JustChange is pleased to award their latest grant to Ecology Ottawa for their Green Infrastructure Campaign. Ecology Ottawa is a not-for-profit, grassroots and volunteer-driven organization who works to make Ottawa the green capital of Canada.
Ottawa has seen its share of extreme weather, most notably the tornadoes of this past and the floods of 2017. 2017 was Ottawa’s wettest year on record! As rainwater falls and runs off of impermeable surfaces such as roadways, buildings and sewage systems, it introduces more pollutants to Ottawa’s creeks, streams, lakes and rivers. Ecology Ottawa will bring stormwater management to each and every home in flood-affected communities using a door-to door campaign. Each one of us can reduce wet weather impacts, enhances cities’ resilience to climate change, and improve air quality, just through a couple small changes.
Green infrastructure, or the use of living and built systems to slow down, soak up and filter rainwater where it falls, is an innovative solution increasing adopted by cities around the world to Green infrastructure includes everything from trees and urban forests to rain barrels, downspout redirects, and raingardens.
Ecology Ottawa will target communities affected by flooding in Ottawa, engage residents in one-on-one conversations at the door about green infrastructure, and give out downspout extensions to residents who are interested. The nature of green infrastructure projects means they require little maintenance and upkeep.
JustChange loved the participatory approach to changemaking in this application. It gets everyone involved and looking at the places they live in a new way. It brings something as huge as climate change down to a small can-do modification with a large impact.