CATHERINE L. WERNER (United States of America)
City of St. Louis
Planning & Urban Design Agency
Catherine is an experienced environmental attorney, educator and urban sustainability practitioner. She has held several sustainable development and natural resource conservation roles, working for both federal and local government, and also private firms and nonprofit organizations across the country. Catherine has extensive experience in not only policy and planning, but also project management and communication. She has overseen implementation of numerous sustainability strategies, including those advancing climate action, equity & climate justice, biodiversity, green infrastructure, biophilic design, and urban ecology. Catherine was appointed as the first Sustainability Director for the City of St. Louis in 2009, and in that capacity works on numerous urban sustainability initiatives for the city. From 2010-2013, Catherine spearheaded development of an award-winning and comprehensive Sustainability Plan for the City of St. Louis, and currently oversees implementation of sustainability priorities for the City. Catherine has been a champion of triple bottom line sustainability principles – balancing environmental issues alongside socio-economic considerations, including health and equity. She has been instrumental in launching several successful sustainability programs and projects in the City of St. Louis, such as its Climate Protection Initiative, Sustainable Neighborhood Initiative, Urban Vitality & Ecology Initiative, Milkweeds for Monarchs: The St. Louis Butterfly Project, Solar Workforce Development program, urban biodiversity framework and inventory, vehicle electrification program and the Set The PACE St. Louis energy-efficiency financing program. Catherine oversaw the City’s $3.7 Million Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant and has been steering the City’s climate action and climate justice efforts, including the $2.5 Million American Cities Climate Challenge award, the City Energy Project award, energy benchmarking and solar-readiness ordinances. She led the effort to earn the City compliance with the rigorous Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy, and develop the first Climate Action & Adaptation Plan and Climate Vulnerability Assessment for the City. She also led the City in the HUD-funded Regional Sustainable Communities Planning Grant on transit-oriented development, and oversaw the City’s STAR Community Rating System efforts. Prior to her work in St. Louis, Catherine served as lead Environmental Counsel for the federal Resolution Trust Corporation agency in the Washington, D.C. headquarters office. She coordinated water issues for the City of Chicago Department of Environment. At The Nature Conservancy of Missouri and Chicago Wilderness biodiversity collaboration, Catherine obtained valuable experience on natural resource issues. She also founded a nonprofit, Prairies Forever, to raise awareness about tallgrass prairies. Catherine has been the Environmental Specialist for a large-scale master planned community in northern Nevada, and the Sustainability Consultant to the provost at the University of Nevada, Reno. Catherine has taught environmental courses at various institutions of higher learning, including Environmental Law: Applications Toward Sustainability and Urban Ecology: Principles & Practice at Washington University in St. Louis. Catherine is a LEED Accredited Professional (New Construction), obtained her J.D. from Washington University School of Law, and her undergraduate degree from Duke University, with an A.B. in the field of political science.

Presenter of 1 Presentation

 Conference Calendar

CENTERING EQUITY IN URBAN BIODIVERSITY AND ECO-LITERACY

Session Name
0370 - Academic Sessions - Biodiversity 05: Systems approaches to urban change & green infrastructure (ID 64)
Session Type
Academic Sessions
Date
02/23/2022
Session Time
04:00 PM - 05:30 PM
Room

Hall A

Presenter
Lecture Time
04:40 PM - 04:50 PM

Abstract

Abstract Body

This session will explore ways to center equity in natural resource planning, decision-making and management for just access to biodiverse urban greenspaces.

Increasingly, cities are attempting to establish equitable access to greenspaces. Less common are efforts which ensure greenspaces provide high quality benefits to the people in the urban core; in particular, those who are most vulnerable, such as minorities and people of color. With intentionality, it is possible to incorporate greater urban biodiveristy in physical spaces that reach underserved parts of the community. Greater urban biodiversity has been shown to beneift humans and their health and well-being. High quality habitat is often associated with greater species presence and diversity. The presentation will feature case studies relating to urban monarch butterflies and urban tree planting efforts informed by human climate vulnerability, environmental justice, biodiversity, migratory birds and wildlife corridors.

Urban areas present important opportunities for diversity and supporting connections between people and nature. Because educational efforts can help foster an enhanced connection with urban natural resources that result in greater knowledge and appreciation, eco-literacy techniques and measurement tools will be highlighted. The use of community-based "citizen" science has proven effective in both raising people's awareness and collecting urban biodiversity data where municipal resources are limited.

ABOUT THE PRESENTER:

Catherine Werner serves as the Sustainability Director of the City of St. Louis, Missouri. In 2014, St. Louis City was among the first to pioneer urban monarch butterfly conservation techniques through Milkweeds for Monarchs: The St. Louis Butterfly Project. Milkweeds for Monarchs was successful in both creating significant urban monarch butterfly habitat, and improving eco-literacy among city residents. In addition, Catherine oversaw successful tree-planting efforts where objectives included socio-economic outcomes, advancing climate justice, addressing urban heat island and promoting ecological services such as stormwater management. In partnership with other cities, Catherine Werner has led/co-led urban biodiversity inventory efforts at the local and national scale. Examples include development of the Urban Biodiversity Inventory Framework (UBIF), crafting ways to utilize the UBIF methodology with iNaturalist, and coordinating the creation of the city's set of indicator/surrogate species for urban biodiversity.

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