We had two great cleanups in 2017: one that focused on Minnehaha Creek in St. Louis Park and Hopkins and one that focused on Lake Hiawatha in Minneapolis. Volunteers cleaned up 1,134 pounds of trash along Minnehaha Creek and 1,233 pounds of trash around Lake Hiawatha. That's over a ton of trash collected and kept out of our waters!

New this year was a storm drain stenciling component. At both cleanups, groups went out to clean and stencil storm drains in surrounding neighborhoods.

Our sponsors provided prizes for the most trash collected per person, prizes for most interesting story/item, and prizes for collecting small items like little bits of plastic and cigarette butts.

Thanks to our sponsors: Target, 1-800-Got-Junk?, Berne Scale, Wilderness Inquiry, REI, Freshwater Society, Three Rivers Park District, and Tonka Bay Marina.

Interested in keeping our waters clean throughout the year? Visit our Volunteer Your Time page for more information about getting involved.

Opportunities for volunteering within the MCWD:

Events

MCWD participates in a variety of educational events throughout the year. Please contact the Education and Engagement Coordinator for more information.

Storm Drain Cleanups

Looking for a volunteer opportunity for your local organization/school/neighborhood/business? Storm drain cleanups are a great way to make a direct impact locally and stop pollutants from going down the stormdrain which would eventually end up in our rivers, lakes, and streams.  Cleaning up our water bodies is important - but with a storm drain cleanup you can target pollutants before they pollute our waters. MCWD has storm drain cleanup kits for loan that include dustpans, brushes, trash bags, and gloves - along with instructions for best practices.  Contact the Education and Engagement Coordinator for more information.

WHEP

WHEP offers youth (ages 8-19) the opportunity to learn about wildlife habitat management and fisheries management. After the program, participants will be able to judge the quality of a wildlife habitat, have a broader understanding of habitat management practices, and have learned about damage management. The program is a hands-on environmental education program that has been awarded the Conservation Education Award by The Wildlife Society in 1996 and is proud to certify wildlife biologists nationwide.

Carver County opportunities

Carver County has a variety of volunteer opportunities available to help protect water quality in MCWD and Carver County.  Opportunities include "Adopt-A-Water" to pick up litter along shorelines, community cleanups for water quality, citizen monitoring programs, and forming a lake/stream association.