Why Communities are Partnering with HLC

From Godfrey’s Bicycle & Pedestrian Master Plan; Edwardsville’s Parks, Trails, and Open Space Plan; Shiloh’s Comprehensive Plan; and the Kaskaskia Port District Strategic Plan, HeartLands has played a key role in creating better communities across the Metro East. Our capacity as professional planners comes from our 30-year history of serving southwestern Illinois. Likewise, our credentials, experience, and education as planners, designers, engineers, and scientists; as well as our unmatched local knowledge has led us to become a trusted partner for many communities.

Parks and Open Space

Every community wants good parks, but it takes planning to make a great park. For many communities, HeartLands uses expertise in park and recreation trends and best practices, land acquisition and expansion, wildlife habitat and natural resources, and green infrastructure to create long-term plans for park systems and individual park and open space development. Many communities have limited staff or have staff with primary expertise in recreation, sports management, and events. HeartLands can supplement parks and recreation department staff by providing expertise and assistance for conservation elements of the park system, such as vegetation management/ stewardship, native plant and tree selection, trail development, ecosystem restoration, vacant lot treatment, and passive recreation planning.

Community Engagement

Our staff are trained as professional facilitators and prioritize community goals and needs in all conservation and planning projects. We pride ourselves on listening to desires of the community. This method of community empowerment has led to successful project implementation in all areas of the region. Many communities need assistance with public meetings or goal-setting, and HLC brings planning, engagement, and environmental expertise to quickly step in to help. Resilient Growth Even though HeartLands Conservancy focuses primarily on the environment, we are not “anti-growth”. HLC works with communities in southern Illinois to determine the best locations for new community growth, while factoring in conditions that will affect the future prosperity and environment, such as flood-prone areas, need for parks and trails, infrastructure, and neighborhood development. HLC has worked with communities and counties to make recommendations for neighborhood improvements, draft ordinances for stream and flood zone buffers, and communitywide comprehensive land use plans.

Stormwater

Metro East communities know too well the problems of standing water, flooded roads and basements, water runoff, sewer infiltration, and erosion. The common solution thas been to spend immense amounts of local, state, and federal dollars to channelize water and attempt to control stormwater with concrete and pipes, or “grey” infrastructure. Despite these expensive efforts, sewers still get inundated, streets still flood, personal property still gets destroyed.

Using green infrastructure instead to manage stormwater is not only a cost method to reduce flooding and erosion, but it also cleans the water (which reduces costs at the water treatment plant), adapts to climate change, provides recreation, and is very often a beautiful amenity.

Green infrastructure allows water to slow and absorb into the soil. HeartLands has been working with green infrastructure for decades and has an excellent track record of pulling in various funding sources to plan, design, and install these solutions.

Let’s Partner!

HeartLands plays a pivotal role in bettering quality of life across southwestern Illinois. Our skilled staff is always looking to take on new challenges, so if your neighborhood, community, watershed, or city is looking to plan for the future and implement integral changes today, we would love to help you reach your goals. For more information, please contact Laura Lyon Director of Strategic Initiatives laura.lyon@heartlandsconservancy.org Why Communities Are Partnering with HLC

An extra bonus for our community partners

The revenue HeartLands earns for our services on these projects goes directly back into programs that serve communities, such as our upcoming Tree Stewards program, land acquisition assistance, stormwater projects, and other conservation programs.

One more bonus

Our Community Membership program provides a 5% discount on planning services to our members, in addition to other benefits, such as one free registration to our March 30 th Urban Forestry Luncheon. Memberships start at $100 for municipalities and park districts and $250 for counties. Contact Kim O’Bryan, Director of Development & Events, kim.obryan@heartlandsconservancy.org or 618) 566-4451 ext. 10.