Announcing the iGreenCR Initiative

The City of Cedar Rapids launched a new sustainability initiative, iGreenCR, on Saturday, March 17, 2012.  The purpose of iGreenCR is to demonstrate the City's commitment to creating a more sustainable community for Cedar Rapids' next generation.  iGreenCR's focus is on both the “i”nvestment the city is making in projects to will improve Cedar Rapids for generations to come as well as the actions each “i”ndividual can take to incorporate sustainability into their daily lives.

Eight distinct elements contribute to the iGreenCR initiative: Forestry, Community Development, Bike CR, Stormwater, Energy Management, Parks & Gardens, CleanUpCR, and CR Transit.  Each of the eight elements significantly contributes to the betterment of our community.  Here are some examples of the work iGreenCR has already completed:

• A commitment to plant 700-900 trees in our community each year
• Conversion of all traffic signals in Cedar Rapids to LED technology
• Pesticides are no longer applied to public land in Cedar Rapids
• The purchase of 5 new city buses that utilize clean diesel technology
• Installing bike racks on every bus
• Training builders and contractors about erosion control requirements
• Developing landscaping standards for new developments
• Incorporating native plantings into our parks, gardens and greenways

More information about the great work being done in Cedar Rapids is available at

www.iGreenCR.com.  Also, residents can sign up for iGreenCR updates on

CRNewsNow.com, the city's text and email notification service.