Green Partners Environmental Education Program
Engage, educate, act and collaborate for the environment
www.hennepin.us/greenpartners
Field trip destination recommendations
These destinations are recommended by Hennepin County to engage residents in environmental
education. If you are requesting transportation for a field trip that is not on this list, seek approval by
including it in your application and discussing it with the Green Partners Seed Group program
manager, Mary Karius, 612-596-9129 or [email protected].
Recycling and composting facilities
Dem-Con
13020 Dem-Con Drive, Shakopee
952-445-5755
http://dem-con.com/green-grades/
Dem-Con Companies is full-service recycling, processing and disposal company. Groups can call to
schedule a tour. They also offer public tours the third Wednesday of every month at 4 p.m. Tours
must be scheduled ahead of time.
Hennepin County Recycling Center and Transfer Station
8100 Jefferson Highway, Brooklyn Park
612-348-4169
www.hennepin.us, search: tours
Free
The Hennepin County Recycling Center and Transfer Station provides residents the opportunity to
properly manage household hazardous waste, recyclables, organics, and problem materials such as
computers, televisions and appliances. This tour highlights the importance of reducing, reusing,
recycling and preventing pollution. Open to grades 2 through adults.
Liberty Paper
13500 Liberty Lane, Becker
763-261-6100
www.libertypaper.com
Liberty paper offers tours to groups to learn more about commercial paper recycling. Liberty Paper is
located in Becker near Full Circle Organics if groups want to schedule two tours in one day.
The Mulch Store (SET)
16454 Blaine Avenue East, Rosemount
www.mulchstoremn.com
The Mulch Store, a Specialized Environmental Technologies, Inc. Company, offers tours at their
commercial composting facility in Rosemount. Learn how organic waste is turned into compost that is
used for landscaping and construction materials.
Updated January 2017
Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community Organics Recycling Facility
1905 Mystic Lake Drive South, Shakopee, MN 55379
952-233-9192
www.smscorf.com
The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community offers tours of their commercial composting site in
Shakopee. Please call six weeks in advance to request a tour. Tours are available to kindergarten
students through adults.
Parks and nature centers
Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge
3815 American Blvd. East, Bloomington
952-854-5900
www.fws.gov/refuge/minnesota_valley
Free
The Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge in Bloomington provides youth the opportunity to
experience Minnesota ecosystems including wetlands, forests and native grassland.
Mississippi River National River and Recreation Area
Various locations along the Mississippi River
651-293-8414
www.nps.gov/miss/forteachers/planafieldtrip.htm
Fees vary
The National Park Service offers a variety of programs that use the Mississippi River to teach science,
history, culture, geography, reading, writing, art, music, computer learning and more. Programs
include Urban Wilderness Canoe Adventures, Big River Journey and Journey to the Falls.
Theodore Wirth Park
Theodore Wirth Park Drive, Minneapolis
612-230-6400
www.minneapolisparks.org
Free
Take youth to wander through trails to learn about plants, birds and insects at the Eloise Butler
Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary, which has several interpretative stations and is available for
guided or self-guided tours. The park also features the JD Rivers’ Children Garden, which offers youth
hands-on gardening experience. Additionally, the park is home to a restored prairie and Basset Creek.
Updated January 2017
Three Rivers Park District
Various locations
763-559-9000
www.threeriversparks.org/group-experiences.aspx
Parks are free; fees vary for programs
The Three Rivers Park District offers multiple park locations, trails and nature centers in Hennepin
County. Education programs cover a variety of topic areas, including ecology, outdoor recreation,
natural history, team building and more. Programs can be delivered at a Three Rivers Park District
location or at your location.
Westwood Hills Nature Center
8300 Franklin Ave W, Saint Louis Park
www.westwoodhillsnaturecenter.org
Fees vary
Westwood Hills Nature Center's forest, restored prairie and marsh offer unique outdoor classrooms
in the middle of the city. Naturalists lead a wide variety of fun, informative, hands-on environmental
education and outdoor recreation programs.
Wood Lake Nature Center
6710 Lake Shore Dr S, Richfield
612-861-9365
www.woodlakenaturecenter.org
Fees vary
The Woodlake Nature Center provides outdoor environmental education through an interpretive
nature center and three miles of trails weaving through cattail marsh, lowland forest and restored
prairie. Naturalists lead programs year-round on a variety of topics for a variety of age groups.
Science and natural history
Bell Museum of Natural History
10 Church St. SE, Minneapolis
612-624-7083
www.bellmuseum.org
Fees vary
The Bell Museum, located on the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis, offers exhibits for
youth and adults about earth science and nature preservation.
Como Planetarium
780 West Wheelock Parkway, St. Paul
http://planetarium.spps.org
The Como Planetarium’s state-of-the-art immersive video system provides the opportunity for
visitors to take virtual trips though the solar system, as well as enjoy quality film productions on the
30-foot diameter screen.
Updated January 2017
The Science Museum of Minnesota
120 West Kellogg Blvd, St. Paul
651-221-9444
www.smm.org
Fees vary
The Science Museum offers a variety of on-site education field trip options. They will also come to
your location to present information on a variety of science topics.
Sustainability
Target Field
1 Twins Way, Minneapolis
612-659-3877 or [email protected]
http://twins.mlb.com/min/ballpark/tours/, select educational tours
Fees vary
Designed and operated with sustainability in mind, Target Field offers educational tours with a
sustainability focus for K-12 students as part of its Learning through Baseball program. Students see
the ballpark while learning about topics such as water savings, rainwater recycling, and transit
connections. Tours highlight the ballpark's recycling program, including the extensive organics
recycling efforts. Tours also visit the Pentair water filtration system and discuss the use of steam from
the Hennepin County Energy Recovery Center next door. Tours for college students and adults focus
on the ballpark's two LEED certifications.
Wastewater
Metro Area Water Treatment Plant
Metropolitan Council Environmental Services, St Paul
651-602-1279
www.metrocouncil.org, search: tours
Free
Visitors see the various ways pollutants are removed from wastewater by replicating nature’s own
processes in a much-condensed time frame. They also may see how wastewater solids are processed
so that they can be beneficially reused, and how energy is recovered along the way to power MCES
treatment plants.
Updated January 2017