One of the best ways to volunteer is to adopt-a-spot!  You can choose from a variety of spots through a few programs.  Once you've adopted your spot(s) then follow the instructions to keep that area clean and take care of it.  Make sure you report your efforts!  Below are the types of 'spots' available for adoption for you, your family, your neighborhood, your business, etc.

Adopt a Drain

Adopt a River

Stream Monitoring

Adopt a Storm Water Pond-There are over 150 storm water management ponds in Rochester that can be adopted by interested groups, businesses, or individuals. Interested volunteers should contact Mike Kraszewski to inquire about adoptable locations.

One week every April, thousands of volunteers work together across Rochester to scour ditches, parks, waterways and boulevards to pick up tons of trash!

The Litter Bit Better program is hosted in partnership with RNeighbors. View the Litter Bit Better website for more information.

The City of Rochester offers grants to establish pollinator habitat and water stewardship gardens. A limited number of grants will be available each year. Eligible expenses include the cost for design, plants, mulch, soil amendments, and related materials. 

Review the Rochester Garden Grant Criteria document for detailed information on the grant award and its requirements. If you believe your project aligns with the criteria, please email Rachel to arrange a site visit. 

Rochester Garden Grants completed projects:

Map Viewer (Updated 2017)

List Viewer (Updated 2020)

The Rochester Garden Grants program launched in 2020 is a refresh of the "Realize Rain Gardens Rochester" cost-share grant program. Goals of the original program remain with the addition of encouraging pollinator plantings and removing barriers associated with cost-share programs.

The Realize Rain Gardens Rochester cost-share grant program (2009 - 2019) was co-developed by a task force of interested citizens, landscape professionals, and City Public Works staff. The program was designed to promote the installation of rain gardens that can be used to demonstrate how rain gardens slow, treat, and infiltrate stormwater, while adding beauty to neighborhoods and creating habitat for song birds and butterflies.

Lawns to Legumes is a planting for pollinators grant program that Blue Thumb facilitates with the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources. Any Minnesotan can apply to receive reimbursement for native planting projects and support at-risk pollinators like the monarch butterfly and rusty patched bumble bee. Each spring and fall, a new cohort of participants gets selected to take part in the program.

The Rochester Water Primer is a learning resource that compiles locally relevant information about the basic elements of Rochester's water resources. Covered topics include: natural water features, Rochester's water history, local geology, groundwater resources, storm water management, and wastewater treatment. Everyone from teachers to students to elected officials to residents can learn about benefit from this resource.

Rochester Water Primer (Complete Document)

Table of Contents 
Chapter 1 - Water Cycle 
Chapter 2 - Rochester's Water History 
Chapter 3 - Natural Waters and Geology 
Chapter 4 - Constructed Water Bodies 
Chapter 5 - Rochester's Water Supply 
Chapter 6 - Wastewater Treatment 
Chapter 7 - Stormwater Management 
Chapter 8 - Rochester's Water Resource Management Agencies 
Chapter 9 - Rochester's Water Service and Learning Activities

 

The City of Rochester developed a companion curriculum for the Rochester Water Primer as a resource for teachers to bring the lessons into area classrooms.  Below are the curriculum activities and associated materials.  Contact Rachel Strauss, Environmental Education Specialist for assistance or as a special guest educator.

Rochester Water Primer Companion Lessons (Complete Document)

Lesson 1 - Rochester's Water Cycle

Lesson 2 - Rochester's Water History

Lesson 3 - Rochester's Watershed

Lesson 4 - Fishing in Rochester

Lesson 5 - Rochester's Geology

Lesson 6 - Rochester's Wastewater Treatment

Lesson 7 - Rochester's Stormwater Management

 

Teachers have the opportunity to explore the water cycle, stormwater management, and the wonders of rain gardens. Explore the Rain Garden Curriculum developed by the City of Rochester.

All lessons are tied to current Minnesota Teaching Standards (as of August 2013).

Contact Rachel Strauss, Environmental Education Specialist with questions on our curriculum.

Elementary Lessons

• Kindergarten
  • Seasonal Observations
  • Seek, Find, and Share
•  Grade 4
  • The Water Cycle
    • Create the Water Cycle
    • Condensation Lab
    • Precipitation Lab
    • Soil Moisture and Runoff Lab
  • What is a Watershed?
    • Watershed Address Worksheet
  • What's in the Water
    • What is in the Water Worksheet
•  Grade 5
  • Animal Adaptations
  • Plant Adaptations
    • Plant Adaptations Worksheet
  • Systems Thinking: Impervious Surfaces Analysis Activity
    • Impervious Surfaces Analysis Activity Worksheet
  • Schoolyard Mapping Exercises
    • Schoolyard Report Card
  •  Rain Garden Site Analysis
    • Infiltration Rate Experiment
    • Soil Analysis Experiment
    • Conducting a Percolation Test
    • Percolation Test Worksheet
    • How Big Should Your Rain Garden Be

Middle School Lessons

• Grade 7
  • Impaired Streams and Lakes
  • The DEAD Zone
    • The DEAD Zone Research Worksheet
  • Public Service Announcement Project

•  Grade 8 

  • Rain Garden Site Selection

    • Rain Garden Site Selection Worksheet

This Rain Garden Curriculum may also be used in preparation for your school or classroom to participate in a rain garden installation on your school's grounds.  If you're considering this, please explore our cost-share grant opportunity.

Invite a City staff member to your classroom or upcoming youth group gathering to learn how we are connected to waterways. Presentations can be tailored to the audience and can range from 15 minutes to an hour.  

 

Deepen your students' understanding of the Urban Water Cycle with an engaging field trip that explores how our built environments interact with water systems. The experience includes guided visits to a water tower, the water reclamation plant, and Cascade Meadow, with knowledgeable staff at each site to lead your group. For more details, contact Rachel.

Get outside and learn about stormwater management in person! These interpretive trails and exhibits highlight stormwater best management practices and interesting facets of Rochester's water history.

 

Cascade Meadow Wetlands & Environmental Science Center

There is a lot to see at Cascade Meadow, including the indoor Water Exhibit and the outdoor Stormwater Trail!

Water Exhibit

Watershed Floor Map: Do you know where the water goes that runs off of your property? This 17-ft floor map looks at the 910,337-acre Zumbro River Watershed where the Cascade Meadow Science Center is located. Take a close look to see if your home is located in the Zumbro Watershed and follow the path a water drop that falls on your property might take as it makes its way to the Zumbro River and eventually out to the Mississippi River.

The Stormwater Trail

Sustainable care of stormwater means slowing it and soaking it in on our site. Follow this trail around the Cascade Meadow building to see how stormwater is managed using pervious pavements, a bio-retention cell system, native plantings, green roofs, and additional landscape designs. Please note that Cascade Meadow does not allow dogs on their trails. The exclusion of pets will protect the waters of Cascade Creek and protect the growing wildlife population in the wetlands.

Cascade Meadow Wetlands & Environmental Science Center is located at 2900 19th Street NW in Rochester. 

 

Silver Lake Stormwater Trail

The Silver Lake Stormwater Trail, installed in the spring of 2015, explores the history, water connections, and management practices surrounding Silver Lake. The twelve interpretive signs will circumnavigate Silver Lake and cover the following topics: Canada Geese, Enhancing Urban Habitats, Floating Wetlands, Flooding in Rochester, History of Silver Lake, Invasive Species, Minnesota Mussels, Native Plant Management, Native Shorelines, Rapid Runoff, Stormwater Treatment, and Water Connections.

 

Stormwater Treatment sign at Silver Lake

 

Rochester Community and Technical College (RCTC) Native Plant Interpretive Garden

The garden at RCTC was established during the Fall of 2013 by the Environmental Science Program and has been expanded and developed in subsequent years. The interpretive garden is located on the Main Campus of the University Center Rochester. Click the link to learn more about the Native Plant Interpretive Garden and plan a visit.

Water Science Projects and Experiments for Learning and Family Fun

Water Guardians