Many Blackstone Watershed communities are still not including green infrastructure—such as the planting of trees for cooling and the use of roadside vegetation to mitigate pollutant runoff—as a priority for new developments at the scale or frequency of what is possible. Marsh Institute Research Scientist and Blackstone Watershed Collaborative Program Manager Stefanie Covino recently received funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to assist communities in overcoming barriers to implementation of green infrastructure and other nature-based solutions to pollution mitigation. The project Advancing Green Infrastructure in the Blackstone Watershed: Identifying Municipal Priorities, Workshopping Solutions, and Mapping Implementation will assist community stakeholders in Worcester, MA and Woonsocket, RI to identify local goals that can be addressed through nature-based solutions.

For more information on the Blackstone Watershed Collaborative, visit their website.