Be a Steward
sort: title | dateAlternative Fueled Vehicles
updated: Monday, March 19, 2012The City of St. Louis Park promotes alternative use vehicles. St. Louis Park was the first city in the state to own an E-85 pump to fuel its E-85 fleet, which currently consists of 23 vehicles. The City also owns and operates 11 hybrid vehicles.
Click here for more information on alternative fuels and alternative vehicles.
Alternative Landscaping
updated: Thursday, April 26, 2012Alternative or Sustainable Landscapes encompass a variety of plants, aesthetics and biological dynamics that are promoted in St. Louis Park. We appreciate and plant many native and alternative landscapes on our own City properties and encourage you to consider an alternative landscape for your property. Click here for more information on implementing...
Bottled Water vs. Tap Water
updated: Tuesday, April 24, 2012.gif)
Is bottled water really cleaner? One of the City of St. Louis Park's goals is to provide an uninterrupted supply of safe, high quality water to our community.
Click here for a fact sheet that discusses the relative safety of bottled versus tap water.
Buckthorn
updated: Monday, March 19, 2012Buckthorn is an invasive terrestrial (on land) plant that is found in many areas throughout St. Louis Park, the Metro area and, unfortunately, almost all of Minnesota. Buckthorn removal on private properties is encouraged by the City of St. Louis Park. The City loans out Weed Wrenches to any residents, for a one week period, which...
Clean Green!
updated: Monday, March 19, 2012Reduce toxic chemicals in your St. Louis Park home and reduce the amount you spend on cleaner, leaving your house smelling clean and fresh. Below are just a few ways to clean your house using natural products:
General Cleaner: 1/2 cup baking soda mixed with a liquid vegetable based soap makes a great cleaner for counters (and won't leave scratches), sinks and other surfaces.
Disinfectant Spray: 2 cups water, 1/2 cup vinegar and 10 drops of an essential oil like lemon oil or tea tree oil. Spray this onto counters, bathroom, and floors.
Window and Glass Cleaner: Club soda in a spray bottle. Wipe clean.
Furniture Polish: Put olive oil and lemon juice on a clean cloth. Wipe onto wood. Wipe off. Take care not to get onto upholstery.
Click here for more green recipes.
Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs
updated: Wednesday, May 09, 2012They use about 2/3 less energy than standard incandescent bulbs to provide the same amount of light, and last up to 10 times longer. Please recycle them as hazardous waste. For proper disposal, all St. Louis Park residents may call Hennepin County at: (612) 348-3777 or go to Hennepin County.
Click here for more information on compact fluorescent light bulbs.
Donating Memorial Trees and Benches
updated: Tuesday, April 24, 2012The City of St. Louis Park encourages you to honor someone in the form of a dedicated tree or bench placed in one of our parks. A tree or bench is a wonderful way to preserve cherished thoughts of individuals you care about, at the same time enhancing our community and environment. Our wish is to provide a perfect setting for your dedication. For...
Energy
updated: Monday, March 19, 2012Do you know there are many different ways St. Louis Park residents may save on energy bills?
Click on the links below to learn more.
Environmental Stewardship
updated: Thursday, April 26, 2012As a steward of its environment, the City of St. Louis Park promotes recycling in many of its higher-volume parks. To encourage this practice and reduce the amount of trash thrown into the recycling containers, the city is now using a yellow barrel with a flat top in these locations. It is clearly marked and identifiable as a recycling container.
Get the Lead Out!
updated: Monday, March 19, 2012
When fishing St. Louis Park lakes, please consider using lead-free fishing tackle.
The lead-free fishing tackle promotion is a part of a program sponsored by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Department of Natural Resources.
Click here for more information about how to get the lead out and participate in the tackle exchange.
Click here for more information on where to drop off your lead tackle or call Hennepin County Environmental Services at (612) 348-3777.
St. Louis Park offers three lakes stocked by the DNR for fishing. Click here for lake locations.
Green Building
updated: Wednesday, February 29, 2012St. Louis Park encourages the use of green building practices whenever possible. Green building practices encompass many different aspects from design to reusing materials to alternative landscaping.Click here for more information.
Greening Your Home
updated: Monday, March 19, 2012Get the whole family involved in achieving a greener home, making St. Louis Park a greener place to live!
Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Turn off lights when no one is in the room.
- Close heat vents in areas of your home that are not being used - bedrooms by day, office at night, etc.
- Install a programmable thermostat and set it to lower temperatures at night and when no one is home during the day. Each degree lower can decrease a heating bill by 1%.
- Unplug coffee makers, toasters, food processors, etc. when not in use.
- Use power strips to turn off groups of appliances when not in use. Group together the DVD player, VCR, stereo and gaming units and power them down when no one is around.
- Set humidifiers and dehumidifiers to turn on only when the humidity level warrants.
- Don't overuse exhaust fans in bathrooms, kitchens or basements as they can suck out a roomful of warm air very quickly requiring your furnace to work harder.
Click here for more ideas.
Locally, the Center for Energy and the Environment has low cost loans to help make energy efficient improvements.
Click here for more information on their programs.
Invasive Species
updated: Monday, March 19, 2012There are insects, plants and animals that are native to St. Louis Park and those that are not. For example, some insects have ample opportunity to travel to our area on lumber trucks, while some are accidently brought over from Asia on a shipment of goods. This import of non-native or invasive insects disrupts the...
No Mow Grass
updated: Monday, March 19, 2012No or low mow grass is a great alternative to our standard, high maintenance, Kentucky Bluegrass. No/low mow grass is easy to install and will only grow to a limited height (approximately 6-8 inches) so you will never need to mow it, saving fossil fuels, and other inputs such as water and fertilizer. Click here for more information on no/low...
Plant a Tree
updated: Thursday, April 26, 2012The City of St. Louis Park loses hundreds of trees a year due to development, diseases and other factors. Unfortunately not all trees are being replaced on private properties (the City does try to replace trees removed in parks and boulevards on a one for one basis within a year of tree removal) and our mature tree canopy is diminishing.
Public Weed Control/Spraying
updated: Friday, May 11, 2012The City will begin contract spraying for weed control in selected parks and along sidewalks, retaining walls, in medians, and turn lanes. The contractor is Philip's Tree Care LLC. They will be using Glyphosate and Payload chemicals which have been determined to be safe for public use. Click here for more information and a list of parks...
Recycle Your Cell Phone or Printer Cartridge
updated: Tuesday, April 24, 2012Recycling Association of Minnesota has provided the City of St. Louis Park with collection boxes to recycle the following items: cell phones, PDA's, iPods, MP3 players, and printer inkjet cartridges. These collection boxes are located at City Hall, the Recreation Center, Westwood Hills Nature Center and the Municipal Service Center. For more information...
Save Energy
updated: Monday, February 13, 2012Do you know there are many different ways St. Louis Park residents may save on energy bills?
Click on the links below to learn more.
On This Page
- Alternative Fueled Vehicles
- Alternative Landscaping
- Bottled Water vs. Tap Water
- Buckthorn
- Clean Green!
- Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs
- Donating Memorial Trees and Benches
- Energy
- Environmental Stewardship
- Get the Lead Out!
- Green Building
- Greening Your Home
- Invasive Species
- No Mow Grass
- Plant a Tree
- Public Weed Control
- Recycle Your Cell Phone or Printer Cartridge
- Save Energy