Green Infrastructure Leadership and Engagement

Grant Type

Annual Grant

Project Status

Active

Award Period

FY2026

Awarded Amount

$15,300

Award Period (2)

FY2027

Awarded Amount (2)

$14,899

Award Period (3)

FY2028

Awarded Amount (3)

$15,600

Project Description

The Green Infrastructure Leadership and Engagement project seeks to enable students to utilize, contribute to, and deepen their understanding of Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI), which is a sustainable and low-impact development strategy that includes passive and active water collection strategies. The project will develop a comprehensive, accessible database that measures the performance of existing GSI sites on campus. Current data on existing GSI sites are very limited, often preliminary, and are not enough to inform decisions.

The project will launch the first campus-wide database quantifying U of A’s long-term sustainability efforts detailing each existing GSI site’s purpose, water-holding capacity, and broader environmental benefits. Student employees will be directly engaged in the collection of data and monitoring of sites while working closely with professionals in and around campus. While research and data are collected from existing GSI sites, guided tours, workshops, networking events, and symposiums will be integrated to engage and inform the local community of the importance of GSI and its role in building resilient, sustainable communities.

Project Outcomes

Accomplishments from year one of this three-year award include a foundation for developing a framework to scan, categorize, and quantify on-campus GSI features for the future database and establishing partnerships and connections with campus and community leaders in the fields of green infrastructure (GI) and green stormwater infrastructure (GSI). Additionally, the team designed 16 signs to highlight campus GSI features as well as direct the U of A community to the online database. The first of the team’s larger educational signs will be installed outside Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine

To date, the team has created 13 partnerships and collaborations and worked directly with groups such as Tucson Clean and Beautiful, the Pima County Flood Control’s NatureWorks Program, and University of Arizona’s chapter of Epsilon Eta. Year one of this effort culminated in the "Tracking Green Stormwater Infrastructure: Data, Practice + Learning" symposium hosted in spring of 2026.

With initial learning curves overcome, strong process frameworks developed, and a plethora of new partnerships formed, the team is excited to begin year two. The next phase will expand the database while designing additional signs to identify GSI features across campus. The team is taking strides toward monitoring campus sustainability features while creating an accessible educational resource for students, staff, faculty, and the broader community.