Greener Nebraska Towns Initiative

Greener Nebraska Towns (GNT) is an effort to significantly improve the green infrastructure (community landscape) of communities across Nebraska. Seven towns have been selected as initial GNT partner communities including Scottsbluff, Chadron, North Platte, Hastings, Grand Island, Fremont and Bellevue. These communities will receive grant funding and technical assistance to implement intensive tree planting, waterwise landscaping and targeted education over the next two to three years, with the hope of achieving several import goals:

1. Greener, cleaner, more sheltered and more viable communities.
2. An improved community forest with greater canopy cover and species diversity.
3. Cleaner, healthier and more secure waterways and storm drain systems.
4. Reduced water consumption for landscape care.
5. Greater biodiversity across the community landscape.
6. More aware, inspired and better educated public.

Greener Nebraska Towns is a response to important environmental, economic and social challenges we all face:

• Increasing demands on water supplies: consumption increases 500% or more during growing season requiring
• water supply systems to be designed at 4x to 5x normal capacity.
• Stormwater issues including polluted/degraded waterways and flooding.
• Declining community forests including lost canopy cover, poor species diversity, questionable planting practices and impending diseases/insects.
• Lack of biological diversity and lost wildlife habitat.
• Threats from a changing climate including the unknown future impact on water supplies.
• Rising energy costs.
• The global challenge for more sustainable living.
  

State Forester's Message

Please take a minute to watch this short video by Scott Josiah, State Forester and Director, Nebraska Forest Service. Scott welcomes all participating communities to the Greener Nebraska Towns Initiative and offers an inspiring message regarding the work we are all doing to help improve our community landscapes.

If you think your community or organization would make a good Greener Nebraska Towns Partner, please contact Justin Evertson at (402) 472-5045 or at jevertson1@unl.edu.

The Greener Nebraska Towns (GNT) Initiative is coordinated by the Nebraska Forest Service in partnership with the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum, Inc. and the University of Nebraska Rural Initiative.  GNT supports ReTree Nebraska and is funded by the Nebraska Environmental Trust and US Forest Service.