Earth Day

Earth Day has been celebrated on April 22 since 1970 and is one of the largest civic engagement events on the planet. Every year, billions of people around the world come together to care for the environment and take action for a brighter future.

This Earth Day, we want to recognize everyone – our residents, volunteers, partners, businesses, schools, and staff – who contribute to keeping our environment healthy for future generations.Our Celebrating Earth Day video (YouTube) expresses our gratitude for the different ways people contribute.

Mighty Mississippi Cleanup Challenge results

Hennepin County was challenged by our downstream neighbor, Goodhue County, to participate in the Mighty Mississippi Cleanup Challenge between April 15 and May 15, and we wholeheartedly accepted! About 50 cleanups and hundreds of drain cleanouts happened throughout the county during the challenge.

We had results reported from 16 groups, including cities, staff groups, neighborhood groups, and nonprofit organizations. The groups that shared data and photos had about 2,800 participants and picked up over 20,500 pounds plus 110 bags of litter!

2025 Mighty Mississippi Cleanup Challenge results and photos (PDF, 3MB)

Thanks to everyone who contributed to keeping our lakes and rivers clean and making Hennepin County a great place to live!