Sustainable Landcare Training: Emerging Green Jobs

landcare training participants working in rain garden — Training at Regional Apprenticeship Training Center, Minneapolis

A job inspecting rain gardens was not exactly on Edwin’s radar when he decided to join Metro Blooms’ Sustainable Landcare Training program. The North Minneapolis resident had done some gardening in middle school and learned about plants in recent volunteer work. What he didn’t know was the potential for this interest to turn into well-paid work in a growing field.

This fall, Edwin was one of 11 participants in the training program who we hired to inspect rain gardens and other green infrastructure through a contract with the City of Minneapolis.

“I didn’t have any knowledge to what stormwater was, or stormwater runoff, or a rain garden or any BMP [best management practice],” Edwin said. “At the end of the training I had a very good entry point to all that was going on.”

His friend Deverick, who teamed up with Edwin to do inspections, said his favorite part of the program was learning about different plants and why it’s important to keep rain gardens clean, and the experience gave him a better appreciation for taking care of the environment.

Working on their own schedule, Deverick and Edwin were given a map of their inspection area and an iPad to report their findings. They checked for erosion, looked at plant health, identified native and invasive plants, and recommended actions to restore or keep the rain garden in working order.

Through Sustainable Landcare Training, we are training a green infrastructure workforce, with a focus on youths and young adults in communities impacted by environmental injustice. During the 30-hour program, which is paid, participants learn about stormwater best management practices (BMPs), including rain gardens, caring for native plants, and how to inspect and report on stormwater practices. We also explore environmental justice and how history has shaped our current landscape. The program prepares participants with job-ready skills and can open up pathways to environmental careers.

A person standing in boulevard garden teaching others — Edwin helping to train City of Minneapolis staff on using new GIS-based green infrastructure inspection form

The City of Minneapolis has a lot of experience in maintaining many kinds of stormwater practices such as ponds, underground infiltration structures, and turf, according to Shahram Missaghi, a stormwater expert with the City of Minneapolis’ Public Works, Surface Water and Sewers department. But with stormwater practices like rain gardens, he said, you need some more specialized skills like the ability to identify several plant species in one location and know the conditions they need to grow.

Missaghi said there’s a need for crews that can “first, inspect the stormwater practice to make an assessment, tell what condition it’s in, then make a recommendation on what to do to bring the original function back, and third, be able to go out there and do the job. Maybe the job is to take the dead plants out, plant new plants, add more soils, take care of erosion… But those three things, I know many private companies and cities are looking for those skills.”

How Sustainable Landcare Training started

The Sustainable Landcare Training program has roots in our community work. Several years ago we were part of a pilot project to turn boulevards into pollinator-friendly rain gardens in Near North Minneapolis. Our community-based partner organizations wanted us to provide training and work opportunities for young folks as part of the project. It was a way for local residents to benefit economically from environmental investment in the community. The expertise to care for the projects would live in the neighborhood; plus, the training could open up paid work opportunities.

Meanwhile, some of our partners identified a growing need for skilled workers knowledgeable about green infrastructure. We were hearing this from cities, conservation and watershed districts and others through Blue Thumb – Planting for Clean Water, a partnership managed by Metro Blooms. We developed the training program’s learning materials with input from several Blue Thumb partners.

[Note: We also offer a green infrastructure training program for people who are already established in the environmental or landcare field. They are usually paid by employers for this opportunity to upgrade their skills.]

How the program works

Training a group of landcare training participants on a rain garden site — Metro Blooms staff lead landcare training

The training is completed over 30 hours. Participants take part in three full days of hands-on training, one day every two weeks. In between, they complete the online learning at their own pace. They are paid, honoring their time and making it more accessible for those who might otherwise choose other opportunities.

“There are a lot of things I want to do. The money committed me, to make sure I went. It definitely was a necessary help for my family. I have to choose those things that financially benefit us,” said Danielle, another SLC participant who worked as an inspector.

As a mom who juggles raising three kids with small work gigs, Danielle appreciated the program’s flexibility. It would have been much harder for her to arrange her schedule to attend a one-week program, a schedule she has encountered in other training experiences. “That was beautiful,” she said. “I definitely think what made it accessible and possible was the time frame and structure.”

Spacing out hands-on training also helped some participants learn the material better.

“Having multiple classes spaced out – it was time to actually let it soak in the brain,” Edwin said. “Then we’d come back and review, which was also like additional help to retaining the knowledge.”

Deverick agreed. “It gave us time to know what we have to do,” he said. “They weren’t rushing us.”

Jillian, another participant who worked with Danielle as an inspector, liked seeing the stormwater practices in action during training at the Regional Apprenticeship and Training Center. She said you could follow where water goes, from the roof down the gutter through a swale, or from the parking lots into a series of rain gardens. “What has changed for me is seeing how water flows, and where it ends up,” she said, “and what ways there are to change that and slow it down and why that’s important.”

Moving forward: new partnerships and work opportunities

This year we became part of the City of Minneapolis’ Green Careers Exploration program. Green Careers provides opportunities for young people of color to prepare for green energy and environmental careers. The program supported two out of our three training groups this year, at the Regional Apprenticeship and Training Center (North Minneapolis) and Sabathani Community Center (South Minneapolis).

Markeeta Keyes, Workforce Director for the City of Minneapolis Health Department, who started Green Careers, saw the benefit of Sustainable Landcare Training from a few angles. “For my community, there’s that missing engagement around what it means to both center the environment, which I think we’re really good at in terms of justice. But in terms of potential for investment in what we do for compensation, for work, or as entrepreneurs, this is really pertinent for our community,” Keyes said. “Also, I see the benefits of working outdoors and being in nature, physically and mentally. We’re contributing to the well-being of the environment, but it’s also good for us to be outdoors.”

The inspection work for the City of Minneapolis is another big step forward. We plan to grow our ability to connect more people with work opportunities, with our Blue Thumb Partnership network and others.

Some takeaways from participants

Landcare training participant in front of Metro Blooms office — Deverick worked as a green infrastructure inspector after finishing training

Since the training, Edwin said, he has felt more care for the streets he walks down every day. He is considering a career in landcare or landscaping. “I definitely have been putting some thought into it because you can get paid for it but you can also make a change [for the environment], and that’s like payment on top of payment,” he said.

He is sharing the knowledge, too. A few times while Edwin and Deverick were working, curious passersby stopped to ask what they were doing. Edwin said they would explain about the inspections and point out invasive plants like ragweed and lamb’s quarters.

Deverick has already recommended the program to others. “I love everything we’ve been doing. It’s been cool,” he said.

Meanwhile, Jillian is looking into the future, and she sees opportunity. “The city’s not going to stop putting in rain gardens or stormwater management practices,” she said. “To be on the front end, to be one of the people who know about this, is exciting to me. It’s not necessarily about the work we’re doing now, even though that’s worked out great. It’s about what this could turn into.”

— Aleli Balagtas, Metro Blooms Editor

Learn more about Sustainable Landcare Training.