Become a Water Steward! Build your skills with classes in water science, policy, and public engagement. Then, plug into watershed work in your community.

Learn about the program, class schedule, and how to apply in this quick 40-min info session.

Become a Water Steward! Build your skills with classes in water science, policy, and public engagement. Then, plug into watershed work in your community.

Learn about the program, class schedule, and how to apply in this quick 40-min info session.

Participants will learn how to integrate science with practical winter maintenance and save money while minimizing impacts on the environment.

Learn about ways to safeguard your property from shoreline erosion. We'll talk about bioengineering strategies that combine vegetation and hard-armoring, as well as lessons-learned from previous bluffland projects along the St. Croix. This workshop will also connect you with resources and techniques to help you manage invasive species like buckthorn and improve wildlife habitat.   

Whether you’re interested in planting prairies, teaching nature programs for local students, or planning watershed art events, there are numerous ways to volunteer in our area.   

Join us on Tuesday, Nov. 4 (6-8pm) for a cozy bonfire and night hike outside the Nordic Center at Lake Elmo Park Reserve (1515 Keats Ave N).

This event is an opportunity to make friends, meet some of our local Water Steward volunteers, and learn about training and volunteer opportunities in 2026.  And yes! There will be s’mores!

Become a Water Steward! Build your skills with classes in water science, policy, and public engagement. Then, plug into watershed work in your community.

Learn about the program, class schedule, and how to apply in this quick 40-min info session.

Become a Water Steward! Build your skills with classes in water science, policy, and public engagement. Then, plug into watershed work in your community.

Learn about the program, class schedule, and how to apply in this quick 40-min info session.

Do you own woods? Join Washington Conservation District forestry staff for a guided hike at Sunfish Lake Park to discuss strategies for managing your wooded areas with soil health, water quality, and support for native plants in mind. We’ll also talk about local options for funding and professional support for woodland management.

Presenting together, Kenneth "Kenny" Blumenfeld, Senior Climatologist at the Minnesota State Climate Office, and Jen Kader, Administrator of the Clean Water Council at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, will discuss climate science and change through the lens of facts and numbers, people and community, and how to create practical change.

Join us for a fun and immersive aquatic critter quest at Carver Lake Park. We’ll get our hands wet as we search for fish, frogs, snails, and aquatic insects and learn what these critters can teach us about the health of a lake or stream.

Help cut and remove invasive buckthorn from Burris Park in Marine on St. Croix and learn about the planned stream improvement projects for Mill Stream that aims to improve and reconnect aquatic habitat for trout and other wildlife.

Meet us at this fun, family-friendly event where we will be hosting a fishing-inspired game for kids. Other event activities include:

• A giant sand castle

• Touch a truck

• Hay rides

• Food & drinks

• Community vendors

This annual event is co-sponsored by Brown’s Creek Watershed District and Sustainable Stillwater and features live raptors, environmental education stations, crafts, games, live music, and free ice cream. New this year, there will also be a bird costume contest for kids and adults.

Join Washington County Parks for a vibrant birding event at the park in partnership with Urban Bird Collective, celebrating the diversity of our patrons and pollinators. Explore the wonders of nature, learn about local bird species, and enjoy a day filled with community. Everyone is invited to join as we foster an inclusive space for all with emphasis on LGBTQ+ and BIPOC communities.

Vehicle Permits will be provided thanks to Statewide Health Improvement Partnership grant funding. No registration required.

Your yard can help to support songbirds, pollinators, wildlife - AND look beautiful. Grab a brew and join us on the banks of the Mississippi River to learn more!

This event is hosted by Friends of the Mississippi River, with Angie Hong (EMWREP water educator) as the guest speaker.

What’s in your drinking water? To participate in this free water screening clinic, bring water from your home tap (minimum of one cup - 8oz) in a clean, hard plastic or glass container and include the location and date that you collected the sample. We will run a screen test on your water for nitrate and chloride. You can wait for your results or request them via email.

During the clinic, experts will also be on hand to discuss wellhead protection and groundwater concerns, including arsenic, bacteria, pesticides, and Perfluorinated Alkylated Substances (PFAS). Stop by anytime to pick up fact sheets and talk with clinic volunteers. This clinic is free and open to everyone, regardless of what city, county or state they live in. 

Take a trip back in time and spend a summer evening cruising the St. Croix River!

Entertaining stories about the area’s history presented by Angie Hong, hearty hors d’oeuvres, and a cash bar await you on this exquisite sojourn hosted by the Washington County Historical Society.

Join Brown's Creek Watershed District for a tour of this recently completed stream restoration, which included repairing stream meanders, controlling invasive species, planting native trees and shrubs, and creating stream access areas including an ADA accessible fishing pier.

Join Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District for a family friendly fishing event at Sunset Park on Tanners Lake! Fishing equipment will be available to use.

Your yard can help to support songbirds, pollinators, wildlife - AND look beautiful. Grab a brew and join us on the banks of the Mississippi River to learn more!

This event is hosted by Friends of the Mississippi River, with Angie Hong (EMWREP water educator) as the guest speaker.

The St. Croix WOW offers a unique opportunity for community leaders to network, access support from state and local government, and learn about issues such as sustainable community development, preventing harmful algal blooms, community forestry, healthy shorelines, and St. Croix Watershed resources and connections.

The workshop is designed for city councils, planning commissions, township boards, county commissioners, SWCD and watershed board members, and other local leaders.

Learn how the St. Croix came to be a federally protected Wild & Scenic River and where you can go to find old growth forests, remnant prairies, waterfalls, and other natural treasures. During this presentation, Angie will also talk about locally-led efforts to restore habitat, re-wild rivers and streams, and nurse polluted lakes back to good health.

This event is hosted by Boutwell’s Landing, an active senior living community in Oak Park Heights, surrounded by ponds, walkways and rolling parkland.

Love gardening and spending time by the water? Help us to plant native plants on Big Marine Lake at the Bliss Addition Stormwater Quality Project. By planting a variety of native species into stormwater basins leading to Big Marine Lake, we will help significantly reduce pollutants from draining into the lake, preventing algae growth and negative impacts to habitat.

Join the South Washington Watershed District in celebrating the brand new Hasenbank Park! Explore the trails, public art, restored Hasenbank Woods, and the park-wide stormwater filtration system that brings it all together. Take a self-guided tour through the park and follow the path of water as it moves through the system. Get to know the story behind the public art offerings, and learn about the restoration efforts in Hasenbank Woods.

Join Blue Thumb - Planting for Clean Water for an in-person workshop hosted on-site at a restored shoreline at Lions Park in White Bear Lake. Designers from Metro Blooms Design+Build will discuss site assessment, unique shoreline considerations, native plants for shorelines, buffer plantings and more!

Participants will also receive a Resilient Shorelines workbook and access to an accompanying online learning series.

Market: Purchase MN native plants from multiple growers. No systemic insecticides.

Expo: Learn to select and grow native plants for pollinators, wildlife, and water quality. Visit with educators and experts from conservation and environmental organizations. Get your landscaping questions answered.

9am-1pm + Food Truck

From seepage springs filled with skunk cabbage and marsh marigold, to floodplain forests, marshes, and golden tamarack bogs, the St. Croix watershed is home to many different wetlands. 

Learn about some of the unique wetland habitats you can visit in Afton and the greater St. Croix watershed and get advice on how to enhance wetlands on your property with native plants and other landscaping features that add beauty, provide habitat, and help to protect water quality.

This is a free event, hosted by the Afton History Museum, with light refreshments provided. 

Join Great River Greening to plant native nannyberry, serviceberry and highbush cranberry near the new trail along North Shore Trail on the north side of Forest Lake.

Groups and individuals welcome! This is a family-friendly event and all ages are welcome!

This free, family festival celebrating our clean lakes provides an opportunity for outdoor hands-on learning about clean water, wildlife, and land and water conservation.

Enjoy food trucks, live music and performances, fishing lessons and competition, canoe and boat rides, games, activities, learning stations, and more!

Meet us at Belwin Conservancy's Bison Festival in Afton.

Watch bison run off the truck into the prairie and enjoy food and music while learning about native plants and habitat restoration.