Lenexa, Kansas earned national recognition with its Rain to Recreation initiative. The program treats the water as an amenity for the community rather than a liability, using a range of green and grey infrastructure strategies to reduce flooding and protect water quality, while also providing recreational and educational opportunities for the community. Rain to Recreation uses regulatory and non-regulatory approaches, as well as major capital projects and land acquisition to achieve its goals. Trees play a key role within these strategies. Land within floodplains and riparian zones that are purchased outright are being restored with native vegetation, including trees to increase infiltration of rainwater and filter out pollutants before they reach the river.

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