Layne provides science-based outreach and communication on stormwater, with an emphasis on the use of native plants and native plant design. He develops digital and print stormwater outreach materials, serves as the landscape designer of the Red Oak Rain Garden, and helps facilitate and coordinate the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy. 

Layne holds a bachelor’s degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He is also a certified Illinois Master Gardener. Before joining Illinois Extension and Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant, Layne was a UIUC research assistant in the Department of Landscape Architecture and a landscape design contractor for Curry & Associates Engineers.