On the Screen: February


Sage Passi, RWMWD

Don’t let this winter cold spell get you down. Surround yourself with a warm blanket, pop a bowl of popcorn and settle into an armchair, and watch some short videos by local producers that let you see what steps you can take to be proactive and informed about water quality issues.


Our local watershed hero, Senator-elect Foung Hawj is the producer of two of them. The Nature of Water, is a 12 minute video available in five languages that was made in a partnership between the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization and the City of Minneapolis to increase environmental knowledge and awareness in the Southeast Asian community. Click here to watch.

This video was produced to share information with communities who carry oral cultures, who otherwise are not reached by printed environmental materials. The video covers raingardens, stormwater runoff into our lakes and rivers, what a “watershed” is and how to properly dispose of household hazardous wastes and more.  To obtain a copy of the DVD, contact Zoua Her at 612-465-8780 x208 or at zher[at]mwmo.org. We also have some in stock at our office! Contact sage[at]rwmwd.org to request a copy. You can also read a report Assessing Attitudes, Perceptions and Behaviors about Water in Minnesota’s Hmong Community by going to www.mwmo.org > Publications.

Improved Winter Maintenance: Choices for Clean Water is a recently released self-help video for residents who want to be water-friendly in their winter care of sidewalks and parking lots. There’s an awfully cute dog wearing foot protection in the video to boot. Click here to access some great tips to help you in protecting your nearest lake, river and wetland.


Ever wonder what Dave Vlasin and Eric Korte, our water quality staff are up to on lakes this time of year? There’s some great footage in a 3 minute video called Chloride and Our Water – Monitoring the Mix. Watch it here. This video captures some of the action that monitoring staff around the Twin Cities are conducting on lakes in the metro area to document and study chloride levels. Brooke Asleson, Watershed Project Manager for the MPCA’s Metro-wide Chloride Study, narrates the video.

Did you miss the Maplewood Mall Grand Opening on September 15? Here’s a chance to take in that event and get the full scoop on the variety of innovative rainwater management features RWMWD has installed to reduce stormwater run-off on a large scale at the Mall. From the cistern to tree trenches, to porous pavers and rain gardens, Chuck Turning, videographer for SCC has caught it all and turned this video into a documentary that tells the story of that event and the importance of this local project. Watch Maplewood Mall Rain Gardens Opening Celebration here.

Guests at the Maplewood Mall Stormwater Retrofit
Grand Opening Celebration.


If there are any budding/thriving videographers out there who want to volunteer to capture footage around the district for various projects for our Facebook page or cover other watershed related events please contact me at sage.passi[at]rwmwd.org