Wednesday (7/9) seminar presents ‘Green Infrastructure Vision’

With “going green” trends growing, Purdue University Calumet is teaming up with local conservation groups to raise awareness of recommended resource protection areas Wednesday (7/9) at 6:30 p.m. at The Calumet Conference Center of Purdue University Calumet.

In his free seminar, “A Green Infrastructure Vision for Chicago Wilderness,” natural resource engineer Dennis Dreher will discuss the Chicago Wilderness Green Infrastructure Vision--a regional-scale map that identifies 1.8 million acres of resource protection areas recommended by Chicago Wilderness resource experts.

By mapping an on-the-ground vision for protected landscape, the Green Infrastructure Vision goes a step beyond the Chicago Wilderness Consortium’s previous guide plan, the Biodiversity Recovery Plan, which has won state and national awards for its approach to regional biodiversity conservation.

Dreher, director of conservation design for land use engineering firm Cowhey Gudmundson Leder, Ltd, offers more than 30 years of experience in a variety of water and natural resource issues. Since joining Cowhey in 2006, he has played a lead role in incorporating conservation design principles into various private and public development projects.

Dreher is the second speaker in Go with the Flow series--a five-part seminar series intended to raise awareness of land use practices on Lake Michigan’s coastal resources in Indiana.

Upcoming seminars in the series are:

• Aug. 13, “Managing Nature Preserves in a Fragmented Landscape”
• Sept. 10, “Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products: The Impact on Our Water Systems”
• Oct. 8, “The 21st-Century Battle Between Precipitation and Evaporation in the Great Lakes Water Cycle”

The series is funded by a grant Purdue Calumet received from the Lake Michigan Coastal Program. Other sponsors are Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

The Calumet Conference Center is located at the far south end of Purdue Calumet’s Hammond campus—one-third mile north of Interstate 80/94 to 173rd Street, three blocks east of Indianapolis Boulevard, south at the traffic lot into the south parking lot. Additional information can be obtained by contacting Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant aquatic ecology specialist Leslie Dorworth at 219/989-2726 or dorworth@calumet.purdue.edu.

News Release Date: July 7, 2008