Green Career Pathways in the Twin Cities

Below is a sample resume + cover letter to reference when creating your own for your job search. We highly recommend that you personalize yours to show your individual passions, strengths, and experiences to potential employers:

SLC Sample Resume

SLC Sample Cover Letter

Knowledge Developed in the SLC:

• Stormwater Best Management Practice (BMP) maintenance + inspection
• Basics of Botany and Plant Morphology
• Reading Planting Plans
• Hydrology and erosion science
• Basic plant botany
• Native plant and weed identification
• Pollinator identification
• Twin Cities environmental history and environmental justice

Potential Career Paths for SLC graduates:

• Green stormwater infrastructure installation, maintenance, and inspection
• Environmental justice advocate
• Community organizer
• Native plant nursery employee
• Landcare entrepreneur/business owner
• Nonprofit employee
• Youth program coordinator
• Environmental educator
• Water permit inspector
• Government employee
• For more ideas, check out this great list from our partners at Freshwater

 

Check out this list of Sustainable Landcare Job Boards

Job Searching

As you are searching for jobs:

• • Reflect on your needs, wants, and preferences. Write up a goal statement for your job search, based on those priorities.
  • Search for organizations you might be interested in working for. Look for their job posting webpage. This may be called “Careers” or “Job Opportunities” or “Work With Us”. These pages might be hidden within the bottom of the organization’s home page, or in a drop-down menu.
  • Sign up for email lists or listservs of industries you’re interested in.
  • Find job boards related to the work you’re seeking. These may be by topic, sector, or specific to employers. Check out our list of job boards related to stormwater best management.  practices. Subscribe to the job boards you want to follow, or check them frequently.
  • Reach out to your network and let people know you’re looking for work.
  • Follow up with former supervisors or people you might want to act as references.
  • Make a LinkedIn and update it.

• Minnesota GreenCorps  preserves and protects Minnesota’s environment while training a new generation of environmental professionals.
• Renewable Energy Partners provides workforce training and career opportunities in renewable energy, including paid on-the-job learning through the Regional Apprenticeship Training Center in North Minneapolis.
• Reuse MN provides volunteer and job opportunities; it is a member-based nonprofit that works on behalf of repair, resale, and rental businesses to promote the reuse economy in the state of Minnesota.
• Tree Trust transforms lives and landscapes by engaging people to build skills for meaningful careers, inspiring people to plant trees, and making our community a greener, healthier place to live.
• Conservation Corps of Minnesota and Iowa offers opportunities for young adults ages 19-25 to serve in a variety of different AmeriCorps programs focusing on outdoor education and conservation.

Name	Organization	Description
Step Up	City of Minneapolis	Step Up brings together Minneapolis young people (ages 14-21) with Twin Cities employers through internships and training that build careers and lead to a diverse, skilled and equitable workforce. Since 2003, Step Up has created over 29,000 high-quality internship opportunities. Each year, Step Up trains and places hundreds of Minneapolis high school youth in paid internships with over 200 top Twin Cities employers. Learn about opportunities here!
Mississippi River Green Team	Mississippi Watershed Management Organization	The Mississippi River Green Team is a two-year employment and conservation program for Minneapolis youth between the ages of 14 and 16. The MWMO and the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board created the Green Team as an opportunity for youth to have a mentored job experience, learn about environmental careers and acquire new skills. The Green Team is a special environmental unit of the MPRB’s Teen Teamworks program.
Brooklynk Get Ready	Brooklynk	Brooklynk runs youth jobs programming from young people ages 14-24 in the Northwest suburbs (Brooklyn Park, Brooklyn Center, North Minneapolis, Robbinsdale, and more). Check out their job board, work readiness training, and summer internship opportunities.
Green Garden Bakery	Green Garden Bakery	Green Garden Bakery is a youth-run social entrepreneurship program based in North Minneapolis. They bake vegetable-based desserts using sustainable packaging.
Helping Hand Companies	Helping Hand Companies	Helping Hand Companies is a local business in North Minneapolis that works with youth and young adults to gain workforce experience, with a specific emphasis on green careers.  Helping Hand is committed to promoting an ethic that embodies the responsible planning and management of the natural world and the impact of human activity on its condition.
Teen Teamworks	Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board	Summer and year-round employment opportunities for Minneapolis youth ages 14-24 to work with the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board, with a focus on outdoor work and pathways to green careers.
Spark-Y Youth Programs	Spark-Y	Spark-Y serves its mission of youth empowerment through three branches: hands-on learning, urban agriculture lab, and youth pathways. These initiatives work together systemically, creating multiple touch points for youth engagement. Spark-Y empowers over 2,500 Twin Cities youth annually. You can browse opportunities with Spark-Y here
Right Track	City of St. Paul	Right Track brings together the City of Saint Paul, the Saint Paul Public Schools, local businesses, and community-based organizations to provide employment opportunities and professional skills training for youth. Together we are building a skilled and diverse workforce for the future.
Environmental Stewardship Institute	Friends of the Mississippi River	The Environmental Stewardship Institute fosters environmental leaders through an immersive program that supports exploration of the environmental field. For high school age youth.
Summer Internships	Urban Roots	For youth ages 14-18 who live or attend school on the East Side of St. Paul. Interns have the opportunity to work in their urban gardens, kitchens, and local parks while building 21st century job skills, learning more about environmental issues and creating a positive impact on your community.
Farm Stewards	Youth Farm	Youth development organization focused on North Minneapolis and St. Paul, with an emphasis on supporting leadership in community farming.
Youth Activities	Sabathani Community Center	Paid training opportunities and after school programming for southside youth, including green building program, drone operating, and afterschool basketball.
Youth Outdoors	Conservation Corps of Minnesota and Iowa	Paid summer opportunity doing conservation and community improvement projects. Twin Cities youth ages 15-18 can participate as crew members, and young adults ages 19-25 serve as AmeriCorps crew leaders for the younger youth.

Volunteering can be a great way to share what you’ve learned in the SLC training! It is also a great way to make connections and to care for your community. Here are some potential volunteer opportunities to explore:

Metro-wide

• Adopt A Storm Drain: this statewide program allows you to “adopt” a storm drain in your neighborhood, clearing leaves and trash several times a year.
• Sign up for the Minnesota Water Steward training
• Join the Minnesota Bumble Bee Atlas 
• Join the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project
• Support indigenous-led organization Wakan Tipi Awanyankapi in stewarding the culturally signficant area around Wakan Tipi Cave in St. Paul
• Support indigenous-led farm Dream of Wild Health – they host weekly Fridays on the farm for volunteers.
• Support prairie restorations, buckthorn removal, prairie seed collection, tree planting and other ecological restoration projects at your local parks: Minneapolis Parks & Rec, Three Rivers Parks, Mississippi Park Connection,  Minnesota DNR, Great River Greening, Tree Trust 

Southside Minneapolis

• East Phillips Neighborhood Institute (EPNI): environmental justice advocacy
• MN Environmental Justice Table 
• Sabathani Community Center supports south Minneapolis with a variety of programming for employment, emergency needs, and youth opportunities. They need volunteers for their food distribution center, clothing closet, social media, community outreach, leadership, and more.
• Urban Ventures focuses on economic and educational opportunities for residents of south Minneapolis, with some programming offered in Spanish. They have a variety of volunteer opportunities, ranging from working with youth to farming to helping with summer programming and one-time events.

North Minneapolis

• Community Members for Environmental Justice (CMEJ):
• Project Sweetie Pie: working around environmental and food justice in North Minneapolis.
• Jordan Area Community Council: focused on housing, health and safety, youth, the environment, and engagement in the Jordan neighborhood.
• Northside Residents Redevelopment Council: connect with neighbors to support quality of life improvement for residents in the Willard Hay and Near North neighborhoods.

Here are some opportunities to grow your skillset beyond the Sustainable Land Care training.

Comprehensive Employment Services

• EMERGE Minnesota, a partner in the Blue Thumb Sustainable Land Care training program, has comprehensive workforce services. Connect with them for support on employment connections, breaking down barriers to employment through a holistic, support environment.

Drivers License Resources

• A driver’s license is often required by employers, and identified as a potential barrier to employment in sustainable land care. Here are some resources available to support SLC trainees in earning a driver’s license.
• For information on Driver’s Education, visit the MN Department of Transportation.
• Driver’s Licenses for All: As of 10/3/2023, Minnesotans can get a standard state identification card, permit, or driver’s license without needing to provide proof of legal presence.

Criminal Justice Involved Resources

• CareerForce through the State of Minnesota has resources to support justice-involved individuals. Check out their website and reach out to their career specialists for advising and personal assistance.
• EMERGE Minnesota also has a reentry program, supporting individuals with a criminal history in overcoming obstacles to employment and overcoming past traumas.

Name	Organization	Description
Open Road Fund	Nexus Community Partners	Grant awards of $50,000 to Black community members who are ages 14+, live in Minnesota, and are descendants of the Atlantic slave trade. Project resources can be used for several wealth-building initiatives. Fund application reopens on June 19, 2024
Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation	North Star STEM Alliance	An initiative to double the number of Black, Latino, Native American, Alaska Native and Pacific Islander students receiving baccalaureate degrees in science, technology, engineering and math.
MN SAF Early Career Gap Funding	MN Society of American Foresters (SAF)	The MN Society of American Foresters (SAF) Early Career Gap Funding Award aims to offer financial support to a student or young professional from underrepresented groups in forestry and natural resources to help them grow and thrive in the profession. The awardee will receive a $100 to $1500 contribution towards early career gap funding.
ISA Certified Arborist Scholarship	Minnesota Society of Arboriculture	Scholarships for Underserved Arborists to become an International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Certified Arborist
Academic Award College Scholarship Program	Minnesota Nursery and Landscape Association	$1,000 scholarships for college students pursuing careers in the nursery and landscape industry.
Apprentice Ecologist Initiative	Nicodemus Wilderness Project	Complete an environmental cleanup or conservation project and write an essay about it to apply for a $1,750 scholarship.
Scholarships	National Association of Landscape Professionals	Scholarships for students at two or four-year colleges studying landscape contracting or horticulture.
Scholarships	American Society of Landscape Architects	Scholarships for students pursuing landscape architecture. Many opportunities for different scholarships on this page!