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Dakota County Environmental Resources
Dakota County Recycling Ambassador Program
The Dakota County Recycling Ambassador program provides training on waste reduction, recycling, composting and solid waste.
Ambassadors agree to volunteer 30 hours putting their skills to work. Ambassadors have the opportunity to staff informational booths at community events, make presentations, and work on special projects in their neighborhoods, schools, and workplaces.
CLICK HERE to learn more about the Dakota County Recycling Ambassador Program.
Wetland Health Evaluation Program (WHEP)
The Wetland Health Evaluation Program engages citizen volunteers to help monitor wetlands in their community. Since 1997, WHEP volunteers have been monitoring wetland health throughout Dakota and Hennepin counties. The WHEP program provides important information to city and county planners, engineers, resource managers, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and other local agencies to track wetland health throughout the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
WHEP volunteers work in teams to evaluate the biological health and stability of wetlands pre-selected by their community. All training and equipment is provided and volunteer times are flexible and adaptable to a busy summer schedule. Family-friendly and all ages welcome but we recommend this program to those who are 5 years old or older.
For additional information about this program, check out this intro video , awesome WCCO news story or visit the MN WHEP website.
Please select the WHEP team you would like to join. If your desired team is full, please join the team nearest to where you live. For assistance, please contact Garrett Zaffke at garrett.zaffke@co.dakota.mn.us.
- WHEP - Apple Valley Team
- WHEP - Burnsville Team
- WHEP - Cannon Falls Team (North Cannon River Watershed Management Organization)
- WHEP - Dakota County Parks Team 1
- WHEP - Dakota County Parks Team 2
- WHEP - Eagan Team
- WHEP - Farmington Team
- WHEP - Hastings Team
- WHEP - Lakeville Team
- WHEP - Mendota Heights Team
- WHEP - Rosemount Team
- WHEP - South St. Paul Team
- WHEP - West St. Paul Team
Dakota County Parks
Lebanon Hills Regional Park
Lebanon Hills Regional Park is the crown jewel and largest park in the Dakota County park system. Containing almost 2,000 acres, the park offers miles of trails and many lakes for year-round outdoor sports, recreation and environmental education. The Lebanon Hills Visitor Center, located in the eastern section of the park, offers park information, interactive nature displays, courses and programs for all ages, and equipment rentals.
