use as educators to engage our audiences in outdoor and environmental education.
Attendees shared a variety of different technologies with each other at the meeting including LakePledge (download the Lake Pledge app on Apple’s App Store or Google Play), Moose Mission, Merlin, PlantNet, Picture This, Picture Mushroom, Seek by iNaturalist, Zooniverse, Goose Chase, and Chat GPT. The group discussed how integrating technology into learning can help students build knowledge and provide different access points into nature. In some cases, it has become necessary to use technology to bring kids back out into nature and help kids better retain information. As one attendee shared, “technology is here to stay,” so we as educators need to do our best to integrate it into our teaching rather than shying away from it.
Virtual panel about adult education
Held on March 23, 2023
Watch the meeting where a panel of organizations discuss the details of conducting adult environmental education programs. Learn about how their programs have landed (virtual, in-person, or hybrid), the recruitment of adult participants, and success stories.
Panelists included:
- Alex Van Loh and Kris Meyer from Freshwater representing the Minnesota Water Stewards and Adopt-a-River
- Kaitlin Keller from Hennepin County representing Community Recycling Ambassadors
- Kate Hersey from the Minnesota Tool Library
End of year celebration of the network and panel discussion
Held in December 2022
Watch the meeting recording to hear from a panel of organizations who have received grants from or partnered with Hennepin County. Find out more about their projects, hear success stories, and ask panelists questions of your own.
Panelists included:
- Adrian Iacovino from Three Rivers Park District
- Alyson Quinn from Minneapolis Nature Preschool
- Lindsey Mieras from Prairie Seeds Academy
- Tyler Green from Highpoint Center for Printmaking
View the slideshow (PDF) highlighting successes and programs conducted by members of our network over the past year.
Green Pathways and youth employment
Held in fall 2022
Learn about work Hennepin County has been doing related to youth employment in the environmental field. The Green Pathways youth internship project was piloted by Hennepin County this summer. Find out about the intern experience including highlights from one of the interns. Participants will also hear how Green Pathways was created and implemented from the project manager.
The meeting recording includes Green Pathways youth intern takeaways, an overview of Green Pathways program creation and implementation, and research and outreach findings about youth employment in the environmental field. Slideshow (PDF)
Reducing food waste
Held in 2022
Even though we love food, a surprising amount of it goes to waste. About 40% of food is wasted somewhere along the supply chain in the U.S., and much of that food waste happens at home. Food waste costs each of us a significant amount of money and wastes the resources that go into producing and transporting our food. Taking steps to prevent food waste is the best opportunity to reduce our trash and is a powerful climate solution.
Amy Maas and Alisa Reckinger from Hennepin County cover the following topics in the recording of the network meeting:
- What we know about food waste and people’s barriers and motivations for taking action.
- Activities and resources to engage audiences in learning about and reducing food waste.
- The county’s upcoming Stop Food Waste Challenge and partnership opportunities.
Resources
Recruitment and retention of staff in the environmental education field
Held in 2022
Learn from two staffing experts who share best practices for job descriptions, interviewing, recruitment, increasing diversity in staff, and benefits that help with retention.
Presenters:
- Abbie Hugunin, Recruiter, Hennepin County Human Resources
- Becky Rice, Executive Director, Metro Blooms
Connecting climate with community
Held in 2021
Our ability to address climate change relies, in part, on engaging different audiences in taking action. As Hennepin County prepared its Climate Action Plan, a group of Environment and Energy staff got up to speed on the latest national and international research into the public’s perception of climate issues. Learn what insights from research tell us about the public’s knowledge and attitudes about climate change, barriers and motivations to taking action, and effective messaging strategies.
