Residential Action Framework & Stormwater Outreach Campaign, Prince George's County, MD
With a grant from the Prince George’s County Stormwater Stewardship Grant Program, the University of Maryland (UMD) Environmental Finance Center (EFC) worked with four homeowner associations (Brinkley Station HOA, Vista Estates West HOA, Wyndham Woods HOA, & Residences at Victory Promenade HOA) and two civic associations (Oxon Hill CA and University Hills CA) to develop person
2022 (January)
Ready for Resilience: Embedding Climate Action into Local Government Operations
The University of Maryland Environmental Finance Center (EFC) developed this guide with support from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to help local governments assess and improve their capacity for increasing climate change resilience. The guide provides an approach for developing a baseline of local government operations as it relates to climate change, integrating climate change into local daily decision making, and enhancing the core functions of local government to better enable the implementation of climate action strategies.
Reaching Latinos in the Greater Riverdale Area
The EFC supported the Central Kenilworth Avenue Revitalization Community Development Corporation (CKAR) in conducting targeted outreach to the Latino community in the Greater Riverdale Area. The goal of the project was to assess community needs and then develop tailored outreach focused on family and community health and wellbeing. As a project partner, EFC provided CKAR with technical expertise in strategy development, focus group and interview design, data analysis and synthesis, and development of messaging and communications delivery mechanisms.
Montgomery County Stormwater Outreach
With support from the Chesapeake Bay Trust and the Montgomery County Water Quality Protection Fund, the EFC is providing stormwater education and outreach to residents in Montgomery county, Maryland.
2022 - Present
Mid-Atlantic Climate Action Hub
By Kelly Blake, Maryland TodayThe Environmental Finance Center is a key partner in a $2.2 million grant to help launch a University of Maryland-led initiative to address the effects of environmental racism and climate change across the mid-Atlantic region, providing financial and training support and advocating for policy changes.
2024 (November)
Landscape Architecture: Maximizing the Economic Benefits of Nature-based Solutions Through Design
The University of Maryland Environmental Finance Center developed a brief to help translate the benefit values (monetary) of landscape architects’ work on nature-based solutions. The brief offers an overview of nature-based economic benefits in five key areas: health and livability, expanded investment and sustainable jobs, increased biodiversity, carbon sequestration and improved resilience. A supplementary analysis offers lessons from 175 case studies in the U.S. Five key takeaways from the EFC brief include:
2019 - 2022
Getting the MOST for Maryland Black Mayors
EFC, in partnership with Maryland Black Mayors, Inc. (MBM) created a training program to educate and better connect MBM elected officials and staff with stormwater management solutions. The training program includes in-person workshops, MOST Center online courses, facilitated peer-to-peer discussion forums, and matchmaking with local watershed groups and technical service providers.
2019 - 2020
Financing Urban Tree Canopy Programs
EFC partnered with the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay to develop Financing Urban Tree Canopy Programs: Guidebook for Local Governments in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. This resource is the result of a year-long collaboration between EFC and the Alliance, along with additional partners including the USDA Forest Service, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG), and the Chesapeake Bay Program Forestry Workgroup. It draws on input from representatives of local and state government from every jurisdiction in the Bay Watershed.
2023 - 2025
Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center (EJ TCTAC)
What is the Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers Program (EJ TCTAC)?
2021 - 2022
Emmitsburg Phase I Stormwater Utility Feasibility Study
The Environmental Finance Center assisted the Town of Emmitsburg, MD in developing a sufficient, sustained, and equitable financing strategy for stormwater management.The Town is required to comply with a Phase II National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for discharges from small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4). As a result of evaluating potential future budget solutions, the Town is considering a stormwater utility as a viable alternative to funding its stormwater management program services.