Advancing blue-green infrastructure in San Diego

Chollas Creek Community-Centered Watershed Planning

San Diego’s Chollas Creek Watershed is facing serious challenges from climate change, including more frequent flooding and extreme heat. To help address these issues, Greenprint is partnering with Groundwork San Diego-Chollas Creek, a local nonprofit focused on social, environmental and climate justice. Our two main project goals are 1) to develop a blue-green infrastructure (BGI) plan for the entire watershed; and 2) to empower residents to advocate for effective climate solutions. 

To achieve these goals, we assisted Groundwork in securing $500,000 for community-led planning from private philanthropy and public grant sources. Together with Groundwork, we identified, cultivated and submitted proposals to potential funders. We also led a four-month training program to equip resident fellows with the knowledge and skills needed to promote climate resilience and integrate BGI into public projects. Additionally, we advised Groundwork on national best-practice public engagement strategies to help them make more impactful recommendations to the City of San Diego Planning Department.

We’re now co-developing a community-centered blue-green infrastructure plan for the watershed and supporting the Chollas Blue Green Vision public education and advocacy campaign. Our strategic communications team led the branding and development of this campaign, which aims to promote BGI and stormwater investments in the Chollas Creek Watershed. The campaign seeks to engage residents to advocate for public and private investments that address flooding and water quality issues while enhancing parks, trails, green spaces and public facilities. 

The Chollas Blue Green Vision logo symbolizes the connection between water, the environment and community-centered infrastructure, reflecting the values of community, hope and action. This branding unifies all campaign materials, including presentations, newsletters and promotional items to strengthen the campaign through a consistent visual experience. Resident fellows also received training on social media best practices to enhance their outreach efforts. 

The Chollas Blue Green Vision brand has become the core identity for all related initiatives, including the Chollas Blue Green Collaborative — a group of nearly 60 stakeholders across the San Diego region working together to advance community-centered blue-green infrastructure and climate resilience. Greenprint supported Groundwork in launching this Collaborative and presently designs and facilitates quarterly Collaborative meetings to advance the development of the Chollas Blue Green Vision document and subsequent implementation plan.