Nature as Infrastructure: Building Resilient Communities

Upcoming Webinar

Wednesday, August 19 at 12:00 PM MT

Parks, open space, and urban forestry teams are being asked to do more with less: manage urban heat, flooding, biodiversity loss, and environmental equity, all with limited budgets and staff capacity. This session is about making that trade-off explicit and defensible.

PlanIT Geo and GreenWorks will share how communities of all sizes, from small towns to large metropolitan areas, are applying nature-based planning strategies that support both ecological resilience and broader community goals.

You'll see how presenters have used vulnerability assessments, identified service and access gaps, and engaged stakeholders in setting priorities. Then, we’ll walk through practical frameworks that will help you structure your own planning conversations and communicate trade-offs to decision-makers.

What you'll learn:

• How to apply decision-making frameworks that balance competing goals (ecological, equity, financial) in natural systems planning
• How vulnerability assessments can identify and help close service gaps across parks, trees, and open space
• How to engage your community in setting green infrastructure goals that reflect local priorities

Who should attend:

• Municipal parks, forestry, and planning staff responsible for green infrastructure decisions
• Nonprofit and Friends-of-Parks groups involved in canopy, park, or open space planning
• Anyone balancing climate resilience, equity, and limited resources in their community's natural systems planning

SPEAKERS: