DENVER, CO – On January 23-24, 2024, the University of Georgia’s Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems (IRIS) co-hosted the first Nature-based Solutions and Natural Infrastructure Network Design Workshop in collaboration with the Walton Family Foundation. The workshop brought together leaders from across the Colorado and Mississippi River Basins to develop a strategic plan for expanding a natural infrastructure resilience network in these vital ecoregions.
Nature-based solutions (NbS), are techniques that use natural processes and ecosystem services in conjunction with traditional infrastructure to meet societal needs. Natural infrastructure (NI) uses natural processes and ecosystem services to support engineering objectives, such as reducing flood damages or securing safe and ample water supplies.
NbS and NI are gaining popularity in research, industry and governmental practices. This interdisciplinary group of leaders from across the public and private sectors worked through multiple breakout discussions on how to identify opportunities and implement nature-based solutions in each basin for delivery of multiple benefits.
“We’re thrilled to see the continued growth and emphasis on natural infrastructure and removing barriers to implementation,” Tiffany Turner (Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership) wrote in a reflective survey. “Grounded in partnership, the workshop opened new connections and understanding of policy and community needs.”
The goal of this event was ultimately to develop a strategic plan for expanding a natural infrastructure resilience network in the Mississippi and Colorado River Basins, building partnerships across the two basins and the multiple sectors of representatives that were present at the meeting.
The workshop consisted of multiple breakout sessions with various discussion goals, and ultimately identified challenges and opportunities for expanding nature-based solutions in the two regions.
An attendee survey about how to move forward followed the event: Organizers asked about the community needs, organizational needs and opportunities to improve the event if and when the group meets again.
“I look forward to maintaining these connections and possibly seeing them and their organizations as collaborators or sponsors on projects through my career,” wrote Sarah Copertino, USACE Omaha District.
IRIS is uniquely poised to help deliver nature-based solutions improvements. With a team of over 100 faculty, staff and graduate students with expertise in over 15 disciplines, IRIS is committed to the power and value of interdisciplinary collaboration. IRIS was represented at the workshop by 8 faculty and staff members, including C. Brock Woodson, who led the event in collaboration with the Walton Family Foundation.
“It is an honor and a privilege to be a member of the Walton Family Foundation and University of Georgia’s IRIS network,” Viv Bennett (The Nature Conservancy) wrote following the event. “I am truly grateful to them for creating the often needed but very rare to find time for, space to think in new and exciting ways about resiliency.”
The group will be discussing the strategic plan over the coming months to continue to develop this partnership.









