Green partners projects awarded

Since the program was established in 2012, the county has awarded 311 contracts totaling more than $4.8 million.

2026 Green Partners projects

Green Partners has three programs:

• Environmental Action projects that focus on motivating adults to take environmentally-friendly actions
• Youth Environmental Leadership projects that engage older youth (high school to age 24) in environmental leadership opportunities
• Youth Environmental Education projects engaging youth in elementary and middle school in environmental education and stewardship

In August 2026, the county awarded 27 Green Partners environmental education projects for a total of $652,000.

• Ten organizations will work primarily with adult audiences to motivate environmental actions
• Ten organizations will educate elementary and middle school youth about the environment and becoming environmental stewards
• Five organizations will engage youth in high school to age 24 in green jobs and/or environmental leadership

These organizations will engage their audiences in learning about and taking action to protect the environment. Together, these projects will engage more than 6,000 people, including more than 3,000 youth, and reach more than 238,000 people with environmental messages.

Of the 27 organizations, 11 are new to the program and will receive their first Green Partners award in 2026.

Environmental Action projects

Free Geek Twin Cities

Green Bytes: Build Your Own Computer Workshop

Amount: $12,000 for 1 year
Location: Minneapolis

Engaging 50 adults in building refurbished computers from used electronic waste parts and learning about reusing waste.

Gifting Grove

Honoring the Gift of Textiles Through Creativity

Amount: $12,000 for 1 year
Location: Minneapolis

Engaging 600 residents in mending, upcycling, and creating garments using reclaimed textiles.

Hispanic Advocacy and Community Empowerment

Sembrando Cambio: A Latino Community-Led Waste Reduction Initiative

Amount: $50,000 for 2 years
Location: Hennepin County

Engaging 120 Latino residents in waste reduction, recycling, and organics recycling in their households.

Lao Assistance Center of Minnesota

AAPI Green Team Swap-it Events

Amount: $50,000 for 2 years
Location: Hennepin County

Engaging 150 people from the Asian American Pacific Islander community in reuse through community swap events.

Lyndale Neighborhood Association

Repair Lyndale & Whittier

Amount: $25,000 for 1 year
Location: Minneapolis

Engaging 500 residents of Lyndale and Whittier neighborhoods in waste reduction through learning how to repair, upcycle, and reuse.

Minnesota Swahili Christian Congregation

Project Karakana

Amount: $12,000 for 1 year
Location: Hennepin County

Engaging 100 congregation members in food waste reduction, textile waste, and fix-it activities to reduce waste.

Mississippi Park Connection

Bridging Communities to the River

Amount: $25,000 for 1 year
Location: Brooklyn Park, Minneapolis

Engaging 600 residents in outdoor and nature activities to encourage engagement with and care of the river, community, and our environment.

Reuse Minnesota

Repair Fair and Skill Share

Amount: $15,000 for 1 year
Location: Hennepin County

Engaging 300 residents in learning repair skills to reduce waste in their daily lives.

Sisters of Synergy

Sustainable Homes: Recycling & Waste Reduction for Housing

Amount: $12,000 for 1 year
Location: Minneapolis

Engaging 20 households receiving community support services in reducing and recycling waste at home and on-the-go.

ZIRAN, Zone for Integrated Resources and Alliances

Growing, Cooking, Composting, and Connecting: Food Waste Awareness Through Experiential Food Cycle Learning

Amount: $25,000 for 1 year
Location: Hennepin County

Engaging 300 residents in the Chinese community and others in learning where food waste occurs across the food system and gaining practical skills to reduce food waste.

Youth Environmental Leadership projects

Center School, Inc.

The Native Youth Invasive Species Stewardship Internship

Amount: $12,000 for 1 year
Location: Minneapolis

Engaging 55 Native American youth in learning about and removing invasive species from public lands and community green spaces, incorporating environmental science and Indigenous teachings.

Conservation Corps

Community-based Youth Program

Amount: $12,000 for 1 year
Location: Hennepin County

Engaging 58 youth in natural resources restoration and conservation, green jobs, and leadership opportunities.

EcoAlpha

Zero Waste Youth Ambassadors Expansion Project

Amount: $50,000 for 2 years
Location: Hennepin County

Engaging 60 youth ambassadors in recycling, composting, and waste reduction through leadership and community education.

Friends of Frog Tree Farm

Frog Tree Farm Youth Environmental Leadership and Green Careers Initiative

Amount: $12,000 for 1 year
Location: Hennepin County

Engaging 200 youth in learning about natural areas, environmental stewardship in urban agriculture, composting, pollinators, soil health, and green career pathways.

Harrison Neighborhood Association

HNA Green Partners Youth Leadership Program

Amount: $12,000 for 1 year
Location: Minneapolis

Engaging 2 youth in deep learning and leadership and sharing what they learn with their community about urban food systems, pollinators, composting, soil health, and food waste in their neighborhood.

Juxtaposition Arts, Inc.

Buildings on Broadway: Healing the Corridor by JXTA Environmental Design Lab

Amount: $50,000 for 2 years
Location: Minneapolis

Engaging 100 youth in studying environmental issues along the Broadway corridor in North Minneapolis through the Environmental Design Lab.

Roosevelt Culinary Arts

Backyard Food Systems

Amount: $12,000 for 1 year
Location: Minneapolis

Engaging 420 students from Roosevelt High School in learning about food preservation, organics recycling, soil health, and environmental stewardship through Roosevelt Culinary Arts.

Youth Environmental Education projects

Al-Maa'uun

Watershed Lens: Youth Environmental Stewardship and Storytelling Initiative

Amount: $12,000 for 1 year
Location: Minneapolis

Engaging 10 to 15 youth in watershed education, stewardship, and storytelling through curriculum.

ArtStart

Native Birds of Minnesota & Their Habitats

Amount: $27,000 for 2 years
Location: Minneapolis

Engaging 270 students from three Spanish dual-immersion language elementary schools in learning about native birds of Minnesota through outdoor experiences and art.

Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches

LakeStreet Youth Labs

Amount: $25,000 for 1 year
Location: Minneapolis

Engaging 150 youth in Minneapolis in environmental STEAM programming connected to environmental education and Minnesota Science Standards.

Highpoint Center for Printmaking

Making Paper, Printing Plants - Explorations in Art and Water Quality

Amount: $19,000 for 1 year
Location: Minneapolis

Engaging 80 youth from Minneapolis Public Schools in learning about native and invasive species and their impact on water through art.

JIIVE (Justice Impacted Individuals Voting Effectively)

Just Us Gardens - Building a Fair, Just, and Equitable Food System

Amount: $12,000 for 1 year
Location: Minneapolis

Engaging 15 middle school-aged youth in learning about composting, zero waste practices, and environmental stewardship in urban food systems and sharing what they learn with their community.

Northside Residents Redevelopment Council

NRRC Youth Green Team

Amount: $36,000 for 2 years
Location: Minneapolis

Engaging 15 middle school-aged youth in learning and educating others in the community about environmental stewardship, urban agriculture, composting, and water systems.

OneSoundNorth

Kids Going Green

Amount: $12,000 for 1 year
Location: Minneapolis

Engaging 150 elementary students from Lucy Laney Community School in learning about environmental stewardship through music.

Regents of the University of Minnesota

4-H Environmental Learning, Capacity Building, and Leading

Amount: $50,000 for 2 years
Location: Hennepin County

Engaging 150 youth and educators from K-8 camps and clubs in learning about and implementing environmental programming on topics such as waste and environmental stewardship, through the 4-H program.

We All Need Food and Water

Green Light Puppets—Go Actions for People and the Planet

Amount: $36,000 for 2 years
Location: Minneapolis

Engaging 1100 youth from schools and community organizations in areas of high disparity in learning about environmental topics, including waste, water, and environmental stewardship.

World Savvy, Inc.

AIM Academy Environmental Justice Capstone: Youth-Led Water & Climate Action

Amount: $12,000 for 1 year
Location: Minneapolis

Engaging 178 middle school students from AIM Academy in an environmental justice capstone project, exploring environmental issues like water, soil, and ecosystems.

2025 Green Partners 2-year projects

In August 2025, the county awarded 5 2-year Green Partners environmental education projects.

These organizations continue to engage their audiences in learning about and taking action to protect the environment.

2025 Youth Environmental Education projects

Appetite for Change Youth Training and Opportunities Program

Amount: $47,700 over 2 years
Location: Minneapolis

Engaging participants to learn how they can help mitigate the effects of climate change through food systems and explore the related skills and science behind organic waste and composting, turning what would otherwise be refuse into a generative part of the food system. 

Midwest Food Connection Youth Food Waste Reduction

Amount: $42,100 for 2 years
Location: Minneapolis

Engaging youth in K-8 school classrooms in climate-friendly practices related to food by learning how their actions around food purchasing, packaging, consumption, and waste improve environmental outcomes. 

Youth Environmental Leadership projects

Spark-Y Daily Science Instruction at Volunteers to America High School

Amount: $50,000 for 2 years
Location: Minneapolis

Providing students with daily science classes connected to environmental education and Minnesota Science Standards. The classes will offer students project-based learning for academic credit in Chemistry, Physics, Physical Science, and Life Sciences. Youth will explore environmental topics and design real-world solutions for waste reduction, water protection, green chemistry, composting, climate impacts, and sustainable systems.

Urban Strategies Green Garden Bakery Youth Eco-Enterprise

Amount: $49,600 for 2 years
Location: Minneapolis

Engaging youth in the Heritage Park neighborhood of Minneapolis in gaining professional development skills for green-focused jobs and investing in their community through green initiatives. Initiatives include creating and operating a lending library, adopting 10 rain gardens, and advocating for greener development in their neighborhood.

Environmental action projects

The Richfield Foundation, Altlawns Richfield-Bloomington Creating Habitat with Sustainable Landscaping

Amount: $50,000 for 2 years
Location: Bloomington, Richfield, Minneapolis and surrounding communities

Engaging residents in creating biodiverse native habitat in place of lawns. Reduce barriers to accessing native plants by providing community education, winter seed sowing and community building.

Resources created in partnership with Hennepin County

Tree Trek and videos for the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities

Western Hennepin County is home to remnants of the Big Woods ecosystem and a special forest community ecologists call maple-basswood forest. It’s also where Voyageur Environmental Center sits, owned and operated by the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities. Normally, Voyageur is a nature destination for Boys and Girls Club kids, ages 8 to 14, many of whom are from at-risk communities.

Hennepin County and Voyageur staff created self-guided learning opportunities for youth and the public. County staff partnered with Voyageur and the University of Minnesota to create the Tree Trek nature trail, with posts highlighting feature facts and offering QR codes to access even more info online. Sign post close-up (PDF, 1MB).

Videos about Voyageur's ecology were also developed.

Seasonal tree changes in the big woods (2:19)

Threats to Minnesota Big Woods (2:45)

Watersheds (2:51)

Birds of the Big Woods (4:14)