This course will provide municipal staff with an understanding of how to incorporate green infrastructure into the asset management planning process. This course builds on GIO’s first training series by focusing on the stages of asset management beyond asset inventories. Participants will learn about developing levels of service for green infrastructure as well as how to undertake lifecycle management and risk/criticality assessments for green infrastructure assets. For each of the topics we will cover examples of natural, engineered, and enhanced green infrastructure assets. 

Who should attend?

This course is for anyone who is or will be involved in incorporating green infrastructure into asset management plans. This includes asset management planners and those who manage green infrastructure such as parks and urban forestry staff. Participants are not required to have attended GIO’s introductory training series on green infrastructure asset management, but it would be helpful to have a solid basic understanding of asset management and green infrastructure to attend this series.

January 13, 2022 1:00-2:00 p.m. EDT
This session will focus on the second stage of asset management planning, defining levels of services. We will learn about levels of service and what they aim to do. We will provide an overview on how to define levels of service at a community and technical level and how to measure performance and set performance targets. We will also work through examples of how these concepts can be applied to different types of green infrastructure assets.

Learning Objectives

By completing this training session, the participant should be able to:

• explain what Levels of Service (LOS) are and what they aim to do
• describe and differentiate community expectations, community LOS, technical LOS and performance measures
• understand how legislative requirements, municipal strategic planning documents and affordability should inform the specification of LOS
• understand how asset condition can effect LOS
• identify some of the services that green infrastructure assets provide and to whom
• understand how to define customer levels of service for GI and give some examples for GI assets
• understand how to define technical levels of service, and give examples for GI assets

January 27, 2022 1:00-2:00 p.m. EDT
In this session participants will learn the typical stages of asset lifecycle management from acquisition to disposal, and how these may or may not apply to green infrastructure. Development of a lifecycle management strategy is important because it identifies the management activities needed to ensure the provision of the proposed levels of service. We will also cover approaches to determining lifecycle costs for green infrastructure assets with some extra focus on natural assets. Finally, we will look at some examples of lifecycle management approaches for different types of green infrastructure.

Learning Objectives

After completing this training session, participants should be able to:

• outline the purpose of developing a lifecycle management strategy
• list the stages of a traditional asset’s lifecycle
• apply lifecycle concepts to green infrastructure and identify lifecycle stages for a selection of green infrastructure assets (natural, enhanced, and engineered)
• understand a methodology for determining lifecycle costs for natural assets
• list some typical management activities or options for a selection of green infrastructure assets
• understand how the choice of management activities can affect levels of service and risks to service delivery

February 10, 2022 1:00-2:00 p.m. EDT
This session will focus on conducting risk and criticality assessments for green infrastructure. Risk and criticality measures can allow municipalities to prioritize asset needs. This training will include information on modes of failure for green infrastructure assets, as well as how to assess probability of failure and consequence of failure and determine an overall criticality score. This session will also delve into different maturity levels for criticality assessments and discuss what types of analyses can be done at different levels of maturity.

Learning Objectives

After completing this training session, participants should be able to:

• understand the importance of assessing risk as part of asset management
• identify modes of failure for a wide variety of green infrastructure assets
• understand how probability of failure is assessed for green infrastructure assets
• understand how consequence of failure is assessed for green infrastructure assets
• understand how to calculate criticality for green infrastructure assets 

The Green Infrastructure Ontario Coalition (GIO), in partnership with Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), is offering a training series focused on green infrastructure (GI) asset management planning. This three-part series introduces green infrastructure and asset management planning, and then delves into inventorying and valuing green infrastructure, including developing an asset register and valuing assets to understand the state of municipal infrastructure.

Session 1 – Introduction to Green Infrastructure and Asset Management Planning

Learn concepts needed to understand green infrastructure and ecosystem services and how these topics relate to municipal asset management planning. 

Session 2 – Inventorying and Valuing Green Infrastructure assets – Part 1

Participants will learn how to set up a GI classification scheme, which key attributes should be included, and more. 

Session 3 – Inventorying and Valuing Green Infrastructure assets – Part 2

Continuing from session 2, participants will delve deeper into GI asset management classification, understand valuation approaches, and more. 

This  introductory session presents concepts needed to understand green infrastructure and ecosystem services and how these topics relate to asset management planning. It also provides an overview of asset management planning and the Ontario Regulation 588/17: Asset Management Planning for Municipal Infrastructure. Participants will learn how asset management planning can help to support the management of green infrastructure so that it continues to provide critical ecosystem services for municipalities.

Learning Outcomes

By completing this session, you will be able to

• describe green infrastructure (GI) and different types of GI
• understand how GI supports the provision of ecosystem services
• relate the concepts of GI, municipal assets, and municipal services
• explain the purpose of asset management planning
• identify the four main stages of asset management planning
• understand where GI asset management planning does and does not relate to ecosystem service valuations
• explain how incorporating GI into asset management planning can support positive outcomes for the management of GI

The first stage of asset management planning is developing an asset register and inventorying assets to understand the state of municipal infrastructure. This content,  presented over the course of 2 sessions, will demonstrate how to set up a GI classification scheme, which key attributes should be stored within the asset register including asset quantity, age/condition and value. It also delves into detail about different asset valuation approaches and where they are most useful. Some possible software platforms for the asset register are identified.

Participants should note that this content is continued on Session 3: Inventorying and valuing green infrastructure assets – Part 2.

Session 2 topics: 

• overview of the asset inventory/state of infrastructure
• asset classification systems and application to GI
• typical attributes recorded in the asset inventory: physical, financial and condition
• measuring asset quantity, ago, and condition for GI assets

This session is a continuation from Session 2: Inventorying and valuing green infrastructure –  Part 1. Participants will continue to build their understanding of asset management planning. 

Session 3 topics:   

• purpose of asset valuation
• overview of valuation approaches
• link valuation approaches to different asset management planning stages
• detailed discussion of current replacement cost, use of benchmark costs, and the application of this method to GI
• software platforms the asset register

Session 2 & 3 Learning outcomes 

By completing session 2&3, you will be able to 

• explain what an asset register and inventory is
• develop a sample asset classification scheme for GI
• list the key information which should be provided for state of infrastructure reporting as required by the O. Reg. 588/17

The Green Infrastructure Ontario Coalition (GIO) is launching a new two-part webinar series offering an introduction to green infrastructure that will answer the question “what is green infrastructure and why should you care?” 

Have you heard terms like green infrastructure, natural infrastructure, nature-based solutions, and low impact development and wondered what they mean and how they are different? This series will define key terms, explain the benefits and services that green infrastructure provide, and give specific examples of green infrastructure solutions, as well as explaining how green infrastructure has been incorporated into policy at the municipal, provincial, and federal levels. 

Who should attend?

This webinar is for anyone who is new to the idea of green infrastructure and wants to deepen their understanding. 

Thursday September 16, 2021 1:00-2:00 p.m. EDT
In this 1-hour webinar, we will answer the question: “what is green infrastructure and why should you care? We will define “green infrastructure” and other key terms, as well as debunking some common misconceptions. Participants will learn about the various co-benefits and services that green infrastructure provide and get some concrete examples of green infrastructure solutions. 

Thursday September 23, 2021 1:00-2:00 p.m. EDT
In session 2, participants will learn about green infrastructure’s impact on the economy, including the wide range of jobs within the sector. We will describe how green infrastructure has been included in policy at various levels, and provide examples, and finally, participants will learn how green infrastructure has been used in other jurisdictions.

If you miss a session and want to find out when we’re running it again, or if you have any other questions, reach out at info@greeninfrastructureontario.org