The Penn State Extension will hold another in its Land Use Webinar Series May 15 on Green Infrastructure Planning For Healthier, Resilient Communities from Noon to 1:15.

As communities grapple with issues such as stormwater management, flooding, urban heat loads and air quality issues.

This webinar will discuss services provided by green infrastructure that can improve the quality of life, resilience, and environmental and human health in communities.

Presenting the 75-minute webinar will be Vincent Cotrone, urban and community forestry extension educator, and Pattie E.B. Guttenplan, registered landscape architect, member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, and assistant director of design and outreach for the Montgomery County Planning Commission.

This webinar will cover planning for and incorporating green infrastructure on the macro and micro scales in Pennsylvania communities. Participants also can learn about the Montgomery County Planning Commission sustainable green parking lot work.

At the macro level of planning, incorporating and protecting natural areas such as wetlands, stream and river corridors, unique habitats, trails and forest canopy can help communities start tackling issues such as flooding, water quality and air pollution.

It also offers residents opportunities to access natural spaces for recreation and enhancing human health.

On a smaller scale, incorporating green infrastructure features such as bioswales, porous paving, tree plantings, green roofs, green parking lots and rainwater capture systems addresses similar issues, but at the level of individual homes and neighborhoods.

This helps create healthier, more livable communities and brings the benefits of nature right to people’s doorsteps.

A common feature of communities is parking lots that cover acres of land with impervious asphalt. This is becoming a dominant landscape feature in many communities, organizers noted.

Parking lots contribute to the urban heat island, which elevates local temperatures and can impact water quality with stormwater runoff that degrades streams and rivers. Parking lots also can detract from community character and affect pedestrian and driver safety.

Presenters will discuss how green parking lots can reverse those trends by creating a landscape that not only improves the aesthetics and safety of a site, but also intercepts stormwater runoff and allows infiltration, shades parked cars and paved surfaces, and promotes evapotranspiration to cool the surrounding environment.

Click Here to register for this webinar and the entire five-part Land Use Series.

The Series

Green Infrastructure Planning for Healthier, Resilient Communities" will be recorded and available for future viewing, as all webinars in the series are. Other programs in the series include:

-- “A Case for Communities to Drop Parking Minimums”

-- “Harnessing Photosynthesis for a Carbon Negative Bioeconomy”

-- “Defining Nature’s Worth From a Health and Economic Aspect?”

-- “Norris Square Community Profile: A Process for Community Engagement, Capacity Building and Equitable Development”

For anyone interested in a particular topic from the series, individual session registration is available for a fee of $15 per session. Those needing assistance can access a scholarship option.

For more information, contact Peter Wulfhorst at 570-296-3400 or by email at ptw3@psu.edu.

Visit the Penn State Extension website for information on many other educational opportunities.

Related Articles - Watersheds:

-- DEP Awards $5.67 Million In Federal Funding To Support Local Abandoned Mine Reclamation, Mine Water Treatment, Subsidence Control Projects; Next Grant Applications Due June 3, Sept. 23  [PaEN]

-- Audubon Society Of Western PA, Buffalo Creek Coalition: June 6 Hybrid Workshop On Abandoned Mine Drainage Management & Treatment In Western PA  [PaEN]

-- $5.9 Million Available For Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Projects, Deadline To Apply Aug. 6  [PaEN]

-- Chesapeake Bay Foundation Seeking Service Providers To Develop Farm Nutrient Plans In Halfmoon Creek, Pequea Creek Watersheds  [PaEN]

-- Agriculture, L&I Award $350,000 Grant To Rodale Institute To Support First-In-PA Apprenticeship In Organic Agriculture  [PaEN]

-- DEP Now Accepting Applications For Act 167 County Stormwater Management Planning [PaEN] 

-- DEP To Hold June 20 Hearing On Stormwater Permit For A 92+ Acre Commercial Development In Tunkhannock Twp., Monroe County  [PaEN]

-- DEP Accepting Comments On Intent To Deny Stormwater Permit For Commercial Development In Benner Twp., Centre County  [PaEN]

-- DEP Invites Submission Of Water Quality Data To Be Part Of Stream Redesignation Evaluations In Berks, Bucks, Centre, Forest, Greene,  Huntingdon, Lancaster, Westmoreland Counties  [PaEN] 

-- PEMA Publishes Updated Guidance For Disaster Recovery Assistance Program For Individuals  [PaEN] 

-- Master Watershed Steward Volunteer Carol Armstrong Makes Waves In Chester, Delaware Counties  [PaEN]

-- Reminder: Penn State Extension May 15 Webinar: Green Infrastructure Planning For Healthier, Resilient Communities; Land Use Series Available On Demand  [PaEN]

NewsClips:

-- Middle Susquehanna RiverKeeper Blog: ‘We Are At Exciting Precipice Of Really Significant, Positive Change’ After Tioga River Gets $68 Million For Abandoned Mine Drainage Treatment

-- Courier Express: Two Elk County Abandoned Mine Projects Awarded Funding

-- Tribune-Democrat: Bedford County Projects Land Abandoned Mine Restoration Grants

-- TribLive: Export Historical Society Moves Ahead With Plans To Stabilize Old Mine Entrance In Westmoreland

-- WITF The Spark: Harry Campbell, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Provides Update On Meeting Chesapeake Bay Milestones  [Audio]

-- PennFuture, CVPA Support US Senate’s Federal Farm Bill Framework Putting Climate Resilience Front And Center In American Agriculture

-- Post-Gazette: PA Cong. Thompson Pushes Ahead With Federal Farm Bill Amid Divide With Dems On SNAP

-- Penn State Extension Ag Conservation Currents: Still Time To Register For June Conservation Con; Education Opportunities; Streambank Stabilization; Much More

-- LancasterOnline: Lancaster County Farmers Eligible For Free Organic Transition Program

-- Evangelical Environmental Network: Over 90,000 Pro-Life Christians Support Keeping Our Promise To Farmers On Climate-Smart Agriculture

-- EPA May 29 Webinar: Addressing Stormwater Challenges With EPA Technical Assistance & Funding, 1:00 p.m.

-- Reminder: Penn State Extension May 15 Webinar: Green Infrastructure Planning For Healthier, Resilient Communities; Land Use Series Available On Demand  [PaEN]

-- StateImpactPA - Rachel McDevitt: Heaviest PA Storms Drop 60% More Rain Than They Used To, Report Says

-- Williamsport Sun: Author Tim Palmer Says Flood Mitigation Requires More Than Holding Back The Water

-- The Derrick: Issue Of Stormwater Runoff, Home Damage Spurs Knox Mayor’s Resignation

-- Warren Times: Warren County Students Work With Local Conservation Agencies

-- LancasterOnline: Here’s What’s Happening In Lancaster County During Water Week Starting June 7

-- Partnership For Delaware Estuary Gardening For Clean Water For Habitat Owners, Caretakers

-- Coalition For Delaware River Watershed June 5 Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Justice Day Of Learning In Hamilton Twp., NJ

-- WHYY: Croydon Woods Has Earned Awards For Environmental Stewardship In Bucks County; It’s A Toxic Superfund Site

-- Delaware RiverKeeper May 17 RiverWatch Video Report

-- Partnership For Delaware Estuary Gardening For Clean Water For Habitat Owners, Caretakers

-- The Derrick: 6th Grade Sandycreek Students Release Rainbow Trout At Two Mile Run

-- TribLive: New Kensington-Arnold 5th Graders Spend Morning Fishing At Valley High School In Westmoreland County

[Posted: May 13, 2024]

5/20/2024