Washington Conservation District: Educational Opportunities

EDUCATION FOR COMMUNITY MEMBERS

If you want to help keep our lakes, rivers and drinking water clean, but don't know what to do, the conservation district is a great plane to start. Use this site to learn about common sources of water pollution and easy steps you can take at home to help keep our water clean.

Get Involved

If you care about the water we drink, the lakes we swim in and the rivers we fish, then make the commitment today to help keep them clean.

You can start by signing the Blue Waters pledge - a simple promise to make small changes in your life that will have big impacts on the water we share. Sweep grass and leaves out of the street, use lawn care chemicals sparingly and plant a tree or garden to improve local water quality. You can even host a Blue Thumb Party at your home for all your friends and neighbors. Follow the links below to learn more.

How Do I Get Involved?
Sign the pledge «
Organize a neighborhood party «
www.bluethumb.org «

We can also connect you with the Blue Thumb program where you'll find resources to help you build a raingarden, stabilize your shoreline property or select native plants for a beautiful garden. Click on Get involved! to find out how to host a neighborhood water party or become a volunteer water monitor.

Blue Thumb

Blue Thumb - Planting for Clean Water is an exciting new program to help homeowners build raingardens, stabilize

shoreline property with plants and create native flower gardens. Blue Thumb will help you beautify your yard, while improving local water quality. We'll connect you with nurseries in your area that sell Blue Thumb plants, give you sample garden designs and help you find mini grants to make your projects happen.

Blue Thumb for Churches, Schools and Other Organizations
Do you have a gardening committee or a youth group in need of a summer project? Blue Thumb can help you design a beautiful raingarden for your church, school or business that will catch the eye of passersby and help to prevent pollution to local lakes and rivers. Building a raingarden can be a great way to get people from your organization involved in service activities and to show the community you care about your neighborhood.

Contact Angie Hong (651) 275-1136 x35 to find out how your organization can become a Blue Thumb group. We'll give you information on how to get started building your raingarden and help you find local landscapers and possibly even funding to make your raingarden a success.

Metro Blooms Raingarden Design Workshops

Metro Blooms and local landscape ecologist Rusty Schmidt will be presenting two workshops in Washington County to teach people how to design and install rain gardens, effectively use native plants, trees and shrubs and employ eco-friendly lawn care practices.

Mahtomedi: Sat., April 26, 11:30 am-1:30pm, Mahtomedi District Education Center
St. Paul Park: Saturday, May 17, 10am-12pm, St. Paul Park City Hall

Click here for a list of raingardens to visit in Washington County.

Water Pollution Basics
No one likes to swim in a green, algae covered lake or fish from a smelly river. We all rely on clean water here in Washington County for drinking, fishing, swimming and


How's my lake?
Clean Water MN «

recreation and it's up to all of us to keep our water clean and usable.

Did you know that storm water runoff is the number one cause of water pollution here in Washington County? Every time it rains, water runs off of roofs, driveways and roads and into storm sewers and roadside ditches. Along the way, stormwater runoff picks up dirt, fertilizer, oil and other pollutants, which are then carried to local lakes and rivers. The result is dirty water and lots of thick green algae. You can check out the report card for your local lake, learn more about the groundwater we drink or find out how we can control storm water pollution.