Welcome to the Green Communities Guide

The Green Communities Guide is an essential tool to help communities plan and implement nature-based solutions and strategies to conserve water, protect water quality, preserve agricultural land, and protect critical open spaces and wildlife habitat.

The Forgotten Solution

Why Green Communities? Because nature is one of the most effective ways of combating climate change and nature-based climate solutions - actions that are in harmony with nature that incorporate nature conservation and support biodiversity protection - can provide cost-effective approaches to mitigate climate change.

A Complete Online Resource

Designed for use by municipal planners, developers, community groups and more, this living resource highlights innovative, nature-based approaches communities are taking to managing development with respect to its impacts on our natural systems. This Guide features innovative approaches to sustainable development including riparian management, xeriscaping, naturalization, storm water wetlands, brownfield reclamation, permaculture and much more, and includes recommended practices and project considerations as well as the business, nature and community-side of each nature-based solution.

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The Stewardship Directory

A valuable companion resource to the Green Communities Guide, this online directory helps connect community stewardship groups, organizations, businesses and governments to share their experiences and lessons learned in stewardship and natural resource management.

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The Latest News

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Metro Detroit leveraging NBS for flood prevention in the face of a changing climate

Metro Detroit is working on a variety of nature-based solutions to mitigate the risks of flooding, which is on the rise due to climate change and - like most urban areas - the high prevalence of impervious…

NBS pilot projects across Jaipur intended to showcase the ability of NBS to increase climate resiliency

Nine different NBS initiatives implemented by WRI India through Cities4Forests in Jaipur aimed to include local and Indigenous knowledge and add green spaces to the Pink City to increase its resilience…

Canadian municipalities' goal of becoming "sponge cities"

Following a phenomenon that has garnered attention in China, several Canadian municipalities are seeking to "spongify" urban landscapes to minimize runoff and maximize infiltration. To this end, a variety…

Bruce Power reducing carbon through investments in NBS on Ontario farms

The New Acre™ Project from Bruce Power's Carbon Offset Coalition is investing $1 million in NBS projects on Ontario farms in Bruce and Grey Counties. The project is teaming up with ALUS and local farmers…

IISD looks to NBS to support at-risk water infrastructure in the Prairies

With water infrastructure budgets falling behind in the face of additional pressures from climate change in the Prairies, the International Institute for Sustainable Development is touting the use and…

Ontario's Lambton and Huron Counties host NBS for Drainage tour

Hosted by partners of the Healthy Lake Huron initiative, nearly 50 municipal superintendents and engineers had a tour to learn more about incorporating NBS, including wetlands, into municipal drainage. …