Green infrastructure has been a priority issue for Our Living Waters’ members since the beginning of the Network. In response, the Our Living Waters Strategic Collaboration Fund provided ongoing funding for many years to a Team working to advance green infrastructure across the country.
Canadian Freshwater Alliance (now defunct) and Green Communities Canada (GCC) hosted the Green Infrastructure Community of Practice (GICoP) as an OLW Team starting in 2016, with GCC taking the lead in 2021. In 2022, the Team’s success guaranteed self-sufficiency and OLW’s ongoing financial support ended. The GICoP is a group of organizations across the country that are motivated by a shared vision to advance green infrastructure (GI) in cities and towns across the country. The goal is to support each other to sharpen skills, knowledge, and practices that push green infrastructure into the mainstream and influence decision makers.
Currently, the GICoP is focused on a Living Cities campaign. Led by GCC, in partnership with community organizations and municipalities in six pilot cities across the country, this campaign uses community organizing and marketing to:
- spearhead ‘top-down’ local policy shifts around city planning and building;
- catalyze ‘bottom-up’ public support for change;
- ultimately, ensure green infrastructure is abundant, thriving, and equitable.
For more information, contact the GI director, Christine Mettler, at GCC.
Community of Practice Members
ACAP St. John (NB)
EcoSuperior (ON)
Environment Lethbridge (AB)
Green Action Centre (MB)
Green Up (ON)
Green Venture (& Environmental Hamilton, ON)
London Environment Network (ON)
Montreal Urban Ecology Centre (QC)
Petitcodiac Watershed Association (& the Garden Cities Project, NB)
Reep Green Solutions (ON)
Saskatoon Environmental Society (SK)
