Soak Up the Rain New England Webinar Series
Wednesday, May 25th, 2016 from 1:00-2:30 EST
“Engaging Urban Residents: Innovative Approaches to Promoting Community-Based Stormwater Management”
Presentations include:
Pallavi Mande, Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA). Pallavi will describe the CRWA's Blue Cities Initiative. The Initiative works to restore natural hydrology to urban watersheds while enhancing neighborhoods and connecting open spaces. Pallavi will also present case studies of community-based green infrastructure installations in the Charles River watershed which have improved water quality and reduced stormwater runoff while providing other of benefits for neighborhood residents.
Giovanni Zinn, New Haven Engineering Department, New Haven, CT. Giovanni will discuss city-wide green infrastructure projects that have helped to address both flooding and stormwater issues in the city. Partners have included the Yale School of Forestry, the US Fish & Wildlife Service, and EMERGE Connecticut, Inc. (a transitional work training program). To date, Giovanni has installed more than a dozen bioretention systems in residential areas with plans to install many more in the next two years in the downtown central business district, leveraging federal, state and municipal funding.
Peter Coffin, Blackstone Headwaters Coalition and the Blackstone River Coalition. Peter will highlight the Coalition’s green infrastructure projects in Worcester, MA, including, the most recent: Stormwater Benefits of Urban Trees- an outreach effort to engage inner city residents to understand the role that trees play in reducing stormwater runoff and flooding. Through this project over 68 trees were planted and over twenty educational events were conducted. The goal is to plant 100 trees by summer, 2016. Peter will also describe the “Rain Gardens to the Rescue” project, which resulted in the creation of several demonstration rain gardens throughout the city.
Michael Chavez, Fairmount/Indigo Line CDC Collaborative; and Trevor Smith, Land Escapes. Michael and Trevor will describe the Living Roof Bus Shelter Initiative in which green roofs have been installed on bus shelters in Boston. Michael and Trevor will describe: how they collaborated with local groups, the types of community outreach efforts that supported the initiative and how local youth are being trained on the installation and maintenance of the green roofs.
They will also discuss how this initiative conveys the many benefits of green roofs and other green infrastructure practices, especially in an urban setting.
