What We Do

What does a more resilient and equitable Midwest look like to you?

We think it includes conservation-focused agriculture, reduced risks of climate change by proactively preparing communities, and better regional water quality. We also think that all these efforts must be inclusive to engage and benefit as many Midwesterners as possible—since all of us have a piece of the puzzle.

Through our programs, Delta Institute is creating a more resilient, equitable, and innovative home for all Midwesterners—as we believe acting now is not only a pressing climate change issue, but also an issue of environmental justice.

Explore our projects and impact, and please consider how you can help our home region today.

Nature-Based Climate Solutions

Delta Institute assists municipalities by integrating natural climate solutions and Green Infrastructure (GI) to reduce climate change impacts by capturing 100 million stormwater gallons and leveraging $100 million in municipal GI investment.

We focus on communities that are disproportionately affected by flooding and climate change, to collaboratively improve their environmental indicators, mitigate local impacts of climate change, and strengthen their neighborhoods’ resilience. We are helping our neighbors increase their resiliency and address our changing climate in the Midwest via:

Climate Resiliency
Flooding and Extreme Weather Mitigation
Green Infrastructure
Forest Canopy Expansion

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Resilient Agriculture

Delta Institute supports 1,000 farmers as they transition to sustainable and regenerative practices, thus improving the environment, mitigating the impacts of climate change, and strengthening a farmer’s bottom line. We forecast that by 2025, one million Midwestern agricultural acres will successfully transition to conservation-focused farming practices, so our region’s primary economic driver can be more environmentally and financially sound. We’re expanding conservation in the Midwestern agricultural economy by focusing on:

Soil Health
Farmland Valuation and Appraisal
Conservation-Focused Farming Practices
Carbon Sequestration

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Sustainability and Support Services

Delta Institute prides itself on being responsive to the needs of its partners and responding to what they define as being the most important goal, activity, project, or taking a new approach to improving their local environmental and economic outcomes.

Our Sustainability and Support Services are designed to respond to invitations to participate in community-led plans, which include a wide array of sectors in which Delta Institute has sizable experience. We forecast that by 2025, Delta Institute will work with more than 250 partner communities while securing $40 million in external investment and creating 100 practical tools, resources, strategies, and municipal/county-level plans. Our partners span the public, nonprofit and for-profit sectors, and together we address core needs that span: