The Metropolitan Council showcased its environmentally friendly practices at the Living Green Expo, held May 6-7 at the Minnesota State Fair Grounds. From green rooftops and streambank restoration to hybrid buses and cleaner-burning fuels, the Council is committed to sustainable solutions as it operates its primary services: collecting and treating wastewater, and running a major metropolitan transit system.
Heavy fabric stabilizes soil on the bank of the Vermillion River until grasses and willow stakes can take root. Boulders help keep the current away from the stream edge. The Council partnered with Friends of the Mississippi River and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources on the streambank restoration project.
Wastewater treatment and transit are naturally friendly to the environment. But the Council has gone much further and developed processes and facilities that greatly reduce energy use, reduce chemical use to treat wastewater, improve air quality and more.
This year’s Expo, held in the Grandstand Building, featured more than 230 exhibitors of products and services related to building construction, household care, transportation, food and more. Speakers included arctic explorer Will Steger, who addressed global climate change, and Wanda Urbanska, host of the PBS series “Simple Living.” Dozens of workshops were offered on topics from how to compost to making your home more energy efficient to cooking with locally grown foods.
Visitors to the Council’s Environmental Services division exhibit learned about two wastewater treatment plants — Empire and Eagles Point — where the Council has successfully implemented many of the Minnesota Sustainable Design Standards. The exhibit also featured the Council’s work, in partnership with Friends of the Mississippi River and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, to restore streambanks and enhance trout habitat on the Vermillion River.
Mackenzie Turner of the Minneapolis Transportation Management Organization (left) encourages an Expo visitor to sign up for the Commuter Challenge. Registrants pledge to use an alternative to driving alone to work, even just once, and become eligible for prizes.
Visitors to the Metropolitan Council's Environmental Services booth learned about outstanding environmental practices at the Council's wastewater treatment plants, and could take away educational materials about reducing water use, and adopting lawn and garden practices that reduce runoff pollution.
The environmental exhibit also provided educational materials that encourage households to reduce water use, and to adopt lawn and garden practices that reduce runoff pollution.
Representatives from Metro Transit and its partner transportation management organizations gave Expo visitors the opportunity to sign up for the Commuter Challenge. The annual promotion encourages commuters to walk, bike, carpool or use transit instead of driving alone. People who pledge to try an alternative means of getting to work just one day become eligible for a variety of prizes. More than 300 people took the pledge at the Expo.
Metro Transit representatives also answered questions about the transit system and offered bus and train schedules. Many Expo visitors boarded one of Metro Transit’s hybrid electric buses on display at the event.
The Living Green Expo is touted as Minnesota’s largest environmental event. An estimated 14,000 people attended the two-day Expo. The goal is to showcase products and services that not only reduce harmful environmental and social impacts but strive toward an ethic of sustainability: meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Metro Transit was a sponsor of the 2006 Expo.
