MPCA grants invest in cooler public spaces for St. Louis Park

A new MPCA-funded shade canopy protects a bench at Ainsworth Park in St. Louis Park. (Photos courtesy city of St. Louis Park)

As Minnesota experiences more frequent extreme heat, St. Louis Park has taken steps to protect its residents most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change with help from two grants from the MPCA.

“While hotter summers, poorer air quality, heavier storms and warmer winters affect all St. Louis Park residents, our most vulnerable residents are impacted the most,” Mayor Nadia Mohamed said.

One initiative is installing new shade structures at two popular parks. The city received a $262,642 community resilience implementation grant from the MPCA in 2025 to install extensive shade infrastructure at Aquila Park and Ainsworth Park. The project is designed to reduce heat exposure for children, families, athletes, and other park users as climate change drives higher temperatures across the state.

Extreme heat poses significant risks including heat exhaustion and heat stroke, and older adults, young children, and people with certain medical conditions are especially vulnerable. Children under 5 absorb heat more readily than adults and are less likely to notice when they are overheating.

New MPCA-funded canopies provide shade over bleachers at Aquila Park in St. Louis Park.

At Aquila Park, the grant will fund:

a double-layer hexagon shade structure over the playground
four cantilevered shade structures covering bleachers
four shade structures over dugouts
new bench seating
two umbrella shade structures over park benches

At Ainsworth Park, the project includes:

a double-layer hexagon playground shade
two umbrella shade structures over benches

The improvements are especially important as the city looks for ways to keep residents active outdoors despite increasingly difficult summer conditions. The city’s climate action plan from 2018 didn’t call for measures that specifically supported resiliency. But as officials update that plan over the coming months, it’s a priority.

“We want to get kids outside more. We want to get them off screens, and it’s getting harder and harder with the extreme heat that we’ve been seeing and the smoky conditions over the summer,” said Emily Ziring, St. Louis Park’s sustainability manager.

The shade structures are part of a broader climate resilience strategy taking shape in St. Louis Park. In a separate award in 2024, the city received a $19,811 local climate action implementation grant to install an electric charging station at Aquila Park to improve residents’ ability to charge their vehicles in a public space. This fills a need in the community because although the city already had 25 publicly accessible Level 2 chargers, none were on the west side of the city.

“We’ve been able to implement really critical resiliency and public health measures that couldn’t have been done without the MPCA funds,” Ziring said.

The EV charger has logged almost 2,000 sessions since December 2024, preventing 19 tons of greenhouse gas emissions, Ziring said. The charger serves nearby renters, including residents of about 25 apartment buildings near the park who don’t have access to a private home charger. It has the potential to remove a barrier for people who want to switch to an electric vehicle. Aquila Park also is near an elementary school, regional trail, ball fields, tennis courts, a playground, and shopping area. The purpose goes beyond convenience; it will reduce vehicle emissions, improve local air quality, and advance the city’s Climate Action Plan’s EV transition goals.

Officials celebrate the opening of an electric vehicle charging station in St. Louis Park on May 2, 2025. From left: Ellie Rabine, sustainability specialist; Emily Ziring, sustainability manager; Sue Budd, ward 3 city council member; Mayor Nadia Mohamed; and Annie Pottorff, sustainability specialist.

The neighborhood has been identified by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) as an environmental justice area. To be considered an environmental justice area according to Minnesota statute, census tracts need to meet at least one of the following criteria:

at least 40% of the population is people of color
at least 35% of households have income at or below 200% of the federal poverty level
at least 40% of the population has limited proficiency in English
area is located within Indian Country, which is defined as federally recognized reservations and other Indigenous lands

St. Louis Park is a census tract that scores high on the Social Vulnerability Index, placing it in the top 10% in terms of social vulnerability, according to a ranking system used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The index considers hazards and stressors such as socioeconomic status, household characteristics, racial and ethnic minority status, housing type, and access to transportation. That means residents might have greater difficulty recovering from the extreme weather events that climate change is creating.

The MPCA grants align with the state’s Climate Action Framework, Minnesota’s plan to reduce climate pollution, prepare communities for climate change, and build a more equitable future.

“We received a variety of grant project applications, from installing shade structures, to reducing flood risks, to installing backup power,” said Mindy Granley, a supervisor at the MPCA. “Together, these projects ensure people are more prepared for the impacts of climate change like more extreme heat and bigger rains.”

For St. Louis Park, directing climate investments toward areas with greater vulnerability is an important part of the city’s approach. The two neighborhoods are home to about 4,000 people, 15% younger than 15.

“Equity is really crucial and a really important value to our city council and our city staff, and so it’s important that we do what we can to add more support to bolster those communities that have been historically overlooked,” Ziring said.

These projects illustrate how the city is approaching climate change not only as an environmental issue, but also as a matter of public health and quality of life. City officials hope the projects will also help residents make connections between climate change and its effects on everyday life.

“Hopefully our combined efforts to publicize these big projects will pay off and get people to understand the link between climate and public health, heat and physical health, and mental health,” Ziring said. “All of these things are really intertwined.”

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