In 2017, the Bedford Parks and Recreation Department partnered with Live Well Lawrence County to open Bedford Garden Park, a community garden. The resulting park is now a space that produces food, brings people together, and offers activities that improve physical and mental health.
Let us know what you think of the Roadmap website. Provide your feedback →
Nature-Based Solutions Case Study Search
This database contains over 400 implementations of nature-based solutions. Use the filters to identify the case studies most relevant to you.
While all cases here exemplify applications of NBS strategies, they were gathered from various sources and not all were written using the framing of nature-based solutions. To qualify as a nature-based solution, a project must provide benefits to both people and nature. In some instances, the human benefits are present but not emphasized in the case write ups; these cases were included because they still provide useful information to learn from.
Other searches:
Find nature-based solutions strategies (project types) →
Find tools and resources →
The City of Bloomington began a creek naturalization project in 2002 to address significant erosion caused by intense storm water pressure and to enhance biodiversity in a popular local park. Through partnerships with local organizations, the City reduced flooding impacts, improved water quality and increased plant and animal species diversity in the improvement area.
Community Groups Work With Notre Dame Researchers to Restore a Creek Running Through New Golf Course
In the mid-1990s, the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, was set to begin development on the Warren Golf Course. The University initially designed the course to have Juday Creek, a historic waterway with declining ecological health, run through it. To protect the creek, community groups worked with Notre Dame researchers to restore it.
With a growing push to remove low-head dams due to safety concerns and the potential for ecosystem improvement, Corydon, Indiana was approached by The Nature Conservancy to remove two dams owned by the Town. The dams blocked potential habitat for the endangered hellbender salamander.
The City of Gary initiated the “Vacant to Vibrant” project in 2014, which aimed to mitigate flooding due to aging sewer system. The project completed the construction of three sites in the Aetna neighborhood by 2016, converting 0.37 acres of vacant land into green infrastructure featuring bat houses, rain gardens, and native plantings.
As temperatures and pests change, urban ecosystems will need to adjust and will become ever more important for public health and quality of life. In 2012, the City of Goshen completed an urban tree canopy inventory and assessment in order to understand what trees are in the community and how they will be impacted by environmental changes.
In 2015, the Jennings County Soil and Water Conservation District launched the "Share Some Space" program to address the declining pollinator population by creating new habitats across the county. Over four and a half years, the district collaborated with local, state, and national partners to educate the public about the importance of pollinators.
Local organizations in Knox County, Indiana, campaigned to raise awareness of the environmental and economic destruction that encroaching invasive species can have on communities. Representatives from the agriculture, horticulture and landscaping industries collaborated with conservation experts and the county attorney to determine the scope of an ordinance proposal that would ban 64 invasive plant species in the county.
The Maumee River Riparian Zone Restoration is a reforestation effort on 75 acres of farm land with a goal of restoring riparian bottomland habitat from being contaminated by hazardous substance releases from the Fort Wayne Reduction Site. The project reforested bottomland/riparian habitat with native and naturally-occurring tree and shrub species that are tolerant of wet conditions.