History: The Green Partners Environmental Education Program provides support and funding to organizations to implement projects that engage and empower residents to protect and improve the environment. Funding for the Green Partners Environmental Education program comes from the Solid Waste Enterprise Fund.   

Since the program was established in 2012, 110 grants totaling more than $1.06 million have been awarded.   The county released a request for proposals in September 2016 and 18 proposals were received.

Current Request This request is to authorize the County Administrator to negotiate 13 Green Partners environmental education grant agreements for environmental education projects with the following organizations:

• Black Storytellers Alliance (Minneapolis), $12,000 – Black Storytellers Alliance will engage 200 African-American, East African, Southeast Asian, and Hispanic youth and community members in recycling, composting organics, and water protection through community events and the Karamu Community Garden in the Near-North neighborhood.
• Boys and Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities (Mound, Minneapolis), $15,000 – The Boys and Girls Clubs will engage 500 adults at Voyageur Environmental Center and K-12 youth in programming on waste reduction, recycling, and composting education and activities at the environmental center and Minneapolis Boys and Girls Clubs.
• Center School (Minneapolis), $14,500 – Center School will engage 200 Native American high school youth and community members in the Phillips Neighborhood in protecting pollinators, improving water, and exploring natural areas through culturally appropriate curriculum and community partnerships with elders and natural resource experts.
• Clean Water Fund (Eden Prairie, Plymouth, Robbinsdale, St. Anthony, Wayzata), $8,000 – Clean Water Fund will engage 150 early childhood and family education parents, including immigrant families, in reducing waste and making green cleaners through Early Childhood Family Education programs.
• Cycles for Change (Minneapolis), $15,000 – Cycles for Change will engage 300 youth and residents from underrepresented communities from Longfellow, Phillips, and Cedar Riverside neighborhoods in bicycling, bicycle maintenance, and youth leadership to protect air quality and conserve energy by expanding its Youth Ambassador program.
• Greater Mount Vernon Missionary Baptist Church (Minneapolis), $12,000 – Greater Mount Vernon’s Cherish Our Church Green Team will engage 300 congregants and community members in the Near-North neighborhood in waste reduction, recycling, composting organics, using green cleaners, and properly disposing of household hazardous waste.
• Kids for Conservation (Minneapolis), $5,100 – Kids for Conservation will engage 150 Native American youth in waste reduction, recycling, energy conservation, and water protection through a six-week summer program with the Little Earth Youth Development program in the Phillips neighborhood.
• Metro Blooms (Minneapolis), $15,000 – Metro Blooms will engage underemployed adults, natural resources volunteers, and 200 high school youth in protecting water through a pilot rain garden maintenance program in collaboration with community partners in north Minneapolis and countywide to maintain raingardens that have already been installed.
• Minneapolis Toy Library (Minneapolis), $15,000 – The Minneapolis Toy Library will engage 200 parents of children under age seven in reducing waste by sharing toys and recycling old toys.
• Minnesota African Women's Association (Brooklyn Center), $15,000 - Minnesota African Women's Association will engage 500 women from African immigrant communities in waste reduction and recycling at community meetings.
• Nokomis East Neighborhood Association (Minneapolis), $8,000 – Nokomis East Neighborhood Association will work in partnership with Summit Charter School and Lake Nokomis Lutheran Church to engage 300 congregation members, K-6 youth, and staff in reducing waste, increase recycling, and implementing organics composting in the church, school, and community.
• Pollinate Minnesota (Minneapolis), $8,000 – Pollinate Minnesota will engage 180 youth from Anderson United Community School in protecting natural areas and pollinators by planting a pollinator garden at the CEPRO site in Minneapolis, building on classroom curriculum on the life cycle of honey bees.
• Wayzata Community Sailing Center (Wayzata), $5,000 – Wayzata Community Sailing Center will engage 600 youth in recycling, composting organics, and protecting water and natural areas through outdoor education.

Impact/Outcomes: The recommended Green Partners environmental education projects support the county’s goals of promoting environmental stewardship, engaging communities, enhancing quality of life, and protecting the environment for current and future generations. Groups will engage 2,700 residents in taking action to protect the environment by reducing waste, recycling, composting organics, conserving energy, improving air and water quality, and protecting pollinators. Projects will engage residents throughout the county. Nine projects will engage underserved and hard-to-reach communities, and nine of the projects will engage youth. Organizations are required to administer evaluations developed by the county to assess changes in participants’ environmental behaviors. Previous evaluations have shown that this model of environmental education is effective in motivating participants to make behavior changes that have a positive impact on the environment.

APEX contract description:
PW-EE environmental education grants, spring 2017