Day 2 of the Green Infrastructure Conference

Seems fitting that I am writing this exactly one week after having attended this day of the conference. Getting back into the jist of winter term here on campus was a complete whirlwind, which is why I did not get a chance to write. So I am sorry but hopefully you will enjoy this post just the same! :) 

Now to get down to business! Day 1 mostly consisted of Science and Technology subjects, while this day was filled with talks on the management of green infrastructure and practice and policy of green infrastructure. I was quite surprised by the sheer amount of topics that were presented on green infrastructure. While talking to fellow conference members the general consensus was that the broadness of the conference was refreshing. The large amount if subject matter allowed for various minds in different fields to think and discuss the wide range of topics that were being presented. When there is an opportunity for a melting pot of minds to come together, shared knowledge occurs between people from other places around the country and the world. Dialogue emerges about similar and even different issues, allowing for a lot of ideas to be suggested, discussed and even problem-solved. This was really inspiring for me to be around because so much effort was being put into such an important project! I could also sense a genuine feeling of ease in the air when we all sat down to lunch. This group of conference go-ers had now been with the others for a full day and a half and felt comfortable joining into conversations and discussions about a variety of different topics. I felt included and most of all heard, which was a really nice change!

I would say that this day of the conference was easier for me to follow in terms of information that was presented. This was also the day when we saw all of the progress that had been made through green infrastructure, which was really cool to see. Places like New York City, Miami, and Philadelphia were spoken about, but also smaller cities like Lafayette. And everyone had similar and different ways of approaching the implementation of green infrastructure. I only wish that there had been more time for questions. That was probably the most interesting thing to hear, the responses and questions from the other participants. This really showed a true sense of wanting to understand why choices and decisions were made. 

In general, I am so happy that I found this conference and was able to listen and meet people in this field of study. Even though green infrastructure was not something that I was entirely interested in before the confence, I feel better about being more informed on the topic and now understand how important green infrastructure is to our urban development. I hope each of you reading this feels a little more informed on the topic of green infrastructure as well. Thank you for reading.

Much Love,

Taylor