ATLANTA - The E.P.A. has awarded a $20,000 grant to Mississippi State University to carry out a green infrastructure demonstration and training project.
The university will create a 1,500-square-foot rain garden on its campus.
According to the plan narrative, students will be involved "at every aspect of the design, construction, maintenance and monitoring of the project." Students in art, landscape architecture, landscape contracting, and civil and environmental engineering will participate.
After plan completion, students will maintain the rain garden and use it to conduct water quality tests. They will also install informational kiosks to educate others about green infrastructure.
"The breadth of experience students are going to get from this plan is remarkable," said Ken Kopocis, EPA's deputy assistant administrator for water. "They will be prepared to contribute to green infrastructure on a number of fronts in their careers."
Green infrastructure uses vegetation, soils and natural processes to manage wet weather runoff, treating stormwater as a resource rather than a waste. It can enhance resiliency for communities and landscapes faced with water pollution and climate change impacts by increasing water supplies, reducing flooding, combatting urban heat island effect, and improving water quality.
The award encourages sustainable stormwater management by educating the next generation of scientists, designers and engineers about green infrastructure. By supporting demonstrations and training, colleges and universities can advance the implementation of green infrastructure to protect water quality.
This award builds on the success of EPA's Campus RainWorks Challenge, in which faculty and student teams design green infrastructure plans for their campuses. Mississippi State won a $1,000 second-place prize in 2013.
E.P.A. also awarded a $20,000 grant to Kansas State University to use its International Student Center rain garden and the meadow at the Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art as "living laboratories" for green infrastructure monitoring.
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Public inquiries: Jamie Piziali, 202-564-1709 or
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