Rural Community Assistant Partnership (RCAP) and The Exchange partnered for a specialized, in-person technical assistance training on local stormwater management. The full-day event took place earlier this month, alongside The Exchange’s Annual Meeting in Raleigh, NC, bringing together rural community leaders to explore practical and sustainable approaches to green stormwater infrastructure (GSI).
Sam Novak, co-founding director of LOAM, collaborated with RCAP and The Exchange to create programming for the day, which was designed to integrate relationship building with hands-on technical assistance. Serving also as facilitator for the in-person event, Sam called on RCAP members to bring curiosity and imagination to the overall discussion of what sustainable GSI can look like – and how it can be funded – in their own rural contexts.
Grounded by real-world examples and practical tools, the day gave members concrete resources to take home:
- Barbara Hopkins, Executive Director of The Exchange, oriented the group around The Exchange’s Framework of Practice — both a roadmap for building strong GSI programs in local jurisdictions and a living online compendium of principles, best practices, and case studies for practitioners across sectors.
- Chris Hartman, Stormwater Technical Specialist from the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, introduced the GSI Impact Hub and led a hands-on demonstration of the GSI Impact Calculator, a tool that quantifies and monetizes the co-benefits of GSI projects. Members got to try out the tool by inputting real data and customizing scenarios to reflect local conditions.
- Emerson O’Donnell, Senior Program Manager with WaterNow Alliance, highlighted how smaller communities are building GSI through regional collaboration. Emerson profiled the Building Blocks of Trust training series and introduced key funding and technical assistance resources, including the Funding Resiliency Dashboard and the Water Infrastructure Resource Hub.
The afternoon focused on one of the most persistent barriers to scaling GSI (in rural and urban contexts alike): building community buy-in. Members surfaced their most pressing questions, which then shaped a panel discussion with three practitioners representing diverse regions across the country:
- Carrie Rivette, civil engineer, Grand Rapids, MI
- Svetlana Hedin, environmental program coordinator, City of Portland, OR
- Heather Montgomery, section supervisor, Raleigh, NC Stormwater’s Water Quality team
Panelists emphasized how strong partnerships are essential for consolidating resources and amplifying impact.
The day closed with a gallery walk where members identified their top priorities for addressing the unique challenges of rural GSI work. A follow-up survey is collecting additional member input and will shape ongoing collaborations between RCAP and The Exchange.
Jodi Hilsabeck, Environmental Program Manager for RCAP, encourages members to share their perspectives and stay engaged in the conversation. “Keep talking with one another and with potential partners in your community to plant seeds for future GSI projects.”
“And stay tuned!” she advises. “Upcoming programming will continue to strengthen GSI capacity, address widespread concerns around funding, and support long-term impact of GSI in our rural communities.”
