- Home
- Government
- Departments
- Public Works
- Sustainability
Sustainability
Sustainability and Resilience Plan
The City of Winona is creating its first Sustainability and Resilience Plan — and we want to hear from you!
Why does this matter?
The city wants to create, with the full community, a unified vision of a future sustainable community. The plan is an opportunity to identify targeted policies, programs, and projects that will address both current issues and future environmental concerns.
The plan will ultimately determine how the city and its elected officials approach sustainability through policy, action and decision-making in the coming years.
And we want to create specific, achievable goals that the city and the community can work toward, on topics like energy use, food, water stewardship, natural areas management, materials and waste, and transportation. Climate change considerations will be interwoven throughout the topic areas.
This plan will help us achieve equitable sustainability, economic resilience, and climate adaptability in the coming years and decades.
Why do you want to hear from me?
Your feedback and ideas will determine what issues are most important, what projects the city works on first, what goals are set, and how the city can support residents and businesses.You have the power to influence this change!
We want to hear what you’re most affected by, what’s working, what changes you would like to see, and what bold visions and ideas you have for Winona’s future sustainability and resiliency goals and policies.
What’s the timeline?
Engagement will be held through late spring/early summer. We’re hosting stakeholder listening sessions, public engagement, digital activities, and more! Stay in touch at this page and at the city’s and Engage Winona’s Facebook pages to learn more.
Create your hopes and dreams for a future sustainable Winona - and win $100! Learn more about the contest here.
How do I get engaged?
First: Sign up for the project email newsletter here!
Then: Take the survey here!
Next: Stay in touch by visiting this page, the city’s Sustainability Facebook page, and watching for email updates.
Contact
John Howard
Natural Resources and Sustainability Coordinatorjhoward@ci.winona.mn.us
507-457-8273
Want to learn more about the plan?
The city is using a triple bottom line approach by applying three core considerations as we develop the plan:
Environmental impactUnderstanding and addressing environmental issues and climate change facing the community both in the short and long term. | Economic resilienceEnsuring Winona’s economy is diverse, connected, and has the ability to withstand and even grow during disruption and change. | Equitable outcomesEnsuring all have equal access and no specific population is unfairly impacted when managing the area’s natural resources and preserving them for future generations. |
The City desires to help residents and businesses reduce the amount of waste they produce. Winona County coordinates recycling for the county and regulates solid waste hauling, and are a strong partner in this effort. Managing organic wastes such as yard debris and food waste are emerging considerations.
The Sustainability and Resilience Plan will continue efforts to increase the uptake of cost effective energy efficiency and clean energy opportunities. This includes working with our local utilities to maximize use of their rebates and incentive programs.
The Winona area is home to large tracts of natural lands with a variety of unique and/or threatened species. Prudent management of these lands will restore and maintain their ecological functions – all the while making these areas attractive to outdoor enthusiasts. Winona also has and will continue to take steps to improve pollinator and native plant areas within developed portions of the City.
The City hopes to ensure the availability of local food and its accessibility to all residents. Empowering residents to purchase local foods as well as grow their own food is an important aspect of ensuring food security in Winona. The Sustainability and Resilience Plan also hopes to focus on community garden and education efforts in this area.
Winona is home to a unique variety of natural bodies of water that require protection from pollutants in order to conserve drinking water and maintain healthy aquatic life. The Sustainability and Resilience Plan will focus on water conservation and protection, as well as green infrastructure improvements, which includes improvements to stormwater runoff infrastructure.
Transportation is important to every community. Public transit access, bikeability, walkability, and energy efficient automobile infrastructure are key aspects to the future success of the Winona community. This plan will address clean transportation infrastructure and access to multi-modal transport for city residents.