Natural Resources and Water

There is a growing awareness of the need to protect and preserve all our natural resources. Sustainable land management and the preservation of natural resources refers to practices and technologies that aim to integrate the management of land, water, and other environmental resources to produce goods that meet human needs while ensuring long-term sustainability, ecosystem services, biodiversity, and livelihoods. Water resource sustainability involves maintaining the health of ecosystems that depend on clean water. This not only includes drinking water, but also reliable supplies for sustainable agriculture, green industry, and transportation.

Illinois is fortunate to have abundant water and some of the best, most fertile soil on earth. Our clean waterways and vast prairies, savannas, and woodlands support immense biodiversity and plentiful natural resources. Throughout Illinois, efforts are being made to conserve and improve these systems by carefully managing a growing demand for agricultural and industrial use as well as municipal water supplies. Regenerating severely damaged systems through agroecology, natural area protection and restoration, lake and river restoration, and land management is resulting in positive changes.

Illinois Community Colleges and Natural Resources and Water Conservation

Illinois community colleges are working on their campuses and with their local communities to lessen their environmental impact through both administrative and educational efforts. Colleges and communities are building environmental awareness, reducing water consumption, as well as improving their stormwater, wastewater, and drinking water infrastructures. IGEN support adding to these efforts and helping colleges make our communities and campuses more water resilient by:

• Developing education and career pathways for graduates that are entering the workforce or supplementing their education in these fields.
• Offering continuing education programs and workshops for community members on sustainable natural resources and water conservation, including water audits and water efficiency measurements.
• Building awareness of the need for sustainable land management and resource preservation among all college faculty and staff.
  Implementing sustainable practices on campus, such as installing renewable energy technologies, conducting water audits, building smart grid classrooms, institutionalizing recycling programs, initiating compost programs, installing water bottle filling stations, and EV charging stations, and greening fleets with electric and alternative fuel vehicles.
• Using campus facilities as living laboratories to demonstrate innovative technologies and best practices such as water-conserving irrigation, wastewater treatment, rainwater capture, permaculture, and native landscaping.
• Renovating and retrofitting existing buildings with innovative technologies using best practices for more efficient water use. Improvements such as low-flow sprayers, and low-flow toilets and water bottle filling stations.
• Installing proper stormwater management with bioswales, rain gardens, and permeable pavers.