Click here to access the detailed application requirements for NARC's 2010 Regional Centers of Excellence in green infrastructure awards, supported by the U.S. Forest Service. The application period is currently closed. Thank you to everyone who submitted applications; additional information will be available in the coming weeks.
Washington, DC (June 7, 2010) – The National Association of Regional Councils (NARC), with support from the U.S. Forest Service, is seeking applications for the distribution of grants to regional organizations promoting the use of green infrastructure. Two grants, in the amount of $5,000-7,500 each, will be awarded to regional planning organizations to enable these organizations to promote green infrastructure best-practices, programs and projects to their peers through communication projects. Awardees will be identified as 2010 Regional Centers of Excellence.
In its second year, the program will focus on green infrastructure activities that promote mitigating or adapting to climate change; managing wildland/urban interfaces with public lands; or, promoting regional livability through integrated planning. Bay-Lake Regional Planning Commission and the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission were named as NARC’s first two Regional Centers of Excellence in 2009.
The Regional Centers of Excellence Initiative, a program of NARC, in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, promotes regional green infrastructure planning and implementation by supporting peer-to-peer information sharing among regional planning organizations. By identifying regions with exemplary green infrastructure practices and facilitating mentoring and peer-to-peer exchanges, the Initiative will strengthen green infrastructure projects and catalyze new efforts.
“The Regional Centers of Excellence Initiative is a valuable way to engage NARC members and promote green infrastructure and Landcare initiatives across the country,” said NARC President Stephen Cassano, Selectman, Town of Manchester, CT. “NARC looks forward to awarding these grants and continuing to work with the US Forest Service and regional planning organizations in building public awareness on these important issues.”
Grant applications are due by June 30, 2010, 12am ET. Click HERE for grant application. Visit NARC’s website, NARC’s Green Regions Campaign website or the U.S. Forest Service’s Urban and Community Forestry website, for additional information. NARC will notify grant recipients by July 21, 2010. Recipients will be asked to make a brief presentation during the 45th Annual Conference and Exhibition, in June 2011 in San Diego, CA.
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About the National Association of Regional Councils The National Association of Regional Councils (NARC) serves as the national voice for regionalism by advocating for regional cooperation as the most effective way to address a variety of community planning and development opportunities and issues. NARC’s member organizations are composted of multiple local governments that work together to serve American communities – large and small, urban and rural. In 2008, NARC launched the first of four public awareness campaigns – Green Regions, Mobile Regions, Build Regions and Secure Regions. For additional information, please visit www.NARC.org.
About Green Infrastructure and Landcare Green infrastructure is the network of natural lands, working landscapes and other open spaces that are strategically planned and managed to conserve their ecological functions while also providing associated benefits to human populations. Green infrastructure includes woods, meadows, forests, wetlands, farmland, animal habitat, etc., and plays an important role in reducing air pollution, filtering stormwater, maintaining ecological balance, and increasing the effectiveness of traditional infrastructure. Please see NARC’s Green Regions Campaign website, the U.S. Forest Service’s Urban and Community Forestry website or the Conservation Fund’s Green Infrastructure website for more information.
About the U.S. Forest Service The U.S Forest Service manages over 193 million acres of National Forests, has the world's largest forestry research organization, and facilitates the conservation of state and privately owned forest land across the country. The Forest Service promotes the use of Green Infrastructure and Landcare to help conserve and manage public and private forest land that spans the urban to rural continuum.
