We’re learning that we need others to fill the gaps in our framework of GSI practice, a sentiment alluded to in this quote from Jalonne White-Newsome:
Addressing climate change equitably requires “the integration of strategy and action across academia, industry, and government – Each sector has something to give and something to receive. We can fill in each other’s gaps. No one entity can do it all.” Jalonne White-Newsome, White House Council on Environmental Quality.
And that cross-sector integration of strategy and action was a clear theme at this year’s Annual Meeting hosted by King County, Washington.
We learned about the efforts of Mid Sound Fisheries, Seattle Public Utilities and Seattle Parks and Recreation to jointly acquire a one-acre property on the North Branch of Thornton Creek to develop Lake City Floodplain Park, benefiting water quality, in-stream and riparian habitat, and flood storage, while creating an accessible natural area and amenities for the community within a heavily urbanized and underserved area:
Dirt Corps, the Port of Seattle, and King County presented on building equity in community through workforce development. The panel members discussed their commitments to strategic workforce development programs, access to green careers and training opportunities – supported by programs implementing GSI in the Community. We then toured a Dirt Corps project, Gateway Park North, a park providing water access to a residential community long surrounded by industrial uses:
Contaminated stormwater from Seattle’s Aurora Bridge was once discharged untreated to Seattle’s Lake Washington Ship Canal. This discharge impacted migrating salmon and resident orcas that depend on those salmon as a primary food source. A cross-sector partnership consisting of Site Story, KPFF, Weber Thompson and Salmon-Safe came together to treat runoff through bioswales adjacent to the bridge. All three phases of this installation are managing the 2 million gallons that flow directly from the Aurora bridge into the ship canal between Lake Union and Puget Sound and, at the same time, developing an innovative model for a public-private partnership addressing contaminated stormwater from Pacific Northwest bridges.
An Advisory Committee of Exchange members in partnership with The Nature Conservancy, One Water Econ, and Radbridge showcased a series of GSI Co-Benefit Guides and a compendium of existing resources and tools, which will allow stormwater practitioners to evaluate, measure, and integrate co-benefits information into their design, implementation, and financial models:
A panel on Public / Private Partnerships consisting of representatives from Corvias Infrastructure Solutions, Earth Economics, Greenprint Partners, Herrera, Lotus Water, and Site Story highlighted various capacities and evolutions of applying public-private partnerships and the range of unique contracting vehicles deployed to move that work forward:
Nonprofits, supported by grant funding from King County, figured prominently in tours of Equinox Studios, where green stormwater infrastructure is artistically woven into an industrial area, and Mini Mart City Park, where the nonprofit turned a brown field into an exhibit and gathering space with a green roof.
Jesse Williams and Dustin Atchison from Jacobs offered a tour of the waterfront, explaining how a “Waterfront for All” was being created from a once car-centric area where a viaduct blocked views and limited pedestrian access to Seattle’s waterfront. Multiple configurations of green stormwater infrastructure are incorporated into the project, primarily for water quality treatment.
We had superb leadership from our host, King County Government (John Brosnan and Jessica Engle), which was amplified by our sponsorship partners, who were active participants in the meeting:
And, last, but certainly not least, we recognized our own governing body, the SPPC, for its vision and leadership in pushing the organization to embrace its roots as a social impact network that coalesces GSI practitioners from across sectors to ensure that more GSI is implemented equitably.
Check out more session details and presentation slides on the Exchange website!
