Welcome to the Green Infrastructure Leadership Exchange (“the Exchange”)
The Exchange, a project of the Global Philanthropy Partnership, seeks to activiate local governments and water agencies in the U.S. and Canada to implement green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) equitably.
WHY LOCAL GOVERNMENTS?
Local governments are legally required to manage stormwater so as to protect the quality of our drinking water and the health of rivers, streams, and other surface waters. Climate change is making that job more difficult, resulting in a need for solutions that can complement traditional stormwater management methods.
WHY GSI?
In its simplest form, GSI refers to the use of plants and soils to manage stormwater. But it can also include permeable pavement and other systems for filtering, capturing and storing stormwater. Best of all, GSI has other “co-benefits,” meaning it can also beautify neighborhoods, provide green play spaces, and create new jobs.
WHY EQUITY?
Owing to discriminatory policies like redlining, many urban neighborhoods suffer from a lack of infrastructure investments. As a result, they are often warmer, with fewer places for kids to play and greater exposure to flooding and other ills. Focused in such places, GSI holds promise for making these neighborhoods more liveable.
WHAT’S NEW
GI Exchange Collaborative Grant Program Activates Climate Adaptation with the Climate Resilience Resources Guide Part 1
Resilience – “the ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change” as defined in the Merriam-Webster. This term can apply to almost any topic, which makes it really handy, but in thinking how a system, like green stormwater infrastructure (GSI), for...
Building Deep Listening Skills: Community Engagement Workshop #1
Informed by the theory of change developed earlier this year in collaboration with Onside Partners, the Exchange launched the first of four members-only community engagement workshops in mid-November. With a goal of developing key skills and mindsets needed to develop...
Bringing the Future into the Present & Addressing It Now
Author Alan Lakein once described planning as “bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now.” With the support of The Kresge Foundation and our members, the Exchange did just that in 2022, completing a new strategic assessment and...
Vast Distances, International Borders, & Agency Silos No Match for Latest Grant Winners
Two international teams, and a third representing various agencies, a parks board, and a university in Vancouver, BC, were awarded $160,000 in grant funding collectively recently through the Green Infrastructure Leadership Exchange’s Collaborative Grant Program. The...
Gleanings … on Getting the Lay of the Land
I cut my teeth on managing organizations relatively earlier in my career as the VP for Advancement at an urban community college. For those unfamiliar with how a college operates, suffice to say, decision-making is pretty hierarchical and deliberate. That same basic...
Transition Announcement and Gratitude From Our Director
With much gratitude for her service and leadership, we would like to announce that Exchange Director Paula Conolly will be stepping down from her role. The below letter from Paula is addressed to our members. Dear Exchange Members, While I have loved my experience...