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

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.

[Posted: May 13, 2024]  PA Environment Digest