The path toward building healthy and resilient cities requires big shifts in urban land management practices and conservation. As park agencies and organizations work to strengthen biodiversity they are also seeing ways to build grassroots climate advocacy and even new revenue streams.
This innovation round will provide an overview of innovative resources, programs, and strategies, from managing trash, planting experimental micro-forests, and measuring carbon storage in urban forests, to community-centered decision making in climate-ready programs.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Discuss opportunities for ecological restoration projects within the context of urban parks, as well as how to restore park ecosystems while engaging visitors to advocate for wildlife
- Understand site waste management and how to develop community waste reduction strategies
- Learn how to strategically advance objectives through neighborhood engagement and community partnerships
- Learn how to evaluate and use equity as a lens for urban greening projects and develop tools to prioritize greening projects based on equity
- Understand how much carbon is stored by urban forested natural areas, thus providing climate mitigation, and how that compares to similar forest types in rural areas
- Learn how to use carbon data to advocate for increased care and management of natural areas, and how to leverage carbon data for possible revenue opportunities in your city
