How can trees, natural areas, permeable pavers, and rain gardens benefit you and the environment?

Find out at the Green Infrastructure Forum hosted by the Fox Valley Sustainability Network from 10 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Wednesday, March 20, at Midwest Groundcovers LLC, 6N800 IL Route 25, St. Charles. Click here for a Google Map.

The forum will discuss programs and municipalities in the Fox Valley that have implemented green infrastructure plans and improvements in their community.

What is Green Infrastructure?

The organization American Rivers describes green infrastructure as “an approach to water management that protects, restores, or mimics the natural water cycle. Green infrastructure is effective, economical and enhances community safety and quality of life.”

That is particularly important in the Fox Valley region where dealing with stormwater can be challenging, as we saw during the heavy rainfall events of 2018.

And these rain events are only expected to increase in frequency and intensity in the Midwest (according to the National Climate Assessment), giving Kane County more of a reason to restore natural systems that can help.

Green infrastructure means planting trees and restoring wetlands, rather than building costly taller levees. It incorporates natural environmental and engineered systems to provide clean water, conserve ecosystem functions, and provide a wide array of benefits to people and wildlife.

See what Kane County is doing to implement green infrastructure in the Kane County 2040 Green Infrastructure Plan.

The forum is free, but please register in advance.

Topics & Speakers

Securing Funding and Saving Money with Green Infrastructure

• Michelle Zimmerman, Assistant Public Works Director, Village of Algonquin

 Natural Areas Assurance Program

• Dan Lobbes, Director of Land Protection & Kane County Director, The Conservation Foundation

 Oak Ecosystem Recovery Plan

• M. Ross Alexander, PhD, Oak Ecosystem Recovery Program Coordinator, Morton Arboretum

Case Studies in the Fox Valley Region

• Tom Price, Principal Civil Engineer & Hydrologist, Conservation Design Forum

 Case Study: Montgomery, IL

• Christopher J. Ott, P.E., CPII, Senior Project Engineer I, Engineering Enterprises, Inc.