Ready, Set, Rain!
RAIN Community Solutions helps communities manage rain where it falls to reduce runoff, lower flood risk, protect water quality, and save money.
Slow it down. Soak it up. Keep it clean.
RAIN Community Solutions was a joint venture of Green Communities Canada and our member organizations across Canada. This venture was active from 2009 through 2014 and won the Council of the Federation Award for Excellence in Water Stewardship.
Rain Community Solutions worked with GCC’s member organizations and collaborated with municipalities, environmental organizations, and property owners to implement practical rainwater management strategies that build local resilience and treat rain as a valuable resource.
Rain Community Solutions provided community engagement, capacity-building, policy change support, stakeholder connections, environmental assistance, and funding and media opportunities.
Rain Programs provide many benefits
- Reducing flooding
- Protecting water quality
- Saving money
- Beautifying neighborhoods
- Improving habitats
Flood Risk Reduction
We believe it is everyone’s responsibility to manage rain where it falls and reduce flood risk downstream.
Flooding is a major threat to Canadians. Green Communities Canada works with communities to reduce flooding by treating rain as a resource and managing it close to where it falls.
Municipal Implementation Network
RAIN Community Solutions coordinated a network to support municipalities in implementing successful neighbourhood flood prevention retrofits. We hosted webinars, workshops, and peer to peer knowledge sharing.
Customized support
RAIN Community Solutions worked with municipalities to implement successful community engagement programs around flood risk reduction and stormwater management. See our Action Map and RAIN Garden Groundbreakers for some examples.
Green Communities Canada continues to provide expert recommendations on municipal policies for Green Infrastructure and managing rain where it falls. Contact us to discuss how we can work with your municipality.
Ontario urban flooding collaborative
Through our RAIN Community Solutions program, Green Communities Canada worked with municipalities, nonprofits, the insurance industry, academics, conservation authorities, property owners, and funders to come up with a collective action plan to address urban flooding in Ontario. Read our report “Urban flooding in Ontario – toward collective impact solutions” and sign up here to stay up to date on this project.
Success in RAIN Community Solutions
The RAIN Community Solutions program leveraged GCC’s diverse and far-reaching network of expert community service providers, many already working on community-level stormwater programming. Between 2010-2015, the RAIN team and community participants worked hard to achieve some great results.
We’ve got the numbers to prove it!
History of RAIN Community Solutions
RAIN Community Solutions is part of a long-standing focus on green infrastructure and water conservation and protection at Green Communities Canada.
GCC’s Network Delivers Across Canada
Continuing Green Infrastructure Work
Green Communities Canada continues to advance many of the programming goals from RAIN in our ongoing work in Green Infrastructure, including through our Living Cities Canada Fund. We also continue to curate many resources – including our free online RAIN Garden Master Class – that support community-level stormwater programming developed through the Rain Community Solutions program.
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Green Communities Canada continues to curate many resources – including our free online RAIN Garden Master Class – that support community-level stormwater programming developed through the Rain Community Solutions program.