A program that builds green infrastructure in the D.C. area sustains the environment, local workforce

Raymond Coates did not think he was going to make it to the end of his first day on a new job. The 58-year-old D.C. resident had never worked construction before, yet there he was on a warm fall day, struggling to move dirt in a wheelbarrow, and regretting decisions to skip breakfast and not pack a lunch...

...Last year, Coates, discovered the National Green Infrastructure Certification Program. Created through a partnership between DC Water and the Water Environment Federation, the program educates and trains new workers in how to build, inspect and keep up green infrastructure like rain gardens, roof gardens and pavement that absorbs water. The projects can slow, clean and sometimes reuse storm water that otherwise would flow dirty and unchecked into area waterways...