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Screenshot of a gallery of green stormwater mitigation practices

Florida green stormwater infrastructure photo library

The Nature Conservancy in Florida

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GreenInfo team: Dan Rademacher, Gregor Allensworth, Tim Sinnott

Project years: 2022

Tags: Applications Development Conservation Design Research Government Agencies Interactive Solutions Website Design

Overview

What challenges is this project trying to solve?

  • The benefits of Green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) and low-impact development projects be hard to picture, and its advantages can seem technical or obscure. If the public were more educated on its benefits, there would be greater support for such projects.

What were the client’s objectives?

  • Create an interactive library that advocates for and showcases the positive impacts of Green Stormwater Infrastructures with concrete examples that make the case for more sustainable stormwater management.

Results

  • A public website that includes a photo search and project search, along with key facts about each project with the purpose of educating and promoting Green Stormwater Infrastructures.
Florida Green Stormwater Photo Library Website
A screenshot of TNC Florida Green Stormwater Photo Library Website

The Work

Background

The Nature Conservancy in Florida is a big proponent of green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) and low-impact development. Projects that use things like permeable pavement and rain gardens offer a range of benefits in terms of reducing stormwater runoff, filtering pollutants out of groundwater, and more. But they can sometimes be hard to picture, and advantages like reduced soil erosion can seem technical or obscure. In truth, many GSI projects create welcoming, human-scale environments with plantings and habitat features that are simply beautiful. The GSI Photo Library helps project advocates and proponents showcase that beauty with concrete examples that make the case for more sustainable stormwater management.

Process

Greeninfo started with a survey and workshop with representatives from TNC, the University of Florida, the State of Florida, and  several other government agencies. From the survey and workshop, we developed a full list of user needs to guide our design and development of the website, with a special focus on how people would search and discover images relevant to their needs. We also learned that people looking for images wanted to know some key facts about each project, such as time since it was implemented, cost, and other variables.

Outcome

We built the application in WordPress where users can search for GSI projects throughout Florida. The website includes a locator map on each individual photo page, and a search by county, to allow users to find the most relevant examples.