Backyard and Neighborhoods

Goal for Backyard and Neighborhood section of this Plan

The goal for this section of the Plan is to help individuals and families, homeowners or renters, small businesses and organizations, identify and implement Nature-based Solutions (NbS) to increase their personal, neighborhood, and community climate resilience. Each of us can take action to steward the spaces where we live, work, and play. Most NbS bring a multitude of benefits beyond the primary goal of your project, and can even improve physical and mental health. NbS can be simple to implement in your yard or on your porch, or they can be larger neighborhood or community driven efforts, bringing individuals together for the betterment of the local quality of life.

How to use this Plan section

This section is organized by Areas of Interest. Perhaps you’re interested in supporting pollinators and birds, or in creating more shade for cooling on hot days, or in dealing with water movement on your property during excessive rainfall events. The same strategies that might be used on a larger scale by Municipal Officials/Professionals or larger property Land Managers/Stewards also apply to our yards and neighborhoods. We encourage you to explore those Plan sections as well. Maps in our Watershed-wide Map Atlas may be of interest in learning more about the area where you live, including maps about land cover, soil characteristics, ecological planning priorities, and more.

For a quick summary of actions you can take, view:

NRWA’s Climate Impact Action List for Individuals and Landowners (PDF)

NRWA’s Climate Impact Action List for Businesses (PDF)

Climate Resilience

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