Green Infrastructure Forums and Workshops

Green Infrastructure Forums and Workshops

Metropolitan Washington Green Infrastructure Demonstration Project
National Park Service and the Metropolitan Washington Council of
Governments

February 2, 2006

Mapping Forum: COG and NPS has catalogued existing mapping efforts as
identified in the region. COG and NPS is working with existing member governments, regional federal and state agencies and private groups, through a workgroup and Green Mapping Forums, to obtain and catalogue regional data sets. This is being accomplished through partnership opportunities with other interested parties.

On October 18, 2002 a Green Infrastructure Mapping Forum was held and included the following presentations.

Tim Aiken, Office of US Congressman Jim Moran, 8th District of VA
Robert Dietz, US Geological Survey
Kim Finch, Prince George’s County, MD
Margaret Maizel, ONEIMAGE, LLC.
Gary Moll, American Forests
Andrew Zimba, Casey Tree Endowment Fund

In addition, in September 2003, COG, the Casey Tree Endowment and NPS, and other partners, agreed to form a workgroup to explore ways to prepare a comprehensive green infrastructure map for the District of Columbia.

Green Space Forums & Workshops: NPS and COG have established and
maintains a “Green Infrastructure Forum” series to highlight and disseminate technical information on issues pertaining to green infrastructure programs, initiatives and innovations both nationally and internationally. This series supplements the activities of COG’s Urban Forest Forum, the Community Forestry Network. The forums act as an information exchange on topics pertaining to open space, parks and recreation areas to:

1) Present its cooperators and collaborators with accurate informative, educational and understandable information on the natural, physical, biological, cultural and economic aspects of green infrastructure.

2) Share outstanding local, regional, national, and international examples of protection, regeneration, management and recreation activities and strategies.

3) Create opportunities for peer networking.
4) Provide opportunities for dialogue between different government and private sector interests.

Some of the speakers that have participated in the forum series included:

Nanine Bilski, America the Beautiful Fund, Washington, DC
Blaine Bonham, PA Horticulture Society, Philadelphia, PA
Dr. John Bruce, Moses Urban Gardening, Washington, DC
David Burke, MD Department of Natural Resources, Annapolis, MD
Mark Buscaino, formerly of the DC Department of Public Works, Washington, DC
Steve Coleman, Washington Parks & People, Washington, DC
Christine Gilday, Virginia “Plant-A-Row”
Peggy Harwood, USDA, Forest Service, Washington, DC
Shelia Hogan, formerly of the Casey Tree Endowment Fund, Washington, DC
Andy Lipkis, Tree People, Los Angeles, CA
Mari Lou Livingood, formerly of the Alexandria Seaport Foundation, Alexandria, VA
Daniel Martin, International Communities for the Renewal of the Earth, NJ
Greg Moore, Golden Gate Park Association, San Francisco, CA
Neil Owens, Metropolitan Police Department Boys & Girls Club, Washington, DC
Brian O’Neill, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, San Francisco, CA
Leslie Sauer, formerly of Andropogon Associates, Hunterdon County, NJ
Gerri Spilka, OMG Center for Collaborative Learning, Philadelphia, PA
Anne Whiston Spirn, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
Nancy Sturm, formerly of the National Park Foundation, Washington, DC
Bob Sutton, Greater Washington National Parks Fund, Manassas, VA
Joan Thomas, DC Ward 4 Beautification, Washington, DC
Robert Yaro, Regional Plan Association, NY

Workshops have been held, or are being scheduled, for:

Harmony Hall, MD: A two-day workshop, lead by Michael Clarke, formerly of the Natural Lands Trust, was held in July 2003 to advise NPS leaders on what to do to conserve the NPS-owned Harmony Hall property and buildings. The session focused on ways for NPS to make the economics of conservation and preservation successful.
A report was prepared for NPS park managers to outline alternatives for property and building management.

Potomac Access: A workshop, lead by Ellen Cull, Management & Organizational Consultant, was held to discuss ways to improve access to the Potomac River, from Great Falls to the confluence with Occoquan Creek. The meeting collected input from 35 interested stakeholders on:

· A listing of current high quality access to the Potomac – physical, informational, educational, visual and recreational
· Major concerns, issues and problems with current access to the Potomac
· Major areas of opportunity for improving access to the Potomac

A report was prepared summarizing the discussions.

Dialogue: A workshop, lead by Daniel Martin of International Communities for Renewal of the Earth and Anne Pearson of Sustainable Communities, was held to provide metro-green space leaders with additional skills in dialogue.

The focus of the workshop was to discuss and demonstrate skills that allow people of differing viewpoints to value each other’s perspectives and experience and develop common purpose, mutual understanding, mutual ownership, and trust. The session stressed that dialogue is the communication tool, the glue that will hold together and enrich the green infrastructure process of interaction.

Participants were provided skills in “Appreciative Inquiry”, a communication technique that enables the participants to access their own collective wisdom using an interview technique that encourages new perspectives to surface, a creative exchange to occur. These skills and tools will also enable participants in the workshops to expand the process of working together on local and regional green infrastructure projects after the workshop by sharing ideas with the people and perspectives they represent so that all stakeholders own the process.

Exchange Best Green Infrastructure Management Practices:
The National Park Service, in cooperation with EPA's Office of
International Activities, the Department of Housing & Urban Development,
and the Glynwood Center sponsored a two-year exchange between local,
national and international experts from the metro-region and Germany. The
exchange focused on urban watershed management and included green
urbanism, stormwater management, roof-top and rain gardens, riparian
buffers, and other ways to protect and restore water and air quality
within the Potomac River watershed.

NPS and EPA worked with the Potomac Urban River Watershed Management
Regional Steering Committee to participate in the exchange and to
identify off-the-shelf "Best Green Infrastructure Management
Practices". A report, “Potomac International Urban Watershed
Management Exchange”, which describes these techniques, was published
by the Glynwood Center.

On Tuesday January 28, 2003 the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Washington, DC hosted a daylong forum and reception to share the results of the collaborative effort to exchange best management practices. “The Potomac International Urban Watershed Management: Lessons Learned Forum” brought together 150 public and private leaders from the metropolitan Washington region, including various U.S.-based organizations serving Germany. These leaders listened to presentations by a team of government and private sector leaders from the Potomac who visited Germany to learn about watershed Restoration and Reconstruction, Urban Watershed Retrofit Strategies, and Large Scale Redevelopment.

Presentations were made by:

Katrin Scholz-Barth, formerly of the HOK Planning Group, Washington, DC
Sheila Besse, Nonpoint Source Management Branch, DC Department of Health, Washington, DC
Elizabeth Berry, DC Office of the Mayor, Washington, DC
Uwe Brandes, DC Office of Planning, Washington, DC
Timothy J. Carney, Allegany County Economic Development, Cumberland, MD
Herbert Driesietl, Atelier Dreiseitl, Uberlingen, Germany
Marc Gibb, Northern Virginia, Regional Planning Commission, Annandale, VA
Dale Medearis, U.S. EPA, Office of International Activities, currently Potomac River Navigator, Alexandria, VA
Judith LaBelle, Glynwood Center, Cold Spring, NY
Judy Guse-Noritake, Alexandria, VA Park and Recreation Commission/The Wilderness Society, Alexandria, VA
Michael Packshies, City of Eckernfoerde, Germany

Working Lands in Metropolitan Washington Forum: On Tuesday,
April 12th from 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM at the offices of the
Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, the Green Infrastructure Demonstration Project held a Working Lands Forum to discuss the future of Agriculture in the Washington Metropolitan Area. Regional Agricultural production and commerce continues to contribute over $1 billion annually to the economy of the Washington Metropolitan Area (WMA), yet land available for food production is shrinking due to development pressure for urban uses.

The purpose of this forum was to both examine and discuss agriculture’s
role in the rapidly growing WMA, as well as the opportunities that enable local agricultural producers and markets to flourish.

Discussion focused on the importance of our local agricultural community and programs and how we may work together regionally to assure their continued success, so as to ensure their continued contribution to our local economy, quality of food, and quality of life.

See attached file for the agenda and speakers.

Green Infrastructure Mapping Forum: Representatives from The Trust for Public Land, the Center for Neighborhood Technology, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, and the National Park Service, and other public and private regional leaders, made a presentation and held a discussion about the results of the “Metropolitan Washington, D.C. Green Infrastructure Mapping Assessment” on Wednesday September 14, 2005, from 1:00 to 4:00 pm. The meeting was held at the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments at 777 North Capitol St. N.E., Washington, DC 20002.

The Green Infrastructure Mapping Assessment has identified existing green infrastructure mapping activity and needs, and proposed recommendations for improving green infrastructure management across the region.

This assessment, which was prepared by Theodore Eisenman for The Trust for Public Land as part of the Metropolitan Washington Green Infrastructure Demonstration Project, is intended to:

· Identify existing green infrastructure mapping activity and capacity in the region;
· Identify green infrastructure mapping gaps and needs, from both a data and organizational perspective; and
· Identify key informant recommendations for improving regional green infrastructure mapping and decision-making.

The report is based on the results of more than 25 first-person interviews with leaders and specialists involved in green infrastructure mapping. The interviews included experts from non-profit conservation groups, academic institutions, and public agencies.

The report is based on a sample of the many green infrastructure mapping practitioners and activities in the region, and it is important to note that there are groups operating outside the purview of this assessment that are also doing important work. The assessment is intended to function as the first step towards a greater understanding of existing green infrastructure mapping capacity and needs, for the ultimate purpose of improving public and private green infrastructure decision-making and expanding efforts to protect important lands, waters, and living resources.

The event was one in a series of Green Infrastructure Forums to highlight and disseminate information on issues pertaining to green infrastructure programs, initiatives and innovations locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. Featured at the forum was:

· An overview of the "Metropolitan Washington Green Infrastructure
Demonstration Project,” a partnership between COG & NPS.

· A presentation by Theodore Eisenman on the findings and
recommendations of the “Metropolitan Washington, D.C. Green Infrastructure Mapping Assessment”.

· Discussion of the finding and recommendations.

Mr. Eisenman is Principal of Environmental Design and Communications. He has consulted on a range of urban ecology and landscape planning projects with groups including Washington, D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation, the USDA Forest Service Living Memorials project, and the Chesapeake Bay Program. Earlier in his career he worked at Andropogon Associates and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Mr. Eisenman has written for National Public Radio and is a regular contributor to Landscape Architecture magazine.