MONDAY, APRIL 23, 2012

The Green Infrastructure Center (GIC) helps communities, like Richmond, develop strategies for protecting and conserving ecological and cultural assets. Recently the GIC released the Bellemeade Walkable Watershed Report for the southside neighborhood of Bellemeade.

This neighborhood resides within the Bellemeade Creek watershed that flows into the James River and eventually the Chesapeake Bay. The watershed, like many urban watersheds around the country, is inundated with polluted runoff from yards, streets and parking lots. In order to protect the neighborhood watershed, and the James River and Chesapeake Bay, the City of Richmond prioritized this area for improvements.

The GIC held two community workshops to gather information and identify opportunities to infiltrate and clean rainwater, while simultaneously providing neighborhood amenities such as trails, trees and park enhancements. More information about the project is available here.

The Bellemeade Walkable Watershed is a part of a larger project to assess the city of Richmond's green infrastructure, this project was completed in 2010. To learn more, click here.