Clean Water Blog

For each of the past three years, more than one million people attended the largest environmental event of its kind in the nation, and it was right here in Minnesota: the Eco Experience, a 25,000-square-foot interactive exhibit that returns for its fourth year at the Minnesota State Fair.

WHAT: Fourth annual Eco Experience at the Minnesota State Fair
WHEN: Thursday, Aug. 27 through Monday, Sept. 7, 2009 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily
WHERE: The Progress Center
The corner of Randall and Cosgrove
Look for the 123-foot-high wind turbine blade
LEARN MORE: www.ecoexperience.org

With hands-on activities and educational presentations, attendees can learn about water and air pollution, recycling, saving energy, climate change, green jobs, alternative energy sources, vehicles and transportation, and more. The Eco Experience also has a healthy local foods area featuring samples and demonstrations, a full-size Eco House and fun activities for the whole family.
NEW this year: A Countryside Market selling fresh, local and organic food from Minnesota, including Caprese salad on a stick, apples, maple syrup soda, and watermelon slices.

UPDATED: The Eco House is designed as a “net-zero” house that has a solar façade, green roof, and large, south-facing windows. “Net-zero” means using only as much energy as is produced on site on a yearly basis. Learn about net-zero and see some of the interesting features of the Eco House, including a dual-flush toilet that works with a hand-washing sink which reuses sink water with every flush, countertops made of reclaimed walnut shells, eco-friendly paint, energy-efficient LED lights, appliances and finishes.

NEW: The Interactive Climate Change Exhibit encourages Minnesotans to conserve energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Learn about the causes of climate change, how it impacts Minnesota, and what you can do in your own home and life.

UPDATED: Paper or plastic? Neither! Share why you’ll use reusable shopping bags, get your picture taken, and take home a free bag.
Each day, fair-goers will see cooking demonstrations, sample and purchase local and organic food, get answers to their questions at the Green Jobs booth, and learn all about Minnesota waterways, and much more.

Stearns County has a new County park – the Two Rivers Lake Park had its grand opening on July 14, 2009.

One of the unique features of the park is its parking lot – it has the fanciest parking lot in the county park system!

Runoff from the parking lots into a lake can carry with it sediments, oil and other pollutants that can harm the water quality of the lake. With that in mind, the 16-car parking lot at Twp Rivers Lake Park was surfaced with impermeable clay pavers that had enlarged seams between them. A granite chip aggregate was placed between the brick to create a water path to the 20 or so inches of coarse rock for storage below the pavers.

The Wobegon Trail is only .5 of a mile from the park. The plan is to create access from the trail to the park in the future.

The park is located 4 miles north of Albany on County Road #10. A map can be found at the Stearns County Parks Department website http://www.co.stearns.mn.us/1455.htm

The Stearns County Household Hazardous Waste Mobile Unit has four more stops this season – Albany on August 8, Holdingford on August 29, New Munich on September 2, and Cold Spring on September 12. This is a great opportunity to clean out hazardous products that may be lying around your home. The Unit takes products such as paints, sealers, aerosols, fluorescent bulbs and poisons. If you want more information on what products are accepted and when and where the collections are, go to the Stearns County website http://www.co.stearns.mn.us/4872.htm