The “Blue Thumb Planting for Clean Water” program

The Blue Thumb Planting for Clean Water program makes it easy for residents interested in doing their part to protect water quality to plan, purchase and plant native gardens, rain gardens and shorelines with native plants.

The Blue Thumb program was started by the Rice Creek Watershed District as an outreach program to meet water quality goals identified in their strategic plan and to help their cities meet their federal Clean Water Act mandates.

Now Blue Thumb reaches beyond the Rice Creek Watershed District boundaries into the Twin Cities metro area and greater Minnesota. There are currently about 20 Blue Thumb partners.

Visit the Blue Thumb web site.

Upcoming Events

Wednesday, October 8, 2025 - 4:00pm to 6:00pm
Hastings Sand Coulee SNA, Hastings
Saturday, October 11, 2025 - 8:30am to 3:30pm
Lake Rebecca Park, Hastings
Wednesday, October 15, 2025 - 6:30pm to 8:00pm
Highland Park Community Center Auditorium, St. Paul

Our River Campaign:
It all starts here

At the heart of this new campaign is the vision of a healthy Mississippi River.