volunteering – East Metro Water

Minnesota Water Stewards goes statewide

By: angiehongmn October 23, 2025October 22, 2025

Keeping water clean, Partners and Updatesfeatured, Freshwater Society, Minnesota, Minnesota lakes, Mississippi River, nature, North Woods and Waters of the St. Croix Heritage Area, St. Croix River, St. Croix Valley Foundation, volunteering, Washington Conservation District, Washington County ParksLeave a Comment

David, Kim, Barb and Mike are part of an elite cadre of volunteers helping to engage communities across Minnesota and western Wisconsin in grass-roots projects to protect and restore lakes, rivers, and streams.

Beginning in 2026, Freshwater is taking the program statewide and removing the enrollment fee so that more people can participate. Locally, the St. Croix Valley Foundation has provided grant funds to Washington Conservation District (WCD), Freshwater, and North Woods and Waters to train-in a new cohort of volunteers, starting in 2026.

Three people stand with their arms around a very large tree

A call for Tree Steward volunteers

By: angiehongmn March 25, 2025March 19, 2025

Buckthorneab, featured, planting, trees, volunteeringLeave a Comment

Minnesota’s Tree Steward program is designed for people who love trees, enjoy being outdoors, and want to volunteer in their community. In addition to caring for community trees, volunteers also help to lead reforestation efforts.

This spring, Washington Conservation District hopes to recruit and train 30-40 Tree Steward volunteers to work in communities across Washington County. There will be volunteer trainings on Saturday, April 5, 9am-2pm at Scandia Community Center and Saturday, April 12, 9am-2pm at Lake Elmo Park Reserve. The events are free and include lunch.

To learn more and sign-up, visit http://www.mnwcd.org/events.

A modern day Lorax or two

By: angiehongmn May 5, 2023May 4, 2023

Local Achievementscommunity forestry, featured, gravel bed tree nursery, trees, volunteeringLeave a Comment

Volunteer Water Stewards John Goodfellow, Tom Furey, and Anna Barker helped to build gravel bed nurseries in their communities to support reforestation efforts.

Prairie rising

By: angiehongmn April 28, 2023May 1, 2023

Wildlife, Yards and Landscapingfeatured, native plants, prairie, volunteeringLeave a Comment

Cheer for bison returning to the prairie at Belwin Conservancy and Spring Lake Park, volunteer for one of three native planting projects in May, or enjoy an “Evening in the Prairie” to learn more about this special ecosystem.

Saturday, Sept. 10 stacked with opportunities for nature enjoyment and stewardship

By: angiehongmn September 8, 2022November 30, 2022

Partners and Updatescommunity events, featured, St. Croix River, volunteeringLeave a Comment

This Saturday, Sept. 10 serves up a wide array of activities for nature enthusiasts, including planting trees, stenciling storm drains, chowing down on tacos and ice cream, and enjoying bluegrass in the prairie.

Plant-a-palooza coming up!

By: angiehongmn May 19, 2022

Partners and Updates, Yards and LandscapingCarnelian Marine St. Croix Watershed District, family fun, featured, native plants, Pollinator Friendly Alliance, ramsey washington metro watershed district, volunteeringLeave a Comment

The next few weeks will offer numerous opportunities to enjoy all things plant-related, including two volunteer planting events, a bison release, two native plant sales, and two family nature events.

10,000 Storm Drain Adopters in the Land of 10,000 Lakes

By: angiehongmn May 3, 2022

Keeping water cleanadopt a drain, featured, stormwater, stormwater pollution, volunteeringLeave a Comment

To date, nearly 10,000 Minnesotans have adopted 17,762 storm drains, and those volunteers have reported collecting 474,096 pounds of debris that would have otherwise ended up in our water.

Channeling a life-long passion for water protection toward community change in Forest Lake

By: angiehongmn October 21, 2021October 19, 2021

Keeping water clean, Local Achievementscomfort lake - forest lake watershed district, featured, Forest Lake, volunteeringLeave a Comment

Curt Sparks would love to see more people in the community get involved in lake and watershed stewardship, whether it is by joining the watershed district’s citizen advisory committee, participating in activities led by one of the local lakes associations, or merely adopting a storm drain in their neighborhood.

Marine community works to revitalize village center and protect the St. Croix River

By: angiehongmn May 13, 2021

Keeping water clean, Yards and LandscapingCarnelian Marine St. Croix Watershed District, featured, Marine on St. Croix, raingardens, St Croix River, stormwater, volunteering, Wetlands1 Comment

On Saturday, May 1, volunteers in Marine on St. Croix planted 1,500 native plants along a wetland to create a natural buffer that will help to hold the soil in place and guard against erosion.

Mahtomedi Teacher Inspires Earth Day Action throughout the Year

By: angiehongmn April 22, 2021April 28, 2021

Keeping water cleanadopt a drain, featured, Mahtomedi, stormwater, stormwater pollution, volunteeringLeave a Comment

Ms. Comfort, as her students know her, is a STEM specialist at Wildwood Elementary in Mahtomedi who is always looking for unique ways to teach her kids to protect the environment.