The Town of Zionsville will spend the year conducting a community-wide tree canopy assessment and developing a strategy to maximize the benefits of urban trees and other green infrastructure as part of Indiana University’s 2022 Resilience Cohort. The program, coordinated by IU’s Environmental Resilience Institute (ERI), will result in a plan to leverage natural systems to combat extreme weather being experienced more frequently throughout the state.
The Town of Zionsville will complete an assessment of its vulnerabilities to climate impacts, such as flooding and heatwaves, receive technical guidance, connect with professional arboriculturists and join a network of peers conducting the same work. The data will be added to a statewide spatial inventory, the Indiana Green City Mapper, designed to help communities make resilience planning decisions. Additional participants in Resilience Cohort urban green infrastructure planning include Fort Wayne, Terre Haute, Fishers, Huntington, Lafayette and Merrillville.
As part of the program, the Town is hosting a McKinney Climate Fellow who will help facilitate the climate action planning process and coordinate efforts across Zionsville. McKinney Climate Fellows are IU students who work with local governments, nonprofits and private businesses across Indiana to help them achieve their environmental and sustainability goals.
“The Town of Zionsville is committed to strengthening the quality of life for our residents,” said Mayor Emily Styron. “This assessment will help provide a roadmap for the future to better address climate impacts and achieve a resilient future. We are grateful to partner with ERI to aid us in reaching our sustainability goals.”
About the Environmental Resilience Institute
Indiana University’s Environmental Resilience Institute brings together a broad, bipartisan coalition of government, business, nonprofit and community leaders to help Indiana better prepare for the challenges that environmental changes bring to our economy, health, and livelihood. Launched in May 2017, ERI is working to deliver tailored and actionable solutions to communities across the state of Indiana. For more information, go to eri.iu.edu.