Community POWER: Partners on Waste
Education & Reduction
Solid Waste Management Coordinating Board
ROUND 12 FINAL SUMMARY REPORT
January 2014
Prepared by Laurie Gustafson, LG Consulting, LLC
651-252-1487
Table of Contents
Page
Executive Summary
Project Summaries
Project Highlights: People Taking Action to Reduce Waste
Ways Waste Reduction Messages Are Shared
How Projects Will Be Sustained
Lessons Learned
Feedback on the Community Education Toolkit
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Executive Summary
In 2012, a total of 19 projects were funded: 11 Community POWER projects by the Solid
Waste Management Coordinating Board, plus nine additional projects through countyspecific supplemental contributions from Dakota, Ramsey and Washington Counties.
New in 2012, the Community POWER team offered two grant funding categories—mini
grants (up to $5,000) and traditional grants (up to $12,000). In addition, Ramsey County
designated funding for four business education grants. The results of the Ramsey County
Business Education projects have been summarized in a separate document. The maximum
grant amount was $12,000.
All projects educated residents, engaged them in waste reduction activities and promoted
long-term lifestyle changes. Typical projects included helping residents start recycling, learn
about proper disposal of hazardous materials, getting off junk mail lists, preventing waste,
reuse instead of throwing away items, composting and planning green events.
All of the projects contain elements that will be sustained beyond the grant year and any
grantees’ replicable resources have been posted online at
www.rethinkrecycling.com/grants/grantee-projects.
In addition to grant money, Community POWER helps community organizations create and
implement high-quality waste and toxicity reduction projects by providing:
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Grantee training meetings that offer technical information on waste reduction, plus
networking opportunities for community groups.
Individual meetings with grantees to offer resources and plan projects.
Workshops and presentations by county staff and other experts.
Evaluation of long-term outcomes experienced by past grantees to uncover sustainability
strategies.
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An expanded website showcasing outcomes of each grantee project and disseminating
grantee-created resources.
How many people were reached?
Through Round 12 Community POWER projects, 23,839 residents of the metro area were
engaged in active waste reduction activities. Active engagement activities include things like
attending a class or workshop, developing a video, taking part in revised or new curriculum,
attending a train-the-trainer session, interacting at a booth or event with Rethink Recycling,
county or other materials, and receiving technical assistance.
Follow up surveys with 1,199 people who participated in these projects show that 79% them
documented at least one long-term waste or toxicity reduction behavior change because of
a grant project, and many made more than one change.
An additional 519,945 people were reached with waste reduction messages through the
marketing and communication efforts of grantees. Most of these messages included Rethink
Recycling information and/or RethinkRecycling.com. These messages were shared through
distributing newsletter or e-newsletter articles, a press release or column in newspaper, a
display of Rethink Recycling, county or other materials or information posted on website
and/or social media.
Traditional grantees were asked to reach out to peer organizations to let others know about
their project and how they could do the same. Through meetings and presentations, the
seven traditional grantee project leaders informed an additional 3,540 people.
Long-Term Behavior Change
For the past eight years, Community POWER grantees have been required to follow up with
a select number of participants in their projects to determine if Community POWER projects
result in sustained lifestyle changes. This year with the changes in funding levels, only
grantees receiving traditional grants were required to submit data. All seven of the
traditional grantees submitted long-term behavior change data.
The data show that 79% of the people studied reported making at least one sustained
behavior change due to information learned through a Community POWER project. Most
people reported making more than one change.
Grantees may evaluate up to 28 different ways the participants in their projects have made
lifestyle changes. The following chart shows the most typical actions promoted through
grantee projects, and the percentage of grantee projects that educated people about each
issue.
Behavior Change Action
% grantees who
focused on each topic
All grantees focused on recycling education, such as what
materials can be recycled, recycling away from home, etc.
Donate used goods & Shop used
Start using canvas/reusable bags for shopping trips
Avoid junk mail
Plan green meetings and events
Buy products with reduced packaging
Compost to reduce food and yard waste
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100%
43%
43%
29%
29%
29%
14%
RethinkRecycling.com Use
In addition to the long-term behavior change questions, traditional grantees also asked
respondents about their use of RethinkRecycling.com. Twenty-nine percent of the
respondents report using RethinkRecycling.com and 39% report learning about it through
their participation in the grant project.
Project Summaries
SWMCB-Funded Projects
Ce Tempoxcalli, Ramsey and Dakota Counties
Ce Tempoxcalli staff and volunteers reached 4,000 Latino, Chicano and West Side
Neighborhood residents through targeted outreach, the Mother Earth Fest, as well as
reaching out to area families. In addition, they trained 13 youth from Dakota and Ramsey
counties, as part of the Green Youth Leadership Intensive on Zero Waste, to become
community trainers in waste reduction, event greening and recycling.
Carpenter St. Croix Valley Nature Center, Washington County
The Nature Center educated over 1,000 students and their families about decreasing the
amount of waste involved in a typical lunch. The Nature Center also provided educational
materials and training to encourage “green event planning” for on-site weddings and
corporate events in the new pavilion.
Laura Jeffrey Academy, Ramsey County
An initiative to use recyclable products in the classroom to solve real world problems was
the focus for 7th and 8th grade LJA students. They researched the intersection between
nutrition, food choices, packaging and environmental racism. Then, worked to educate
fellow students on packaging choices, nutrition and lunchroom waste. LJA scholars analyzed
their purchasing choices but limited action has been reported. Most of the behavior changes
have occurred around packaging and food waste reduction in the lunchroom. The project
reached 300 students and staff plus an additional 600 community members.
Macalester-Groveland Community Council, Ramsey County
Residents reduced their waste through participation in the innovative MacalesterGroveland Organics Recycling Drop-off Site; through home visits from trained volunteers;
by attending community educational forums and events on organics diversion, recycling,
green events, and commercial composting; and through newsletter articles, web content,
and social media. They increased participation in their Organics Recycling Drop-off Site to
210 households (567 residents).
NE Seniors Living at Home, Ramsey County
The NE Seniors Living at Home Toxicity and Waste Reduction Project reached 281 people
through eight presentations that were provided throughout the community. Medication
drop-off information was given to medical clinics and the local Walgreens, where an
informational poster is now displayed. Waste and toxic reduction information was also
shared with sister agencies. Twenty-one community seniors had home toxic and waste
reduction inspections.
New American Academy, Hennepin County
The goal of the East African Immigrant Recycling Project was to increase recycling and
reduce the amount of toxic products used in East African homes, located within the Eden
Prairie school district and surrounding southwest metro communities. The activities of the
project reached almost 2,000 people and included community outreach and education about
waste reduction, toxicity reduction, recycling and related topics; curriculum development
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and educational tool kit dissemination/distribution; and partnerships with governmental,
school, business, non-profits, and other community resources.
Mount Olivet Lutheran Church, Hennepin County
Mount Olivet Lutheran Church reduced the amount of trash that the church generates,
added organics recycling, and improved other recycling rates. They evaluated their use of
toxic chemicals with a professional. The adult education classes and kids camp have
advanced awareness, knowledge, and application of these issues among church members.
They educated over 5,000 staff and the congregation to make changes at church, home,
and influence their community by example.
Eagan and Lakeville Resource Center, Dakota County
Going Green project reached over 7,000 people and increased awareness and use of lowcost methods of sustainable living in low-income households. Going Green focused on adults
and children in low-income households. Training sessions were held to reach the adults, and
a Going Green Carnival was held to engage the children.
Al-Amal School, Anoka County
Al-Amal School educated the school community and Islamic Center of Minnesota (ICM)
about the how to recycle and the benefits of recycling with the goal of increasing awareness
and the practice of recycling in the building and at home. Students and parent volunteers
reached about 1,000 families, students and staff about recycling and reducing waste. Their
actions resulted in an increase of recycling pick up service at the school from a two-yard
container picked up once a week to a three-yard container picked up two times a week.
A Better Society, Carver County
A Better Society staff and volunteers created a repeatable program, called SecondLife-in-aBox, which enabled youth to successfully organize the collection/redistribution of reusable
items. By providing an easy-to-use template and program support, more youth groups were
able to implement projects and have a bigger community impact on waste/toxicity
reduction. Through program marketing at events, residents and businesses were educated
about this important practice. They supported six drives that were run by youth/adults in
the community and reached over 1,600 residents.
Dakota County-Funded Project
West Saint Paul YMCA, Dakota County
The West Saint Paul YMCA engaged over 300 people in a composting project throughout the
West Saint Paul and Saint Paul communities. The Leaders Club, a group of 6th through 12th
grade middle and high school students, led these activities. The Leaders Club participants
developed skills as they engaged in research, created educational materials and planned
opportunities to share what they learned. These young people gave interactive
presentations to teens of other Leaders Club groups, younger children of the YMCA’s
Moreland Afterschool Program and community members of area apartment complexes.
Minnesota Zoo Volunteer Conservation Corps, Dakota County
The Composting Awareness program was presented at nine onsite Minnesota Zoo events,
one offsite community event, three onsite Farmers Market events and at 10 Zoo Volunteer
mini-training sessions. Zoo volunteers were presented with how they can actively
participate in the Zoo's onsite food waste composting efforts, Zoo guests and community
participants were presented with options for at home food waste and yard waste composting
via games, demonstrations, and RethinkRecycling Composting 101 handouts. Over 2,300
people engaged in active education through the Zoo’s project and in addition, the project
reached over 32,000 through displays and their website.
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Ramsey County-Funded Projects
Asian Outdoor Heritage, Ramsey County
Asian Outdoor Heritage's (AOH) project goal was to educate Hmong hunters, leaders and
community on recycling, waste and toxicity reduction and to promote green events for
Asian-Minnesotans. AOH was able to educated 570 members, hunters and youth by
incorporating waste and toxicity reduction education into their Fire Arms Safety class. In
addition, they educated many Hmong community members at the Hmong New Year held at
the Excel Energy Centre and at an annual July 4th event.
Payne Phalen District Five Planning Council, Ramsey County
District Five staff hosted four educational workshops that included work sessions with
residents and guest speakers. East Side Rising, an informal community network of 15 young
Hmong spoken word artists, promoted recycling, hosted events and outreach efforts. All
efforts supported increased Hmong community engagement in the Greening Payne Phalen
goals of increased recycling, household hazardous waste reduction, and reuse strategies.
Two East Side Rising artists coordinated efforts and hosted an open mic event, produced a
public service announcement and social media video. Separately, the Railroad Island Task
Force of District Five, a team of 10 volunteers and staff distributed reusable bags to 300
households in Railroad Island. A separate focus on property maintenance issues was tied to
Community POWER recycling and neighborhood clean up efforts. And finally, District Five
launched the Environmental and Livability Committee with 35 participants, who will carry
forward the mission of the project.
Washington County Funded Projects
Oltman Middle School, Washington County
Oltman Middle School teachers worked with 25 students in the AVID program to research,
create awareness, and take action against waste in waterways. The students worked all
year on this project and educated more Oltman Middle School students and staff about
plastic waste and the need for reduce it and recycle more, as it is a big waste problem in
lakes, rivers and oceans, reaching an additional 800 people. In addition, students then held
a plastic water bottle and bag drive, collected over 10,000 plastic water bottles and 2,000
plastic bags for recycling.
Project Highlights: People Taking Action to Reduce
Waste
The following are a sampling of testimonies from grantees about proud moments and
results during their Community POWER grant activities, which illustrate how people are
taking action to reduce waste.
[At the Mother Earth Fest, the project demonstrated that] youth leadership was so integral
to building community project... The youth were very visible, competent, and eager.
-- Zea Leguizamon, Executive Director, Ce Tempoxcalli
The two senior staff members who spearheaded these efforts had different highlights. For
the K-12 school lunch component, it was wonderful to hear the enthusiastic feedback from
teachers and parents. A local teacher was eager to take back all she learned at the Nature
Center and help her school do a better job at decreasing waste. A few teachers and
students commented they have experienced these efforts at CNC and now expect it every
time they visit.
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The naturalist working with site rentals had a more difficult task and found small victories
when watching wedding guests approach the waste receptacles. They would look carefully
at the signage, look at their item and then select the correct bin.
The Carpenter Nature Center hosted events and continues to infuse waste reduction into the
thought processes of our partners, caterers and vendors. As each event is hosted, these
vendors now know our goals and have thought through the best methods for reducing
waste from utilizing compostable plates, cups and utensils, to selecting items with less
packaging. Throughout the year it was encouraging to see these event planners approach
us with their methods of reducing waste before we could remind them about our goals.
--Jennifer Vieth, Executive Director, Carpenter St. Croix Valley Nature Center
I am most excited that LJA scholars have shown and expressed a sense of urgency. They
are wanting to become advocates of behavior change. Their passion and energy is
overwhelming and inspiring.
--Lizzie Forshee, Teacher, Laura Jeffrey Academy
I am really proud of how many genuinely excited people participated in our programs. One
recent college graduate emailed me after attending our “Where Does the Compost Go?”
forum. She was really inspired by what she learned about commercial composting and
potentially even more excited to have connected with so many members of her community
that were also interested in composting. She had missed that connection after leaving
college and was thrilled to have found a community of learners of all ages at our event.
I'm also really proud of our home visit program and the resources we developed for it. We
had no idea what to expect when we offered to come into residents' homes and talk through
every item that comes into and leaves their household, from leftovers to used tissues to
milk cartons to plastic tubs to hazardous waste. With so much to cover, we researched and
gleaned information from every local governmental and internal source we could find. In the
end, many more households than we anticipated signed up for a home visit. The best part
was that they were as excited to have someone to talk to in person about how they recycled
and composted as we were to be there. One home visit recipient said of our volunteers and
staff "their visit was like a rooting section cheering one on for getting in the race and as one
progresses around the curve they are there with more ideas to finish the race probably with
less trash on ones conscience. They do a very good job."
One last piece I want to mention were our compostable bag tests and the guide to our top
picks. We had heard from several new Drop-off Site members who were having horrible
experiences with the compostable bags they purchased ripping, leaking, and oozing as soon
as they put any organics in. Since having a bag of leaking composting all over your kitchen
and/or car is a sure way to get turned off to organics recycling, we decide to test each and
every bag we could find at our local retail stores to find the best ones in terms of durability
and moisture control. I created a testing rubric and we recruited 10 volunteer testers who
abused the bags every way they could think of. One of our volunteers actually poured soup
into her bag, let it sit for a day, then tied it and threw it down the stairs (for the record, it
held!). What we came up with was a really useful guide with great, durable bags to make
sure new participants had a good experience and got hooked on organics recycling from the
get go.
--Lauren Anderson, Recycling & Environmental Coordinator, Macalester Groveland
Community Council
We have encouraged our sister organization to add the home-safety checklist to their home
visit services, and we plan to promote the checklist to other organizations. We also plan to
continue to use the checklist as part of our regular services. Additionally, the workshop
video will be posted to our website once the website is upgraded. The information from our
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waste and toxin reduction workshops will continue to be promoted and waste reduction
education materials from the Rethink Recycling website.
--Marjorie Ebensteiner, Board Chair, NE Seniors Living at Home
We are very proud for of the Community POWER grant because it helps us to engage
environmental work, which was something new to our organization and to our community,
and most importantly, we are proud for the large numbers of our community to learn the
necessary skills of how to recycle for the first time.
--Asad Aliwyd, Executive Director, New American Academy
The objective 2 results from our recycling efforts were beyond our expectations [decreased
waste disposal by over 40%]. We are proud of our total waste reduction and improved
recycling. On the soft side, we have received numerous comments from our members who
are proud to see Mt Olivet working in this area. It is also nice to be able to talk about our
results to other congregations and be an example of a congregation that is making a
difference. We want to continue to work as a community leader in these efforts.
--Carrie Sandgren, Project Manager, Mount Olivet Lutheran Church
The Going Green Carnival was the highlight of this program. The community came together
to support educating kids through the magic of play, and the result was truly magical.
Partnering with the City of Eagan was a key factor in the success of the Going Green
Carnival, as well as the assistance from Gopher Resources, Dakota County, and Dakota
Valley recycling. Over 1,000 people attended the Carnival and kids were challenged to instill
green-living principles in their every-day lives. If their green behaviors can be instilled and
promoted at such a young age, they are more likely to continue into the rest of their lives.
--Sarah Schmidt, Fresh Food Coordinator, Eagan Lakeville Resource Center
I am proud that we are recycling at the school in general. From what I have heard, several
people have tried for several years to get recycling started at the school but did not follow
through because they did not have the resources or the time. It was a time consuming
endeavor, but it’s nice that we are finally doing it. I love hearing the kids reminding each
other to recycle and report to me when they notice some classroom recycling bins have
trash in them. It shows me they are really thinking about waste and where it needs to be
placed. They are also learning that they can speak up and make a difference. A big
accomplishment is the lunchroom recycling. I did not think it would be possible and it was a
challenge at first and still is taking some time to master. However, kids are doing it and it
has become a routine. Parents and teachers tell me that their students will ask them where
to put their recycling if they are out somewhere and there aren’t recycling bins. Many
parents have also told me that their children insist they recycle at home. Some families
started recycling because of their kids. I have also noticed staff rethinking what should be
thrown away. One teacher gave me some wooden frames instead of throwing them away
because she thought they could be useful for our repurposed art activities (and they were).
I also love seeing staff and students using their reusable cups and bottles as well as
reusable bags. They were so happy to receive them and continue to use them instead of the
styrofoam cups and disposable bottles they were using before. Small things like that, make
me proud.
--Farah Noorani, Parent Volunteer, Al-Amal School
We are excited that we are providing youth with the tools by which they can promote reuse
and service the community. It is uplifting to see the energy in children as they collect and
sort used towels and linens or carry large bins of school supplies from a successful collection
drive. At Bluff Creek Elementary, the school supply drive was run by fifteen 4th grade
students under the guidance of two teachers that served at mentors. They successfully
collected over 80 pounds of school supplies. At Excelsior Elementary, they collected over
652 lbs. of school supplies! During this last spring, Project SecondLife supported collection
drives kept over 790 pounds of school supplies, 1300 towels and linens and 55 bicycles from
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ending up in the landfill. At the same time, the participants in these drives learned about
the benefits of reuse and the importance of serving the community. The most wonderful
reuse quote was created by the 4th grade student leaders at Bluff Creek Elementary --“Used, but still useful!” Please visit to our website (www.projectsecondlife.org) for more
information about our project, this spring’s drives and photos from our events.
--Heather Tran, Executive Director, A Better Society
We are so proud that the composting project has inspired people to take action. The Eagan
YMCA Leaders Club organized their own project once they learned more about composting
from their peers of the West Saint Paul YMCA Leaders Club. The Eagan group has since
developed a community garden and identified composting as a way to sustain it. They
received a grant award from Community POWER in 2013 to support this work. Our project
has also inspired the West Saint Paul YMCA branch to adopt “green” practices. For example,
the membership team is now composting all coffee grounds and filters to decrease organic
waste send to the trash. Coffee available to all members free of charge at least 360 each
day per year.
--Betty Notto, Youth Development Director, West Saint Paul YMCA
We felt we really engaged the people who stopped at our table; they were interested in
composting, the children showed evidence of how they are learning and participating in food
waste composting in their schools and people living in townhomes or condos were interested
in how they could get "composting" going in their communities.
--David Schmidt, Volunteer, MN Zoo Volunteer Conservation Corps
What excites [us at] Asian Outdoor Heritage [the] most is to be able to reach out to the
youth generation to be proactively on waste reduce, and bridge the communication to the
Hmong parents on how to identify household hazard material so they can it secure from
children.
--Pao Yang, President, Asian Outdoor Heritage
We were excited by the positive response of young adults who want to expand their
expressive arts experience and who are willing to combine this interest with community
outreach. We hope to build upon these energies, talent and creative culturally competent
outreach as we move forward with this work.
--Leslie McMurray, Executive Director, Payne Phalen District Five Planning Council
I am excited that students wanted to be in the class again! They would come after school to
work on projects that we did not have time to complete in the classroom. Also that our
students are the ones who are creating change-they are the reasons we have our graffiti
sign up, the new water fountain in the cafeteria, and that our teachers are now using the
water bottles that were given versus the single use version. I am glad that my
administration is allowing me to continue providing the opportunity for students to be
involved in a class were they are exposed to opportunities to create change and to be
exposed to real world problems. I am very proud of my students and I am already having a
blast this year.
--Sarah Neitz, Avid Teacher & Coordinator, Oltman Middle School
Ways Waste Reduction Messages Are Shared
Traditional grantees were asked to tell us how they shared waste reduction messages and
promoted RethinkRecycling.com with peer organizations. Below are a few examples.
Laura Jeffrey Academy students scholars invited 50 Macalester College students to their end
of quarter presentations and a STEM expo to learn about and engage in projects that used
recycled materials, the cross section of health problems in communities of color and
environmental toxicity.
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Through a formal presentation to 65 people at Association of Recycling Manager's annual
conference, Lauren Anderson, Macalester-Groveland Community Council, shared the process
of setting up and running the Organics Recycling Drop-off Site, community outreach and
recruitment, educational programs like workshops and home visits, volunteer engagement
and training, and development of guides, articles, tools, and curriculum. In addition,
through a series of meetings with staff and with key volunteers, Lauren shared the process
of setting up and running the Organics Recycling Drop-off Site, community outreach and
recruitment, educational programs like workshops and home visits, volunteer engagement
and training, and development of guides, articles, tools, and curriculum.
At New American Academy, they used word-of-mouth and presentations to reach out to
peer organizations, in addition to visiting apartment buildings, community centers and
mosques.
Carrie Sandgren from Mount Olivet Lutheran Church presented results of reduced waste at
Mount Olivet with a gathering of 10 representatives from seven Southwest Minneapolis
churches organized by the Alliance for Sustainability. Carrie also presented to 10 members
of University Lutheran Church of Hope about both challenges and successes of Mount
Olivet’s recycling program. They shared RethinkRecycling.com through Mount Olivet’s
website, newsletter, word of mouth, presentations and distribution of reusable bags.
Sarah Schmidt of Eagan Lakeville Resource Center presented to 90 people through Garden
to Table. Composting and recycling education stands will provide long-term information to
all current and future clients of the ELRC. This information was also included in the
Gardener’s Toolkit, an ELRC guide to composting, harvesting, and care of a home or
community garden. The Gardener’s Toolkit was distributed to 75 gardeners at four sites in
Dakota County, and was also distributed to over 15 households at local faith communities.
In addition, Sarah presented to staff at School District 196. The Gardener’s Toolkit and
RethinkRecycling.com reduce, recycle, and reuse information will be available on the ELRC’s
blog and website during the next website renovation.
Leslie McMurray and staff of Payne Phalen District Five Community Council promoted
RethinkRecycling.com through distribution of blue reusable bags. The bags were an easy
way to direct people to the online resources. They also used the ready-made
communications developed by Ramsey County staff. District Five staff and volunteers
participated in 35 community meetings and events to provide RethinkRecycling.com
information and distribute blue bags.
How Projects Will Be Sustained
Grantees told us about which parts of their program will last beyond the grant period. Below
is a sample of the different ways projects will be sustained into the future.
At the next Mother Earth Event, Ce Tempoxcalli will keep it a zero waste event. They have
also taken on waste reduction practices at the Ce Tempoxcalli office.
The visiting school groups to Carpenter Nature Center will continue to receive materials to
help them decrease waste during lunches. Volunteers will to assist in waste streaming
during the lunches. The CNC hosted events will to strive to be zero waste events. The
people utilizing Carpenter Nature Center's site for weddings and other rentals will
increasingly be encouraged to stream their waste. This facet of the grant is the one in which
there is still the most potential for improvement.
At Laura Jeffrey Academy, they have integrated new curriculum, will put rethink recycling
information in their newsletter, use a reduce waste display table and board, and use
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RethinkRecycling.com. In addition, LJA is continuing the food-to-hogs program, and the
Girls Go Green Team is continuing the analysis of food and packaging waste and reporting
back to the LJA students quarterly.
Macalester-Groveland Community Council will include recycling articles and organics
program information in all printed and electronic newsletters. They hope to repeat two
popular organics recycling workshops/forums, using leftover compostable bags as an
incentive. They also plan to survey Drop-off Site participants again next spring. They will
make events and meetings zero waste and table at community events to promote recycling,
reuse, and organics recycling with resources like those from RethinkRecycling.com. They will
expand their organics recycling web pages in the coming year and continue to update the
Facebook page.
At NE Seniors Living at Home, they will post waste reduction presentation on their website,
once the website is complete. Additionally, they will to distribute waste and toxic reduction
information to clients and at events. The home-safety checklist will continue to be part of
home visiting services.
New American Academy will host green events, use a display and RethinkReycling.com
information. They will try to partner again with the Community POWER and other
environmental organizations.
At Mount Olivet Lutheran Church, they have information on their website. They have started
discussions to move recycling efforts to Mount Olivet West (Victoria, MN). Next summer
they have an opportunity to get another trash hauler and at that time it may be financially
feasible to include organics recycling at the Retreat Center in Farmington, MN. Their Retreat
Center staff is very anxious to add organic pickup and is leading the church in other
environmental initiatives. They have celebrated Earth Day (for the first time!); this will be
an annual tradition. They envision that this will only get bigger as the years go by.
Composting and recycling informational stations were installed at the Eagan Resource
Center. These educational bins teach what can be composted, recycled, or what is garbage.
In addition, at-home composting information is attached to each bin for clients to take
home with them. The Gardener’s Toolkit, which includes composting information, is
available as a PDF and has become an integral part of ELRC’s Garden To Table program.
This toolkit will continue to be distributed to partner organizations and on the ELRC blog.
At A Better Society, they will use existing volunteer staff to grow the program. They also
plan to apply for additional grants. Their focus will be to expand the capabilities in of the
website. Additions include the expansion of guides and checklists and a “Recreate” section
that contains ideas on what you can create with collected items. They plan to add the ability
for users to post information about their own drives. They also would like to expand the
youth presentation program and create short instructional videos on how to run collection
drives.
Using the blue reusable bags from Ramsey County, staff and volunteers at Payne Phalen
District Five Planning Council will make regular visits to Hmong Village, Golden Harvest and
Bymore Supermercado. District Five presented to the ESL School and hope this will become
a recurring part of the ESL curriculum. A District Five task force plans to focus on antilittering and proper waste disposal and recycling in 2014, with promoting public space
recycling as part of the effort. The East Side Rising group will continue to promote creative
outreach efforts in the community. And, the District Five will continue blue bag distribution
in coordinating with crime prevention efforts.
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Lessons Learned—In their words…
Grantees provided insights about challenges and lessons learned in their final reports. Below
is a summary of those experiences.
Evaluation
Prepare for evaluation in advance.
Don’t forget evaluation! Remember to plan in evaluation methods throughout the project.
Our Leadership Table realized early on that the evaluation tool was going to be too time
consuming to use at the food shelf. We had to reevaluate that process and work it into a
different portion of the grant activities.
At Asian Outdoor Heritage, we would have created a better survey to capture a more about
the what people learned from the workshop.
Expect the unexpected
The primary lessons learned during this grant were that the greatest successes might not be
those that were anticipated at the outset. One of our most positive outcomes was the
evaluation of the experience of the non-student visitor when faced with waste disposal
questions. These observations helped staff re-think our waste receptacle design, location,
size and signage to make correct waste streaming simpler for our visitors and more
effective in reducing waste.
The YMCA Leaders Club group was smaller than was originally planned. To compensate for
the smaller size, teens were also engaged through the Eagan YMCA Leaders Club and the
West Saint Paul Summer Power Program.
The late, cold spring proved a challenge since young people wanted to have more variety of
outdoor projects once the weather was warm enough to start composting outdoors.
Always be very flexible as programs change, events change and people's attitudes toward
your program may change. You have to be ready and willing to adjust as needed.
Staff changes could affect your project
The greatest challenge during the grant period was something that Community POWER
could not have helped solve. After 32 years Executive Director Jim Fitzpatrick retired. This
significant change not only caused a brief time of uncertainty but the fact that the Nature
Center's Development Director was named Interim Director and ultimately Director resulted
in fewer staff members to accomplish the workload during the entire search process. All
staff, including naturalists, took on extra duties to help the transition be a successful one.
Unfortunately some of the website updates, list compiling and behavior change studies that
were initially planned in the grant were difficult to complete within the time limit due to the
timing of the Director's departure, the timing of the naming of the permanent replacement
and the timing during the K-12 school year at which these changes took place.
Keep goals, timeline and budget in mind
Remember to check in with yourself on the desired outcomes.
Don’t rely on the grant workplan as the only planning tool. While the required workplan is a
helpful guide, more initial planning is needed to ensure that all steps and priorities are
accomplished.
It is best to manage the timeline and budget continually. Sometimes the scope and direction
of a project requires modifications to yield better results or a more comprehensive solution.
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Keeping track of expenditures
Ask for help
Don’t be afraid to ask for help from Community POWER staff and county staff. They will help
re-inspire and give direction!
We learned too late that our current web host would not allow us to bring in an outside web
consultant or expand our current organics pages. We had to scale back our plans to include
more extensive educational information on the website until we can switch to a new web
host. The website challenge had a big impact on our project budget and Laurie was
extremely helpful throughout the process. With her assistance, we modified our budget to
effectively use funds leftover from not hiring a web consultant.
Hennepin County Staff Patience Caso was a great help and made our effort more
achievable.
Tara Roffler was a resources and support on this project by providing information and tools.
I really thought the Community Power staff was very supportive any time I had questions. I
liked the informative meeting; it was a chance to see what other people did and connected
me with people that could help.
I found that things do not always go as planned. Some things take a lot longer than you
want. I would tell new grantees to make sure that they ask for support when they need it. I
probably could have asked for more help than I did.
Get community & organizational buy-in
One crucial lesson learned was the importance of volunteers and, by extension,
neighborhood buy-in when planning your project, developing curriculum, and implementing
programs. It was so helpful to have a core group of incredible volunteers to help with each
of these steps and to serve as a sounding board for any questions along the way. Our
project was effective due to their commitment and generous donation of time.
Before you plan something, make sure everyone involved is on board. Even though we
thought we did this there were several times we spent time planning for something only for
the idea to be rejected. It was very hard as an "outsider" of the school to get things
implemented since I was not at school everyday, all day, and could not observe how things
were going. This is why it's good to get as many staff as possible to be a part of the Green
Team to oversee activities during the school day.
Most of our challenges involved adults not following through. People want to recycle and do
what’s best, I think, but do not want to put in the extra effort. For example, we had some
challenges getting the custodians on board. It was hard at first for them to understand that
by recycling their job would actually become a bit easier. Part of the problem, I think, was
there was a language barrier - English is not their first language. Also, they were not
involved in any of the staff in-services about recycling, although the Green Team specifically
requested they be involved.
Incentives work, especially when they support the project
Because our Drop-off Site program requires compostable bags, we provided boxes of our
favorite, most durable bags for participants of workshops/forums and home visits. The bags
were a huge draw because they saved households money while encouraging them to
compost more. We also sought a few extra donations and modified our budget so we could
offer prize drawings for respondents of each survey as well. This sounds like a no-brainer,
but great incentives (or a lack thereof) can have a big impact on participation.
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Think about how best to communicate with your audience
Maximize the information in our newsletters and newspaper column. We initially did a lot of
flyers for events but realized early on that most of our participants found out about
programs through our newsletters (both printed and electronic) as well as the neighborhood
column within our local newspaper. Because we're a district council that does a direct
mailing (through our printed newsletter) four times a year, we refocused our promotional
efforts and timed programs so each would have ample space in a newsletter and
consequently had great responses.
Organics recycling is still a very new concept for adults. Children are getting exposed to it at
school. Education is key. We quickly realized that we needed educate our staff and
volunteers at each event and be specific about where each waste item should be put –
trash, organics, or recycling. Fortunately, we had resources at Hennepin County that
responded very quickly to questions we had. Additionally, we went through several
iterations to try to improve our signs. Some people prefer words and others prefer pictures.
We now have both and changed our signs to be specific to the area they were in so that the
list could be smaller for any given sign.
Youth can be leaders
Also, if you are working in a school, get the kids involved in leadership. Other kids, as well
as adults are more likely to listen to them if they make presentations and lead by example.
They are the best resource to encourage others to recycle, and they love taking a leadership
role.
Anticipate volunteer and staffing needs
Our largest challenge was staffing and finding volunteers with specific skill sets. We needed
adults that could serve as mentors, ones with experience in web design and implementation
and people to help with all of our activities. We were able to achieve all of our goals but had
to adjust the timeline to do so.
Biggest challenge was getting volunteers to participate in events as everyone is so very
busy these days. Additionally, with the type of presentation we were doing it limited the
numbers of people we could interact with directly, but we felt the quality of our interactions
and the participant's engagement would have been diminished had we offered a more
general approach.
In planning, we did not accurately assign or allocate the budget for staff time expended in
this project. Many hours of staff time were spent managing aspects of this outreach,
training and project. Our initial assumptions about how staffing would occur were not
accurate once we had to alter our timeline due to unforeseen circumstances.
Challenges
Time
One of our big challenges centered on time - both the time commitment required of our
amazing volunteers as well as of part-time project staff. We had such a big response for the
Zero Waste Home Visits in particular that they were a larger strain on capacity than
anticipated when we planned that program.
Another unanticipated challenge was moving our Organics Recycling Drop-off Site midway
through the grant period at the end of May. The Patagonia store parking lot where our site
was hosted needed to be redesigned and our move across the parking coincided with the
peak of our recruitment efforts for our second operating year. It was a hectic couple of
weeks but we managed to continue operating throughout the move.
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Support requests/Suggestions
 In terms of additional support, I would love to learn more about how other grantees
over the years have effectively made use of technology (social media, web design,
videos, etc.) in their POWER projects. Perhaps this could be a workshop led by a
panel of past grantees?
 Suggesting support on ways to evaluate success of "passive" engagement
 We displayed poster for the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office medication disposal
program at our local Walgreen’s. It is challenging to estimate how many people will
see this poster.
 The survey was a bit clumsy. It was hard for respondents to use some of the check
boxes.
 I had to create a copy of the report requirements so that I could write my report off
line and then enter into your website. This makes it easy for you. However for the
grantees, it would be nice to be able to work on the report online and save what you
have done as you go along. It’s hard for me to believe anyone could do this report in
one sitting!
 The primary challenge of this project was finding information that applied to lowincome families. Most of the “green living” information available is directed at
middle-class families. While this is very helpful for that segment of society, it did not
apply to clients of the ELRC. Staff time ended up being a much greater part of this
grant than expected in order to compile information and design materials.
 I think it would have been helpful to have more resources for other organizations
that had recycling presentations or activities. I found myself doing a lot of research
looking for school programs to introduce recycling. Otherwise, the toolkits were very
helpful as well as the Community Power/ Rethink Recycling staff.
 A list of speakers that could come and talk about certain issues would be useful. Dan
Schoepke was a great resource, but I would like to be able to have other contacts to
come speak with my students
Feedback on the Community Education Toolkit
Grantees were asked if they used the new Community Education Toolkit, if it was helpful, to
explain why or why not and what changes would they recommend. They were also asked if
there were specific items that would help with their outreach, such as translated materials,
supporting materials or activities.
Eleven of the 19 grant project planners, including the Ramsey County Business Education
grants, stated that they used the Community Education Toolkit and all who used it said it
was helpful. Of those who said it was not useful, it was mostly because the topics were not
as relevant to their project. Below are comments regarding the toolkit.
How was the toolkit useful?
Help us create event policies and procedures on zero waste, develop youth training, and
used the handouts for event staff, vendors, and presenters
We utilized parts of the composting kit and they were helpful during lunchtime waste
reduction programs.
I found the sample articles very helpful - these were easy to use in our electronic and print
newsletters and were a very welcome addition to the recycling and composting articles I
had already written for the grant.
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The toolkit was helpful. Helped shape language for how we presented the information
Community education kit was essential to our project because it gave us a solid background
knowledge of recycling, reusing and the proper places to take household hazards. The
toolkit was like a menu when we are talking to the community.
Supporting materials such as brochures, videos and sample bottles were very helpful to our
outreach activities for this project.
We used the Toolkit for Congregations and used some activities in our Kings Kids program.
The kids loved the spinning wheel! It attracted many kids to try and spin so parents came
along as well. We were able to then distribute information and inform people about what our
school is doing to encourage recycling. the kids loved answering the questions. We gave
small prizes. The banner display was also eye catching.
The toolkit was very helpful do to the language barrier, and was able to help the audience
identify and understand the process.
The Community Education Toolkit was very help to share information with the Leaders Club
participants. It was very help to the staff members to begin the project with the young
people. The tool kit was also helpful throughout the project to help us navigate when we
needed to find additional resources.
Is there anything you would recommend adding or changing in the Community
Education Toolkit?
Recommend adding bi-lingual, Spanish materials.
Missing information: Racial Environmental Information (LJA)
More articles on a wider range of topics would be great for those of us that rely heavily on
newsletters
The signs available from Hennepin County were a great start. However we got complaints
that some people didn’t know what the pictures represented. Our recommendation is to use
both words and pictures in your next version of the signs.
The toolkit was not designed to meet the needs of low-income families. Some of the
materials available, included the “Get Less!” videos, were insensitive to the issues that lowincome families deal with on a daily basis. As a food shelf, we did not feel that our clients
needed reminders to have fewer things in their households. The issue with most of our
clients was how to reduce other costs (by reusing and repurposing household items, etc).
The spinning wheel is kind of bulky and difficult to carry, but there's not much you can do
about that- maybe you could offer a small wheeled cart to go along with it to help
transporting it.
Add more materials on reuse
Are there specific items that would help with your outreach, such as translated
materials, supporting materials or activities?
Greater information based on personal decision-making. Instead of how a decision will affect
the community at large, how will that impact my family’s budget? How will my green
behavior make my budget stretch further?
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The “Get Less!” campaign would have been very helpful if it had applied to low-income
families. However, since low-income families might already have less, it wasn’t useful in this
project. Something like “Get Less!” that applies to low-income household would be
extremely helpful.
The CDs like "Are you exposing your children to a TOXIC BREW IN YOUR HOME?" should
have multilingual translations.
Laminated posters that can be posted in public places would be helpful, for example,
announcements for upcoming clean-up days and locations to dispose of hazardous
materials, medications, etc.
We have a large Somali population, so it would be nice to have information that is in that
language. It would also be nice to have some prizes to go with the display. We had gotten
some materials, like coloring books and pencils from Anoka County. It would be good to
have some small stickers or something with the Rethink Recycling logo to give away.
The West Saint Paul community has a high population of native Spanish speakers. Material
and resources in Spanish are highly appreciated.
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