Great things are done by a series of small things brought together. -Vincent Van Gogh
MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Volunteers like you make the watershed a great place to live. Whether you volunteer once a year or once a month, our work would not be possible without you! These volunteer opportunities are a great way to learn new skills, meet fun people, and protect your local lake or stream.
Adopt a Drain
Volunteer fifteen minutes, twice a month, for cleaner waterways and healthier communities. Storm drains flow directly to local lakes, rivers, and wetlands, acting as a conduit for trash and organic pollutants. Adopt a Drain asks residents to adopt a storm drain in their neighborhood and keep it clear of leaves, trash, and other debris to reduce water pollution.
If you have adopted a drain, but need cleaning tools, contact Gael at gzembal@ninemilecreek.org to borrow a cleanup kit. We have brooms, dustpans, and leaf rakes available to borrow. Garbage bags are also available by request. Pickup and return to Discovery Point (12800 Gerard Dr., Eden Prairie).
Watch this video from Hamline’s Center for Global Environmental Education to learn more about why this is so important.
Sign up to adopt your own drain at adopt-a-drain.org/.
Storm drain marking and trash cleanups
By marking storm drains, you can remind your neighbors to keep the storm drains clear of trash and debris. The drains lead to the nearest lake or creek, and anything that ends up in the storm drain ends up in the lake.
For storm drain marking or trash cleanups, the District can provide:
- Storm drain marking kits
- Gloves
- Safety vests
- Trash bags
- Maps
Check out these simple tips from Hamline’s Center for Global Environmental Education for keeping your streets and drains clean.
The District also hosts storm drain marking events and trash cleanups. Check our upcoming events page to see if we have anything scheduled!
Adopt-a-Creek

Adopt a stretch of Nine Mile Creek and pledge to keep it clean of trash. You can adopt a stretch in a group or by yourself. Adoptions only require one aggressive pick up in early spring before plants start to grow. Learn more about the program and adopt a section here: Adopt a Creek.
Community Advisory Committee
As a member of the CAC, your role is to advise the Nine Mile Creek staff and Board of Managers as a representative of citizen interests. This includes informing the board about the public’s concerns, learning about water resource issues and management in the district, and providing assistance with select programs and events. CAC members must live or work within the district.
Volunteer and Education Equipment
The District will loan out equipment and materials to help with a volunteer project or educational program. Look through the Education Resources Booklet to see what we have. Email Gael, Education and Outreach Coordinator at gzembal@ninemilecreek.org to check availability of the equipment.
Fisheries Management
We need volunteers in warmer months to assist in fish removals at various lakes around the watershed. Volunteers will help remove fish from nets, weigh and measure them, and record data. Locations include Lake Cornelia (Edina), Penn Lake (Bloomington), and Normandale Lake/creek inlet (Bloomington). Waders and gloves are provided. Contact Water Resources Project Manager Jordan Wein to be added to the notification list: jwein@ninemilecreek.org.
Citizen Salt Watch
Volunteer to collect stormwater runoff chloride readings after snow melts. Collect this data to help the District locate chloride hotspots to target outreach about the impacts of salt on our waterbodies and steps to reduce these impacts.
The kit includes three chloride test strips to measure the chloride in melt water coming off parking lots or running down curbs. Volunteers will sample during a melt period or after rain. Sampling every two months is best, but you can sample anytime between November and April. Your data gets uploaded through the Water Reporter App and you are done! The kit comes with instructions to guide you through sampling and uploading data through the app.
This program was created in partnership with the Izaak Walton League of America.
Adopt a Dock
The District has an Adopt a Dock program for residents with lakefront property that helps detect aquatic invasive species. Dock owners install a zebra mussel detection plate at the end of their dock, and check it once a month for zebra mussels. If a possible zebra mussel is found, District staff will come out to verify, then report it to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
Citizen Assisted Monitoring Program (CAMP)
Volunteers in the CAMP program monitor the health of a lake within the District. Water samples are collected by boat twice a month from April through October. The data is used to see water quality trends and make lake management decisions. Training and equipment are provided.
Volunteers must:
- Attend a one-hour training
- Have access to a boat
- Collect bi-weekly water samples
Service learning and independent study students
Are you a student? Do you have a project in mind that could benefit water? We will work with you to develop a great service learning project. Students of all ages—from elementary, middle and high school to college—are welcome to contact us for details (see below).
Contact
Interested in participating in one of these volunteer opportunities? Contact Gael, Education & Outreach Coordinator at gzembal@ninemilecreek.org or 952-658-9104.
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