Trees: Providing Lots of $$$ for Benefits

Talk about a good investment. A recent study by New York City researchers has determined that:

"Factoring in the costs associated with planting and upkeep, New York City’s street trees provide an annual benefit of about $122 million, according to the Parks Department. The study concludes that New York receives $5.60 in benefits for every dollar spent on trees."

Extraordinary. Talk about public money well spent . . .

NRDC + EPA Sign Green Infrastructure Agreement

Some exciting news came out of Pittsburgh today. The Natural Resources Defense Council and the Environmental Protection Agency. signed a "statement of intent" to pursue green infrastructure approaches in cities in order to "to reduce sewer overflows and stormwater pollution."

The statement was also co-signed by the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), the Association of State and Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators (ASIWPCA) and the Low Impact Development (LID) Center.

The article continues: "The impetus for this agreement began with NRDC's Rooftops to Rivers report, which recognizes forward-thinking communities across the US who are already using green infrastructure approaches to restore their waterways. This new partnership represents an important first step in providing much-need support for additional urban and suburban communities to implement green solutions."

We should also note that Darla Ingliss, Mike Cox and Steve Moddemeyer, all of Seattle Public Utilities, were peer reviewers for the report.

Nancy Takes Open Space Seattle 2100 to the Good People of Kansas

Open Space Seattle 2100 co-director Nancy Rottle was quoted in the March 29 edition of the Wichita Eagle in an article titled "Seattle may be a model for parks." To read the article, visit.
http://www.kansas.com/212/story/31531.html