Category: Education

The Latest
December 02, 2024

Can Pickle Juice Save Our Roads and Waters? Exploring Brine Use in Winter Road Maintenance 

When winter grips Minnesota, icy roads pose serious safety risks. From car crashes to slowed commutes, slippery streets affect everyone’s safety and mobility. To combat slippery streets, road maintenance teams have historically relied on rock salt. While effective, this...

Woman shoveling snow.

How to Fight Snow and Ice Without Polluting

I was recently cleaning out my garage and came across a container of a certain “environmentally safe” ice-melt product. I bought it years ago — long before I started working […]
November 17, 2016
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A child raking leaves in autumn.

Master the Art of Fall Yard Care

Fall is a beautiful time to be outdoors in Minnesota — which is fortunate, because it’s also a critical time for yard care. Cooling temperatures make fall the perfect season […]
October 7, 2016
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The MWMO's gravel-bed tree nursery in September 2016.

How to Grow Trees Quickly in a Small Space

Trees are an important tool for protecting clean water, especially in urban areas. They intercept stormwater, absorb it and filter out the pollutants. They also stabilize soil and reduce erosion. All of this […]
September 29, 2016
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A park ranger leading a group of paddlers on a canoe on the Mississippi River.

Mississippi River Green Team Alumni Find Environmental Jobs

For nearly 10 years, a group of Minneapolis teenagers have patrolled the watershed, working in Minneapolis parks to remove invasive plants, install native species, maintain rain gardens and engage in […]
September 12, 2016
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A Google Street View screenshot of the MWMO's green roof.

Take a Virtual Tour of the MWMO with Google Street View

One of my personal favorite ways to explore a city is via Google Street View, the Google Maps extension that allows you to immerse yourself in 360-degree panoramic views of a […]
August 10, 2016
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Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium maculatum)

Plant of the Month: Joe Pye Weed

By Marcy Bean For this month’s featured plant, I’d like to showcase Joe Pye Weed — one of my summer favorites. Before it blooms, the foliage has nice color and […]
August 8, 2016
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A Mississippi River Green Team member holds a dragonfly.

Catching Dragonflies with the Mississippi River Green Team

A typical day of a Mississippi River Green Team member consists of working in locations full of fearsome predators: dragonflies! Dragonflies are insects belonging to the order Odonata, meaning “toothed […]
July 26, 2016
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A dog owner picks up after her dog.

Why You Should Always Pick Up After Your Pets

Of all the pollutants that we find in our watershed, few are likely to provoke as much visceral disgust as E. coli bacteria. It’s easy to understand why: E. coli […]
July 20, 2016
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A rain garden in front of the East Side Storage and Maintenance Facility.

Watch Volunteers Build a Rain Garden in 79 Seconds

’Tis the season for building rain gardens — those bowl-shaped landscape features filled with native plants that help stormwater runoff soak into the ground. Rain gardens are an increasingly popular […]
June 30, 2016
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