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“I am overjoyed when I look at these projects and think about what they are doing. One thing that we have in this city is land. We have tons and tons of land. And being able to make that land productive is going to be an amazing benefit for us in the future. So I hope that we can continue to do these types of projects and that we can inspire others to do them, as well," said Palencia Mobley.

“I didn’t want to go into a community and tell them that I’m putting a wetland in their backyard. That wouldn’t fly. But everyone understands what a sponge does, even if they don’t understand green infrastructure or phytoremediation,” said Susannah Drake. “During the heaviest rainfall, the park will at least cleanse and filter water before it flows into the canal.”

The newly formed Saw Mill Run Watershed Association is coordinating the efforts of communities in the Pittsburgh region to reduce stormwater and pollution along the 22 mile length of Saw Mill Run, with a long-term plan to open up public access to the stream. “We’re looking at greening the area, making the stream more natural and restored to reduce runoff,” states Lisa Brown.

Three cities in the United States are part of a pilot program by the Cleveland Botanical Garden aimed at helping communities struggling with abandoned homes. Sandra Albro said the work isn’t meant to be the answer for all vacant properties, but it is one approach. “In many of the neighborhoods in Gary and Cleveland, these are the first investments that have taken place in these neighborhoods in decades,” she said.

“Green stormwater infrastructure is a valuable tool for us, because it helps us prevent stormwater pollution and greens our neighborhoods at the same time. This win-win combination is critically important,” stated Mayor Edward Murray. Seattle’s Strategy sets an interim goal of managing 400 million US gallons of stormwater runoff annually with Green Stormwater Infrastructure by the year 2020.

“We want regulations, incentives, policies in place so that it’s not the water department that is designing the street or designing the building or the rain garden. That needs to be done by public or private entities,” stated Howard Neukrug. “And so we’re leading the way, we’re demonstrating, we’re innovating, putting things in place. But then we’re stepping back and letting others take over.”

“In this first step, town conversations and plans moved to regional, watershed based projects. Using BC as inspiration the next step will weave those regional projects and plans in a network of resiliency and sustainability for Vermont that is hoped to be a model for the rest of the country,” wrote Jan Lambert.

“We at Kitsap County have used this Whole Systems concept to develop our strategy for retrofit and rehabilitation – it is not sufficient to do only a single (or even a few) things – it is necessary to do everything! We know we need to work on multiple scales and on multiple fronts to improve conditions in our small stream watersheds – that’s our strategy,” states Chris May.

In the mid-1990s, the pioneer work of Dr. Richard Horner and Dr. Chris May resulted in a hydrology-based framework for protecting watershed health. “So many studies manipulate a single variable out of context with the whole and its many additional variables,” states Dr. Richard Horner. “We, on the other hand, investigated whole systems in place, tying together measures of the landscape, stream habitat, and aquatic life.”

The Stormwater Pioneers program showcases innovation and a true dedication by property owners and others to decrease pollution. “We’re hoping to keep trash, debris and other pollution out of the water supply so that everyone can enjoy a clean Schuylkill River. If we can play a small part in making the environment better for the next generation, that’s a major plus for us,” stated Joe Jaconski.