Each spring, Conservation Minnesota and GreenStep Cities and Tribal Nations work together to host a tour for volunteer city commissioners and staff whose focus is on environment, sustainability, energy, parks, and trails. Earlier this month, we gathered at the Capitol Region Watershed District Learning Center in St. Paul to tour the traveling We Are Water exhibit and get a firsthand look at their LEED Gold certified building.
Commissioners learned how every drop of water remains within the property and toured the rainwater reuse system, which includes a holding tank painted by artist Christina Vang. The system is connected to a weather monitoring device and before each rain event the tank “relieves” itself, pouring water from the tank into the rain gardens and ponds around the property to make room for more rain. Commissioners can take what they learned on this Spring Tour back to their own cities and potentially replicate this innovative water collection process.
Previous Environment Commissions Spring Tours have included park restoration work in Burnsville and Inver Grove Heights. We look forward to future tours and events that help connect and empower the volunteers who champion environmental issues at the local level.