Over the past several years six environmental learning centers located around the state - Audubon Center of the North Woods, Deep Portage Learning Center, Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center, Laurentian Environmental Learning Center, Long Lake Conservation Center and Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center – have been implementing demonstrations of energy conservation, energy efficiency, and renewable energy on their campuses for use as educational tools for the thousands of students and visitors that come to the centers each year.
The Somali Museum of Minnesota will curate and present two new monthly series of public programs designed to amplify, celebrate, and preserve Somali culture. The first series will be gallery-based and draw from the museum’s collection to offer Somali language, cultural and history instruction targeted to Somali families and school age youth. The second series, designed for a broader audience, will present artist talks and demonstrations, dance performances, exhibitions, and poetry readings.
The Somali Museum of Minnesota will develop a series of programs for Somali and non-Somali audiences for public viewing and education. All programs are designed to amplify, celebrate, and preserve Somali culture and will include activities such as artist talks, demonstrations, dance performances, exhibitions, and poetry readings. Some will be performed live; others will be recorded in studio, videographed and edited for viewing by an audience. A written text will accompany each performance.
The Somali Language and Culture Classes Project will honor and preserve Somali culture by first, connecting Somali youth to their rich cultural heritage through arts and language classes and second, by providing a class for others in the mainstream Minnesota community to learn about Somali language and culture. This project will pilot teaching Somali language and culture through utilizing taped sessions with an in-person bi-lingual facilitator in order to allow for future sustainability.
The Minnesota State Legislature asked the Minnesota Humanities Center to award arts and cultural heritage grants to the Somali community through the competitive grant process. Legacy funds are appropriated to the Humanities Center to support such work. A small portion of each appropriation was reserved by the Humanities Center for direct expenses related to administering the grant. Should any portion of this reserve be unused, the difference will be awarded to the respective organizations.
Working with the Somali Museum of Minnesota, MNHS is developing an exhibit that will help Minnesotans understand this recent immigrant community. The exhibit will showcase cultural traditions and material culture of Somalia, cover the immigrant experience in the journey to Minnesota and will review the accomplishments and cultural adaptations Somali people have made since making Minnesota home.
Partner: Macalester College
MNHS and Macalester have been working on a project in FY14 and FY15 to interview Somalis in Minnesota. Professor Ahmed Samatar from Macalester College has been guiding the process and consulting with the Minnesota Historical Society. Professor Samatar is a world-renowned international studies professor, specializing in Somali studies.
MNHS continued its previous collaboration with Macalester College and the Somali community to add
an additional 10 interviews to those that have already been completed. The new interviews focused on
women's experiences.
Minnesota Department of Health has been collaborating with cities and other community water suppliers since 1993 to develop and implement source water protection plans. Support from the Clean Water Legacy expands and accelerates the number of water suppliers that can be assisted each year in undertaking protection planning and implementation activities.
This program aims to meet emerging and unique project needs in the Minnesota State Parks and Trails system. The program has initiated activities around Buffalo herd management and has plans for other activities to be determined.
Fairmont’s drinking water safety is threatened by high springtime nitrate levels. Fairmont intends to build an experimental passive biological treatment system to reduce nitrates that enter its source water supply.
Our primary objective is to understand how to harvest timber in the boreal forest in a way that enables species with limited movements to thrive in a changing landscape.
MPCA will administer funding to eligible Local Governmental Units to use MPCA-approved Advanced Inspectors to conduct work in accordance with Minn. Rules 7080, 7081, and 7083, which requires proper location, design, installation, use and maintenance of an individual subsurface sewage treatment system (SSTS) with a design flow of 2,500 gallons per day or more that protects the public health, safety, general welfare, and the environment by the discharge of adequately treated sewage to the groundwater. Multiple contracts will be awarded.
The final product will be a document of final action for an individual Subsurface Sewage Treatment System (SSTS) that a properly certified Advanced Inspector has reviewed to provide adequate environmental protection in accordance with Minnesota Rules.
Successful long-term treatment of sewage depends on a system capable of providing adequate treatment and effective on-going operation and maintenance. Clean Water Fund Subsurface Sewage Treatment System (SSTS) Program Enhancement funds are used by counties to strengthen programs dedicated to SSTS ordinance management and enforcement. These funds are used for a variety of tasks required to successfully implement a local SSTS program including inventories, enforcement, and databases to insure SSTS maintenance reporting programs.
MPCA will administer funding to eligible Local Governmental Units to use MPCA-approved Advanced Inspectors to conduct work in accordance with Minn. Rules 7080, 7081, and 7083, which requires proper location, design, installation, use and maintenance of an individual subsurface sewage treatment system (SSTS) with a design flow of 2,500 gallons per day or more that protects the public health, safety, general welfare, and the environment by the discharge of adequately treated sewage to the groundwater. Multiple contracts will be awarded.
Natural springs occur throughout Minnesota and provide critical services for the state, such as creating trout streams and cool water fisheries, sustaining base flows in streams, creating unique ecological habitats, and maintaining the integrity of aquatic ecosystems against invasive species. In order to protect springs and the groundwater-dependent resources that depend on them, though, it is important to understand spring locations and status – information that is currently lacking in many areas of the state.
Group camps provide an opportunity for groups to camp together outside the traditional campground. Group camps are used by scout groups, church groups, social groups, and families. A need has been identified to add amenities to rustic group camps, such as electrical hookups, a picnic shelter, and in some instances, modern sanitation facilities.
