Mini Grants

AI’s Hidden Thirst: A decision-support tool for water governance in Minnesota

The rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers in Minnesota is creating strain on local water and energy resources. Even with potential economic and social benefits, communities and regulators still lack the tools to assess the sustainability impact of these new technologies.

This project will develop a first-of-its-kind, bottom-up predictive model to precisely estimate the water footprint of new or future AI hardware. The team will deliver a proof-of-concept model, a white paper, and co-design a mock-up of a community-facing dashboard in partnership with Freshwater Society and the Clifford J. Benson Center for Community Partnerships. This work will provide an essential decision support tool for Minnesota, empowering communities and enabling science-based environmental governance for a sustainable technological future.

Team members: Wenkai Guan (PI), Computer Science, UMN Morris Division of Science and Mathematics; Yang (Katie) Zhao (Co-PI), Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, CSE; Zhichao Cao (Co-PI), School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, ASU; Tianlong Chen (Co-PI), Department of Computer Science, UNC-Chapel Hill

Art-Science Collaboration: Clean water, naturally

Clean water depends on a multitude of biological processes that provide unseen ecosystem services to sustain freshwaters. Key players include filter feeders, detritivores, scavengers, and microbes, all of whom break down and remove organic matter that could otherwise degrade water quality. Despite their importance, the role of these organisms is largely unknown and invisible to the public.

This project will catalyze engagement at the intersection of art, ecology, and education through a collaboration between artist Ellen Sandbeck and the Large Lakes Observatory (LLO) at the University of Minnesota Duluth. A paper-cut artist, Sandbeck will install an exhibition in the Research Lab Building involving “environmental cleaner” species, whose ecological roles support keeping water clean. This exhibition will act as a pilot project for LLO to expand into new ways of creative exchange, wherein artists and scientists work together to illuminate and support stewardship of freshwater ecosystems.

Team members: Catherine O’Reilly (PI), UMD Swenson College of Science & Engineering; Ellen Sandbeck, local artist; Julie Delliquanti, Tweed Museum of Art

Bringing Urban Ecology to the Public through Classical Music Composition

Over half of the world’s population lives in urban areas. Meeting sustainability goals requires an understanding of urban ecology and the engagement of urban communities in science. Sharing data is rarely enough – often, people benefit from storytelling and other creative approaches to engage with science. 

The project team aims to bring urban ecological research to the public through classical music through a partnership between the Minneapolis-St. Paul Urban Long-term Ecological Research program (MSP-LTER) and classical music composer Jessi Harvey. Harvey has a track record of communicating science through unique compositions where elements of the music often symbolize aspects of environmental science. Funding will support a musical performance at the Bell Museum in 2026. The team will collect audience data to study how musical engagement might affect an appreciation of urban ecology.

Team members: Emilie Snell-Rood (PI), Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, CBS; Jessi Harvey, Montana-based composer

EcoliteracySCHOOL: Local SE MN field experience & new partner pilots 

EcoliteracySCHOOL is a long-standing collaboration between University of Minnesota Rochester and Pine Island High School, connecting public health and biology students through 15 weeks of shared coursework, mentorship, and immersive outdoor learning. Each fall, students participate in multi-day field experiences that emphasize the link between environmental and human health.

Historically, students have traveled to Lake Superior and surrounding areas for their major multi-day field experience, though rising transportation costs and the loss of key transit partnerships have made travel to Northern Minnesota unsustainable. This project will support the development and implementation of two new, local field experiences in Southern Minnesota – focusing on a regional watershed in 2026 and the Mississippi River in 2027. The project team’s goal is to create meaningful, cost-effective experiences that preserve the program’s impact while increasing long-term sustainability.

Team members: Jessie Barnett (PI), The Center for Learning Innovation, UMN Rochester; Megan Schimek, Pine Island High School; Dawn Ryan, Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park

eDNA Monitoring & Analysis: Training students to detect aquatic invasive species

Aquatic invasive species (AIS) such as zebra mussels and starry stonewort continue to spread rapidly across Minnesota’s lakes, threatening ecosystem health, recreation, and local economies. Early detection and rapid response are the most effective strategies to limit their establishment – yet traditional monitoring methods, manual surveys, and diving inspections are costly and labor intensive. 

Environmental DNA (eDNA) monitoring offers a sensitive, cost-effective solution by detecting genetic material shed by organisms into water, allowing species identification without direct observation. This project will create a hands-on upper-level course on eDNA monitoring, focusing on detecting AIS in Minnesota lakes. Students will gain practical experience in field sampling, lab work, and data analysis while working with local lake associations. Outcomes include training students in applied molecular ecology and producing useful AIS data for lake managers. By connecting research, teaching, and outreach, this course will strengthen community-University partnerships and support early detection and management of AIS, helping protect Minnesota’s lakes and biodiversity.

Team members: Dhananjay Gotarkar (PI), Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, CFANS; Lynn Waterhouse, Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, CFANS; Stephen Sundberg, Christmas Lake Homeowners Association; Tom Frahm, Lake Minnetonka Association

Fostering Community Engagement and Education About Invasive Plant Species in Duluth

Invasive plant species have long been known to negatively impact biodiversity and ecosystem services; however, members of the community are often unaware of these harmful effects or ways to mitigate them. One way to combat this is to provide opportunities for community education.

In this project, the Students Against Invasive Species Club (SAISC) – a student organization at the University of Minnesota Duluth – will collaborate with two local nonprofit organizations to promote community engagement and education. SAISC members will remove invasive plant species, notably common and glossy buckthorn, at these sites. Following removal, sustainable native plant gardens will be created, and educational signage will be posted with information about ecosystem health and invasive plant identification and management strategies, allowing visitors to learn about the ecological impacts of native and invasive species.

Team members: Paul Bates (PI), UMD Swenson College of Science & Engineering; Students Against Invasive Species Club: Helena Carlson, Kevin Castaneda, Thomas Belschner, and Sadie Willkomm

Honoring Dakota: A model for building resilient communities

The Honoring Dakota Project (HDP) is a new Red Wing and Prairie Island Indian Community-based organization. HDP applies, builds on, and grows the practice of Mitakuye Owasin (translated to “we are all related” in English) to heal the land, people, relationships, and ecosystems disrupted by colonization.

Over 2025-2026, the organization is working with University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs and the University Extension’s Southeast Regional Sustainable Development Partnership (RSDP) on strategic planning and organizational development. This partnership, rooted in practices of deep relationship building and engagement, aims to co-create a roadmap to expand HDP’s impact beyond arts and culture-focused projects. Community-University collaboration will be in-person with strategic planning activities throughout the year including focus groups, feedback sessions, and events. An IonE Mini Grant will provide travel funding to support the project’s authentic engagement and mutual learning.

Team members: Leadership and Management Area, UMN Humphrey School of Public Affairs: Tia Sherèe Gaynor (PI) and Brandi Blessett; Andi Sutton, Southeast RSDP; Honoring Dakota Project: Nicky Buck, Jasmine Fiddler, & Kim Lampe; Graduate students in UMN Humphrey School of Public Affairs: Amy Thomas, Moira Villiard, Larissa Littlewolf, John Langen, and Gabrielle Agbenyiga

Inaugural Minnesota Stormwater Pond Research & Community Symposium

There are estimated to be more than 30,000 stormwater ponds in Minnesota. Many of these ponds were constructed decades ago to capture pollutants, reduce runoff volume, and decrease the rate of downstream release. Current evaluation reveals many of these ponds have outlived their life expectancy and require inspection and maintenance to maintain effectiveness and meet community needs. Pond owners and operators require research-based solutions to rehabilitate ponds as well as a space to share ideas and strategies that many of them have discovered on their own.

This project will develop a two-day event – the Minnesota Stormwater Pond Research Symposium – bringing together urban stormwater pond practitioners, professionals, policy leaders, and researchers from public and private sectors for an opportunity to network and exchange knowledge to help make the practice more effective and efficient to meet community water resource needs.

Team members: Water Resources Center, CFANS: John Bilotta (PI), Maggie Karschnia, Wen Martinez, and Katya Del Mundo

The Social Ecology of Beaver Conservation: Linking perceptions, values, and management

In Minnesota, North American beavers provide important ecological benefits, while also creating conflicts with human land use. As ecosystem engineers, beavers form wetlands that improve water quality and buffer communities from climate-driven flooding and drought, yet their activities can also flood roads, damage infrastructure, and alter landscapes. These mixed benefits and challenges highlight the need to understand how Minnesotans perceive and value beavers and the habitats they create.

This project uses a best-worst scaling (BWS) experiment to examine public perceptions, values, and management preferences related to beavers and their landscapes. Through an interactive survey at the Driven to Discover Research Facility during the 2026 Minnesota State Fair, participants will evaluate beaver-influenced habitats and share ecological and aesthetic values. Findings will help inform Minnesota Department of Natural Resources outreach and support socially responsive, community-engaged approaches to beaver and habitat management.

Team members: Kyle Smith (PI), Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, CBS; Afton Clarke-Sather (Co-PI), UMD Department of Environment, Sustainability & Geography; Adam Landon, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR)

Water, Climate, and Cultural archives in South Asia

Folk and oral traditions form some of the earliest ecological archives. From fisherfolk songs and sailors’ chants to modern novels and poems, these cultural forms show the sea, rivers, and wetlands as archives of memory and survival. They reveal how communities, especially marginalized ones, have lived with environmental precarity that now defines the global climate crisis.

This project investigates how Indian coastal and water narratives record and interpret environmental crises over time, focusing on climate change, ecological vulnerability, and social inequality. By analyzing texts from fisherfolk songs and sailors’ chants to contemporary novels and poetry, the project highlights how communities historically navigated ecological precarity and social injustice. It brings together literary scholarship, environmental science, and digital mapping through an interactive ArcGIS StoryMap and a Water Archive, which collects oral histories, artifacts, and literary materials from coastal and riverine communities. The project emphasizes collaborative learning and public engagement, including workshops with students, local educators, and community partners – connecting South Asian water narratives to contemporary freshwater challenges in the Midwest.

Team members: Elliott H. Powell (PI), American Studies, Asian American Studies, CLA; Pratiti Ketoki, PhD student, Cultural Studies & Comparative Literature; Anushmita Mohanty, UWM graduate student, English

Beyond phosphorus: managing lakes for dual-nutrient reduction

Humans have polluted lakes with excess nutrients, causing blooms of toxic algae and fish kills. While phosphorus management is a major focus in Minnesota, excess nitrogen also has negative effects like suppressing the growth of native aquatic plants. Despite current regulations on phosphorus pollution, phosphorus-rich sediment from past pollution remains in lakes, causing poor water quality today. Lake managers reduce the impact of legacy phosphorus by removing carp to limit sediment resuspension and using chemicals to trap phosphorus. However, there is little consideration of how these restoration efforts influence nitrogen or how reductions in nitrogen may also improve water quality. 

In collaboration with lake managers, the project team will monitor pre- and post-management conditions in three lake systems with a focus on nitrogen. The team will use these results to develop best management practices for reducing both phosphorus and nitrogen, allowing managers to employ the most effective strategies to keep our lakes clear.

Team Members: Jake Walsh (PI), Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, CFANS; Catherine Polik, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, CBS; Blayne Eineichner, Comfort Lake Forest Lake Watershed District; Dan Cibulka, Sherburne Water and Soil Conservation District; Benjamin Elfelt, Chisago Lakes Lake Improvement District

Building Bridges & Biodiversity: Empowering the Commonwealth Terrace Cooperative community

Commonwealth Terrace Cooperative (CTC) residents have expressed strong interest in adopting home-scale composting as a method to reduce waste, enrich soils, and support local biodiversity, yet they lack both the infrastructure and the targeted educational programming necessary to turn this interest into sustained practice.

This project will implement a 12-month education and infrastructure program to enhance CTC residents’ knowledge of soil biodiversity and its climate benefits. The initiative integrates interactive modules, a compost food-web matching game, and build-your-own worm bin workshop, with the installation of locked centralized compost bins to meet a vital unfunded community need. Participants will learn to distinguish compostable from non-compostable inputs and explore the diverse organisms in healthy compost. By combining experiential learning, expert guidance, and durable infrastructure, the project fosters lasting stewardship, strengthens research–community ties, and embeds sustainable composting at CTC.

Team Members: Jesús Pinto-Ledezma (PI), Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior (EEB); Lucy Rea, EEB; Cibele Silva, EEB; Yorkinoy Shermatova, EEB; Dennis Kim, EEB; Kavy Pathirana, EEB; Brooklyn Lennes, EEB

Driving Sustainability: Electrifying a food truck in Worthington

The Tacos Coahuila food truck in Worthington, Minnesota, seeks to address the environmental and economic challenges associated with using gas generators to power food truck appliances. Gas generators are not only costly to operate but also contribute to air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

Tacos Coahuila aims to partner in installing a battery system to power its appliances and share findings with the community in both English and Spanish. This initiative builds on a previous project led by the World Mart food truck in Worthington in collaboration with the University of Minnesota Extension Southwest Regional Sustainable Development Partnership (RSDP), Clean Energy Resource Teams, and the UMN Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. The prior project explored designs and considerations for replacing gas generators with battery systems and solar panels to enhance efficiency and sustainability. The new partnership seeks to replicate and expand these findings, promoting cost-effective, sustainable practices among food trucks, with a focus on the battery system.

Team Members: Beth Labenz (PI), Southwest Regional Sustainable Development Partnership (RSDP), Extension; Conchita Paez-Sievert, SNAP-Ed, Extension; Nadya Bucklin, Clean Energy Resource Team (CERTs); Jesus Pinales, Tacos Coahuila

Engaging youth in testing novel methods of weed suppression and soil remediation in urban ecological restorations

Urban ecological restorations are vital for improving biodiversity, air and water quality, and providing social and cultural benefits to communities. However, restoring urban ecosystems comes with unique challenges, including heavy metal contamination in soils and high weed abundance. In the Twin Cities, industrial activities have left soils polluted with heavy metals, posing risks to people and wildlife. Our project tests multiple weed suppression methods, including exploring the effects of adding biochar – a charcoal-like material made by burning plant matter – on soil health, weed suppression, and pollutant remediation. While biochar has been well-studied in agriculture, its effects in urban ecological restorations are less understood. This work is a collaboration among scientists, local restoration practitioners, and high school students from the nonprofit Urban Roots, offering both hands-on research and educational opportunities in urban environmental restoration.

Team Members: Lindsey Kemmerling (PI), Ecology, Evolution & Behavior; Alexandra Griffin, EEB; Leta Landucci, EEB; Madeline Taylor, Earth and Environmental Sciences; David Woods, Urban Roots

Healing relationships with Manoomin

The “Healing Relationships with Manoomin Guidebook” shares teachings from 17 Manoomin knowledge holders on healing relationships with Manoomin (Ojibwemowin word for Psiη in Dakota, wild rice in English). The guidebook is intended for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Manoomin harvesters, stewards, and other relatives who would like to learn from each other about the gifts Manoomin offers us all. Four fundamental teachings emerged from the stories knowledge holders shared about Manoomin relationships. These teachings are shared so that we all may learn from them. The cultural advisor, Kathy Chosa Smith, enrolled member of Keweenaw Bay Indian Community and Manoomin Ganawandang with Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, observed “Manoomin is speaking through us, Manoomin is a beautiful gift that brings our voices together.” The project team seeks support to share the guidebook and these many voices, free-of-charge, with community members at Manoomin events.

Team Members: Mae Davenport (PI), Center for Changing Landscapes; Giovanni Delgado Ortiz, Department of Forest Resources

Just Us Garden

Prisons and the experiences of those who are currently incarcerated are often left out of discussions about environmental sustainability and environmental justice. However, prisons are places of racialized violence, act as spaces of food apartheid, and are massive sources of food waste and other chemical inputs. 

The Just Us Garden aims to grow a vibrant community space in North Minneapolis that raises awareness about the poor food quality in Minnesota prisons. The garden will include growing beds that are the same size as prison mattresses, planted with food and flowers requested by someone who is currently incarcerated, and will feature their stories, testimonies and perspectives on food justice and sovereignty. The food from the gardens will be shared with their family, friends and local community. These beds will illustrate the abundance that can grow within the size of a prison bed and the possibility of transformation that is possible in every person. Importantly, the garden will also be a space for community gathering, youth education, and for people coming home from prisons to heal and engage in garden-based restorative programs.

Team Members: Lee Guekguezian (PI), Center for Urban and Regional Affairs, Humphrey School; Emma Verkuilen, Center for Urban and Regional Affairs, School of Public Health; Maurice Ward, JIIVE; Clinton Omuya, Faribault Correctional Facility; Michael Chaney; Fayola Jacobs, Urban and Regional Planning; Lia Spaniolo, Extension in Hennepin County; Mary Rogers, Department of Entomology; Julia Brokaw, Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation; Anita Gates, Zintkala Luta

Mass for the Endangered: Supporting biodiversity in the Twin Ports

Despite the availability of extensive scientific research on local biodiversity challenges, this research often fails to inspire tangible conservation efforts at the community level. Many people, especially younger generations, feel increasingly discouraged by anthropogenic climate change and its impacts on biodiversity, yet lack a sense of agency or empowerment to enact change.

This project addresses the need for publicly-engaged, interdisciplinary work that fosters conservation efforts at the community level by increasing the public’s emotional connection to the problem of biodiversity loss. The project will host two public, interactive performances of Sarah Kirkland Snider’s “Mass for the Endangered,” a powerful contemporary classical work that reimagines the traditional Catholic Mass as a prayer for endangered species and their habitats. Performances will include pre-show talks by conservation experts and educational displays featuring endangered habitats and species from our region, including the Canada lynx, wood turtle, and piping plover. Attendees, including 400 elementary school students, will receive packets of native plant seeds for distribution. This event aims to make the problem of biodiversity loss accessible and personally meaningful to diverse audiences in the Duluth-Superior region, fostering direct conservation activity.

Team Members: Kathryn Van Wert (PI), UMD English Department; Richard Carrick, Borealis Chamber Artists

Our Wildlife, Our Identity: Connecting public perceptions and biodiversity conservation in Minnesota

Biodiversity loss remains one of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time, yet public support for conservation efforts often hinges on a small subset of wildlife that capture cultural resonance. These “ambassador,” “flagship,” or “iconic” species often symbolize entire landscapes and local identities, galvanizing community support and financial backing for conservation efforts that benefit both the species themselves and the ecosystems they represent.

This project explores how public perceptions of iconic wildlife shape support for biodiversity conservation. Through an interactive art and survey experience at the Driven to Discover (D2D) Research Facility at the 2025 Minnesota State Fair, we will engage hundreds of participants in identifying which plants and animals they consider most iconic to Minnesota and why. The project brings together science, creativity, and community voices to examine how cultural values align – or don’t – with conservation needs. Findings will be shared through a peer-reviewed research article, a community-created art mural for outreach and storytelling, and a research brief featuring visually accessible infographics tailored to the needs of our community partners. By uncovering what drives public connection to wildlife, this work will help conservation and education organizations more effectively engage public audiences and build long-term support for protecting both iconic species and the ecosystems they represent.

Team Members: Katherine Charton (Co-PI), Institute on the Environment; Amy Waananen (Co-PI), IonE; Jessica Hellmann, IonE; Marissa Ahlering, The Nature Conservancy; Rob Croll, Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission; Jennifer Stampe, Bell Museum; Hilarie Sorensen, Minnesota Sea Grant

Site evaluation and construction of the new West Bank community garden

Since 2015, The IonE Mini Grant has funded the establishment and maintenance of the West Bank Community Garden (WBCG). IonE’s dedication to sustainable futures has allowed students to maintain twelve private and three communal plots in the garden, uniting Cedar Riverside residents, students, and faculty in a shared learning experience. Following the news of necessary construction to aid water infiltration issues around the Wilson library, the garden leadership team has decided to pursue a new location for the living learning lab in coordination with UMN Landcare and Facilities Management. Due to previous soil quality and water filtration struggles at the current site, the WBCG will pursue a collaborative process of new site evaluation, design, and establishment to create a more sustainable and viable garden for the university and broader community.

Team Members: Thomas Michaels (PI), UMN Department of Horticulture; Melissa Licht, UMN English Department; Elizabeth Gens, University of Minnesota Twin Cities; Ella Kunstman, University of Minnesota Twin Cities

Turning Textile Waste into Plant Protection: Developing and testing biodegradable weed suppressant mats from recycled post-consumer apparel

The United States generates approximately 17 million tons of textile waste annually. Of the total textile waste generated, only 14.7% was recycled. The environmental impact is further underscored by textiles representing 7.7% of all municipal solid waste deposited in landfills nationwide.

This project addresses the growing issue of textile waste by transforming discarded clothing into biodegradable weed suppressant mats for sustainable landscaping. Using the Fiber Shredder, a patent pending mechanical recycling technology developed at UMD, post-consumer apparel and pre-consumer textile scraps will be recycled into fibers that will be thermally bonded using biodegradable PLA film to form nonwoven mats. These mats will be tested for tensile strength and water permeability and field-evaluated at community partners Shoreview Natives in Two Harbors and the UMN Student Organic Farm in St. Paul to assess their effectiveness in suppressing weeds and retaining moisture. This collaboration aims to demonstrate a practical, eco-friendly alternative to plastic weed barriers while advancing circular economy principles. The project will not only divert waste from landfills but also serve as a model for campus-community partnerships in sustainable innovation.

Team Members: Abigail Clarke-Sather (PI), Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, UMD; Hira Durrani, Applied Materials Science, UMD