Trees and forestry

Hennepin County forestry is offering free monthly learning opportunities about trees and forests for residents. These sessions require no previous knowledge, are open to the public, and rotate between virtual webinars, in-person trainings, and hybrid webinars and trainings. Recordings from webinars will be available on this page for those who are unable to attend. See below for meeting topics and registration links.

Subscribe to the urban and community forestry newsletter to be notified of future training topics and when registration opens for upcoming sessions.

Download a flyer of upcoming sessions (PDF, 547 KB)

Winter tree identification

Saturday, December 14 from noon to 1 p.m. at the Old Cedar Avenue Bridge in Bloomington

Learn from the experts how to identify common tree species in winter. This workshop will be held fully outdoors and will involve walking on paved but potentially snowy and icy trails. Warm beverages will be provided. Map to bus, bike, drive, or walk to the Old Cedar Avenue Bridge trailhead. 

Register to attend.

Upcoming training topics

Save the date for the following trainings. Locations and details are still being determined. Once details are sorted, we will share registration links and details here. 

Tree seed art

Location and date to be determined

Join us for this all-ages workshop to create art using seeds collected from trees across Hennepin County! Materials and guidance from Hennepin County staff and local artists will be provided at no cost. This will be an opportunity to create your own original artwork to bring home and to get to know what trees and plants these seeds come from! This workshop will be held fully outdoors in Spanish and English. 

Tree-themed storytelling 

Location, date, and details to be determined.

Recordings and resources from past trainings

Identifying common diseases and infestations in trees webinar

Held April 2024

Brian Schwingle, the Forest Health Program Coordinator from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, educates about common diseases and infestation of trees, including emerald ash borer, Dutch elm disease, and oak wilt. Watch a recording of this training.

Tree planting and selection webinar

Held May 2024

Get insight on how to select the right tree(s) for your property and learn techniques from the experts for planting bare root, containerized, and balled and burlap trees. Watch a recording of the tree planting and selection webinar. 

Emerald ash borer, an invasive tree pest that attacks and kills ash trees, 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 the emerald ash borer. All ash trees in the county that aren't being treated are likely infested with emerald ash borer, an invasive tree pest from Asia that kills ash trees.

If you have ash trees on your property, it's time to start thinking about what you're going to do to treat or remove them.

Learn more about the threat of emerald ash borer and options for managing ash trees.

Resources about managing ash trees from the threat of emerald ash borer

Hennepin County has several resources to learn about emerald ash borer and options for managing ash trees:

Emerald ash borer brochure (PDF, 2MB)

• English
• Large print English
• Hmong
• Somali
• Spanish

Ash tree identification card (PDF, 1MB)

• English
• Large print English
• Hmong
• Somali
• Spanish

Ash tree identification and decision guide (PDF, 2MB)

• English
• Large print English
• Hmong
• Somali
• Spanish

Funding for removals

In early 2024 Hennepin County was awarded 10 million dollars in funding from the U.S. Forest Service to remove diseased trees, plant trees, educate residents, and support businesses and workforce development. Work on this project will begin in spring 2024 and continue through January 31, 2029. Hennepin County will help homeowners with low incomes get trees removed and replaced on their properties. Applications will be accepted from residents beginning in June 2024.

Visit Be Heard Hennepin to stay up to date, subscribe for updates, ask questions, and find application materials.

Spread the word

Use these resources to help spread the word about emerald ash borer and options for managing ash trees:

• Newsletter and social media posts (DOCX, 21MB)
• Spread of emerald ash borer image (GIF, 1MB)
• Decision guide for managing ash trees (JPG, 1MB) 

Hennepin County is working to improve tree canopy resilience to climate change, pests, storms, and extreme heat events. The tree canopy in Hennepin County faces a number of threats, including development, insects and diseases, climate extremes, and poor installation and maintenance.

Hennepin County forestry is helping homeowners with low incomes get trees removed and replaced on their properties as well as learn more about tree care and benefits. This work, funded by a U.S. Forest Service grant, this work addresses a significant need identified by community members as the emerald ash borer has swept through the county.

County foresters are also collaborating with the Minnesota Department of Transportation to plant 160 trees across seven sites on state rights-of-way along interstate 94 corridor in Minneapolis during the spring of 2024. These sites present an opportunity to increase the environmental and public health benefits that come from roadside trees.

Learn more about this work, access updates, subscribe to a newsletter, and ask questions on the Urban and Community Forestry page on Be Heard Hennepin. 

About the healthy tree canopy grants

Grants applications are not currently being accepted. Check back in early 2025 for information on the next grant round. Sign up for the Canopy newsletter to get a notification when grants open. 

Hennepin County has grants available to cities, affordable housing properties, schools, and non-profit organizations to enhance the county’s tree canopy.

The goals of the program are to combat threats to trees from invasive insects and disease by funding tree planting, educate the public on tree care and the importance of trees, and increase the diversity and resiliency of the tree canopy. See the 2024 healthy tree canopy grants flyer (PDF, 443 KB) to learn more about the grant program. 

Types of grants available

Different types of grants are available to cities, affordable housing properties, and schools and non-profit organizations. 

Grant program updates

Sign up for the Canopy newsletter to get grant program updates.

GIS story map

Check out this GIS story map that highlights successful tree and natural resource grant-funded projects. Story maps are a GIS platform that connect places with project stories in a compelling, interactive, and easy-to-understand format. The map can be used to provide ideas and inspiration for future projects.

Helpful grant resources

The following resources will be helpful in completing your grant application.

Recommended tree list

Use the county's recommended tree list (XLSX) when developing a planting plan.

The list includes a list of species and notes about their suitability for planting in various locations. A do-not-plant list is also included.

In July 2024, the county board awarded 17 Healthy Tree Canopy grants totaling about $433,923. Grant projects will take place in eight cities, on two affordable housing properties, at three schools, and through five nonprofit organizations, including congregations and neighborhood associations. More than 920 trees will be planted or treated through the grant projects.

The grants will:

• Fund the collection of data through tree inventories, which is critical to increasing and diversifying the tree canopy and starting to respond to emerald ash borer.
• Address the impacts of tree pests and pathogens by improving city forestry capacity and treating or replacing and replanting ash trees that are threatened by emerald ash borer. Grantees are required to plant at least one replacement tree for every ash tree removed.
• Educate residents on the benefits of trees and engage them in tree planting efforts.
• Improve livability and reduce disparities by planting trees in neighborhoods throughout the county experiencing disproportionate amounts of economic, environmental, and health inequities.
• Protect people and increase the county’s resilience to climate change – important goals in the county’s Climate Action Plan – by increasing the benefits that trees provide. These benefits include capturing carbon, reducing air pollution, and taking up stormwater, and providing shade to counteract the urban heat island effect.

Grants awarded to cities

Grants to cities fund tree inventories, help mitigate the effects of tree pests and pathogens, increase the capacity of city forestry programs, educate residents on the benefits of trees and engage them in tree planting efforts, and improve livability by planting trees in neighborhoods that face economic, environmental, and health disparities.

Bloomington

$50,000 to create an urban forestry master management plan.

Brooklyn Park

$50,000 to update tree inventory, plant 100 trees in boulevards and parks, and conduct public outreach and education.

Eden Prairie

$44,370 to treat 431 ash trees.

Excelsior

$32,540 to preserve trees, update tree inventory, remove hazardous trees, and plant 22 trees.

Minneapolis

$50,000 to create a tree preservation ordinance.

Minnetonka

$50,000 for a smart tree inventory to update city’s tree inventory.

New Hope

$50,000 to plant 79 trees in boulevards and parks.

St. Anthony

$19,858 to remove 15 ash and replant 15 trees.

Grants awarded to affordable housing providers

Grants to affordable housing providers promote a more diverse, resilient, and equitable tree canopy by removing and replacing ash trees and planting new trees.

Boisclair Corporation

$15,830 to plant 26 trees at two affordable housing sites in New Hope and Robbinsdale

Grants awarded to nonprofit organizations and schools

Grants to nonprofit organizations and schools are used to engage communities in planting trees, remove and replace ash trees, conduct tree-related education, complete tree inventories, and hold Arbor Day celebrations.

Chelsea Mews Association

$6,711 Remove 10 ash and replant 10 trees.

Groves Learning Organization

$10,000 to plant 10 trees and conduct tree-related education at school.

Independent School District 271

$9,850 to plant 50 trees and conduct tree-related education on school property in Bloomington.

Lake Harriet Environmental Council

$4,764 to replace invasive species by planting and maintaining 55 trees around Lake Harriet in Minneapolis.

St. Andrew Lutheran Church

$10,000 to plant 23 replacement trees in Eden Prairie.

The Preserve Association

$10,000 to remove 25 ash trees and plant 45-50 replacement trees in Eden Prairie.

Special School District 1

$10,000 to plant 50 trees across 10 different school properties in Minneapolis.

Tree Trust

$10,000 to hold an educational event and plant 30 trees at a Maple Grove school.

Hennepin County plants and maintains trees on sites throughout the county in partnership with cities, libraries, community organization and schools. Planting projects include along county roadways, at county libraries and facilities, at schools and parks, and in natural areas and conservation easements.

Gravel-bed nursery

Most of the trees the county plants come from the county's gravel-bed nursery, located at the Hennepin County Adult Corrections Facility in Plymouth. The gravel-bed nursery gives the county access to hardy, diverse and cost-effective trees for use on county projects and properties.

Every spring, 1,000 young saplings of a variety of species are purchased from commercial nurseries and planted in the gravel-bed. The trees grow and develop a good root structure throughout the summer, and are ready to be transplanted in the fall.

Compared to conventional nursery trees, the gravel-bed nursery gives the county access to a wider diversity of tree species, produces trees that have a good survival rate, and allows the county to plant trees in a more cost-effective manner. The gravel-bed nursery is also helping the county proactively replace ash trees that will ultimately be infested with the emerald ash borer.

Planting projects

Trees from the gravel-bed nursery are transplanted to a variety of county projects and properties.

Examples of planting projects that the county has or is working on include:

• Arbor Day plantings at various locations
• Community locations, including along the Midtown Greenway, at schools and in parks
• Hennepin County facilities and libraries
• Restoration projects in natural areas and conservation easements
• Transportation and transit corridors

Independence conservation easement planting project

Check out this video of our tree planting project at a conservation easement in Independence. We planted 15,000 seedling trees to protect habitat and enhance our tree canopy. This is one of the many projects we’re doing to act boldly on climate change. We have committed to planting 1 million trees by 2030 and acquiring 6,000 acres of conservation easements by 2040. 

Learn more about conservation easements.

Homewood neighborhood planting project

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. Learn more. 

Assistance available

If you are looking for assistance with a planting project or are interested in installing a gravel-bed nursery, contact Dan Wattenhofer at daniel.wattenhofer@hennepin.us or 612-353-3548.

Community Forestry Strategic Plan

The Hennepin County Community Forestry Strategic Plan (PDF) defines goals and objectives that the county’s forestry program will pursue from 2020 to 2025 to protect the county’s tree canopy and increase the benefits that trees provide.

The plan includes more than 50 strategies to achieve the following goals:

• Plant, diversify, and maintain trees throughout Hennepin County
• Increase the resiliency of Hennepin County’s community forest
• Build organizational capacity to support, value, and maintain trees
• Educate and engage residents to become stewards of the community forest

Together, the strategies outlined in this plan will build stronger internal and external partnerships, get more people involved in caring for trees, and increase awareness of the values of trees. They will also establish effective forestry policies, better prepare communities for current and future threats to trees, ensure trees are used to reduce disparities and respond to climate change, and capture success stories that inspire further action. Pursuing all these strategies will create a healthier and more resilient community forest and ensure more equitable opportunities for communities to experience the benefits that trees provide.

Developing the plan

The strategic plan was developed using a participatory planning process that incorporated feedback from both internal and external partners.

Through a series of workshops, county staff developed a vision for the future of the forestry program, recognized potential barriers, identified strategies, and drafted goals.

A meeting with external partners was held to gather feedback on the draft goals and strategies. The meeting had 40 participants representing forestry and public works programs in Hennepin County cities, past recipients of Heathy Tree Canopy grants, state and regional governmental agencies involved in natural resource management, the University of Minnesota, and local nonprofits involved in green space management and education. Key insights from those meetings were incorporated into the plan.

Implementing the plan

Hennepin County foresters are beginning to implement strategies identified in the plan as they carry out their 2021 work plan. The plan will be submitted to the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners for formal adoption along with the updated Natural Resources Strategic Plan later this year.

Hennepin County foresters are interested in discussing partnership opportunities that help meet the goals of the strategic plan or hearing any additional ideas you have. Connect with them by emailing trees@hennepin.us.

Community forestry progress report: 2023

Creating a community forestry program in the Environment and Energy Department was part of the county’s expanded role in natural resource conservation. The forestry program focuses on protecting the county’s tree canopy to increase the benefits that trees provide. Trees improve air quality by absorbing fine particulate matter and other pollutants and protect water by slowing down and infiltrating stormwater runoff. They also provide shade, reduce the urban heat island effect, lower stress, and increase property values.

Aspects of the county’s forestry program include growing healthy trees, partnering in large-scale planting events, managing threats to the tree canopy, raising awareness about tree pests and disease, educating the public on the benefits of trees and supporting partners through the Healthy Tree Canopy Grant program. 

Hennepin County foresters were busy throughout 2023. Some highlights of the work that was accomplished include:

• Planted 1,638 gravel bed trees and shrubs throughout the county.
• Planted 25,375 seedlings.
• Held a tree sale where residents purchased nearly 6,000 seedlings.
• Funded 25 Healthy Tree Canopy grant projects. The grants include thirteen cities, two affordable housing providers, and ten schools and nonprofits.
• Planted 64 different species of trees to maximize tree canopy diversity and resilience.

Learn more in the 2023 Community forestry annual report (PDF, 4,800KB).

Additional reports

• 2022 Community forestry annual report (PDF). 
• 2021 Community forestry annual report (PDF).

Tree planting and care

Recommended trees

Order or download a copy of the recommended trees booklet to help develop a planting plan for properties in Hennepin County. This is a great resource to bring with you when shopping for trees! 

Use the county's recommended tree list (XLSX) for additional details when developing a planting plan.

Terrestrial invasive species

There are many invasive plants of concern in Minnesota. Learn how to identify and prevent the spread of terrestrial invasive species. Learn more and access helpful resources about terrestrial invasive species on the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources website.

Planting and tree care videos

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has produced helpful videos and resources for planting trees and caring for newly planted trees.

Get to know your neighborhood trees

Neighborhood tree bingo

Take a walk around your neighborhood or visit a local park and see how many of these common urban trees you can find on our Neighborhood Tree Bingo card.

• Download the bingo card as a PDF.
• Download the bingo card as a JPG.

Tree identification guides

Use these resources to help with tree identification:

• Tree identification guide (PDF) from Hennepin County and the University of Minnesota
• A beginner's guide to Minnesota trees (PDF)
• Winter tree ID guide (PDF) from the University of Wisconsin

Tree waste is a valuable resource that can be recycled into compost. It is illegal to put this kind of waste in your household garbage.

Leaves can be composted in your backyard or brought to a yard waste site.

Branches, logs and stumps should be brought to a yard waste site. See a listing of yard waste sites in Hennepin County.

Hennepin County sells trees each spring to property owners to restore and improve woodland areas and increase wildlife habitat.

Placing an order

The 2024 spring tree sale has closed.

Tree planting and care resources

• Resources for planting trees and seedlings from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
• Guide to choosing the right tree or shrub for the right area from Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
• Minnesota Tree Planting Handbook (PDF)

For more information and questions

Contact Jack Lucas at jack.lucas@hennepin.us if you have questions regarding the tree sale or for more information about tree species, selection, and planting.

Get notified

Sign up for the Canopy newsletter to get notified when future tree sales open.