Regional Workshops, Webinars & Events
The Florida Urban Forestry Council regularly hosts regional workshops, webinars, and events to provide educational opportunities. Some of these opportunities are in-person events and others online. Various topics are covered within urban forestry. In addition to these events, check out the Urban Forestry Institute ~ our yearly premier event!
Pitching Green Infrastructures to Political Leaders:
Benefits AND Tax Dollars
• • •
December 12, 2024
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM (EST)
Learning Objectives:
➢ Learn the benefits of green infrastructure: air quality, water quality, stormwater retention and detention, energy savings, aesthetics, health, and more
➢ Explore the number of ways that green infrastructure can save taxpayer money, from personal-level safety to billion-dollar price tags
➢ Discover the number of ways that green infrastructure can help increase tax revenue (e.g., property value increase directly correlates to property tax increase)
Instructors:
Wei Zhang, Ph.D. &
Education Coordinator
The Institute of Soil Genomics for Healthy Community Forestry
E-mail: weizhang@growtrees.earth
Gordon Mann
Arboriculture and Community Forestry Coordinator
The Institute of Soil Genomics for Healthy Community Forestry
Email: gordon@mannandtrees.com
Course Description:
There are many studies and talks about the benefits of green infrastructures (GIs). Interestingly, most of the audiences/readers are the believers. They are more of “preaching to the choir.” But, at the same time, a significant percentage of the population does not (or does not want to) believe. This percentage seems higher among law/budget makers, both elected and professional. The proof is in how the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the limited and unbalanced access to GIs. In addition, while the usage of parks, trails and natural spaces surged, there were a large number of budget cuts, layoffs, hire freezes, furloughs, or program reductions in parks and urban/community forestry since March 2020.
This raises the question: How do we reach these non-believers?
First off, it is hard to ask for more funding in a normal budget year, let alone during a time with budget deficits. So, how can you preserve or expand your urban forestry program? By talking about the benefits? Definitely! But that is not enough. If you can directly connect the benefits with governmental budget line items, you will have a better chance.
Sign up for this educational webinar as the speakers provide tools/resources to green industry leaders on how to persuade your budget makers. Instead of endlessly talking about the big-picture benefits and economics of GI that seem non-related/non-essential to some law/budget makers, this talk gets directly to the thing they care about most: tax dollars!
This course will enable you to position GIs as two-fold solutions by discussing how they save money AND how they generate more tax revenue. Both are directly connected to the line items in a government budget and, if you can assign the benefits of green space with dollar amounts, you can keep your political leaders from falling asleep!
FUFC Members – Free
Non-Members – $10
Future Workshops, Webinars & Events
Other regional workshops, webinars & events are being planned. Please check back soon. Members and subscribers will be notified via email of any future event. Follow us on social media for announcements!
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