Greening Indiana—One Training at a Time

The benefits of green infrastructure to manage stormwater have been well documented and many communities have amended their ordinances to promote these practices. However in Indiana, we can do better. In 2014, the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) sponsored the development of a curriculum and delivery of a training program to provide local governments and their project partners with information to implement stormwater projects which incorporate green infrastructure practices. Six one-day trainings were conducted throughout the state in 2015 and 2016 to educate and empower elected officials, decision-makers, and municipal staff to include green infrastructure into their municipal operations. The one-day trainings were strategically divided into three sessions to attract and meet the needs of the diverse interests in a municipality that influence the implementation of green infrastructure projects. These sessions include 1) an overview of green infrastructure, 2) policies, incentives, and funding, and 3) design and integration into municipal project. The target audience was elected officials, decision-makers, and municipal staff from engineering, planning, finance, economic development, parks, and street departments. Attendees were invited to attend the entire day or just the session that was most applicable to their municipal role. The information covered in the sessions ranged from a general overview of what green infrastructure is and the associated social, environmental, and economic benefits to examples of design, construction, and maintenance requirements and worksheets for green infrastructure practices. Case studies from across the state were used to illustrate how to successfully integrate green infrastructure into municipal programs, policies, and projects. While this presentation will focus on case studies in Indiana, the overview and approach for the trainings, the call to action worksheets, the feedback from attendees, the progress municipalities have made implementing green infrastructure policies and practices as a result of the training, and the lessons learned will benefit similar training programs nationwide.