Exploring Climate Solutions Webinar Series Equity and Environmental Justice in Climate Solutions The purpose of this series of webinars is to help member of the Governor’s Council on Climate Change (GC3), and the public, understand how climate change affects low-income people, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, people of color and other people who are at increased risk due […]
Author: Chet Arnold
The Start of Something Big: UConn Environment Corps
A UConn partnership led by CLEAR has received a $2.25 million grant from the National Science Foundation to expand and study a new public engagement program that combines teaching, service learning, and Extension outreach. The program is called the Environment Corps and focuses on using STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) skills to address important […]
Harnessing Student Power to Find Greener Stormwater Options
If you were out and about in the towns of North Haven, Milford, Hamden, West Haven or Cheshire this summer, you may have seen a team of four young adults writing on clipboards, snapping pictures of parking lots, laying their phones down on the sidewalk, and peering down into storm drains. These four intrepid UConn […]
That Sound You Hear is the Hatching of Conservation Projects!
Last week saw the successful launch of the Conservation Training Partnership program, the goal of which is to develop and carry out local conservation projects around the state powered by teams of high school students and community volunteers. The CTP is an outgrowth of the Natural Resources Conservation Academy, the week-long program for high school […]
The Journey from Airsick Bag to Dizzying Activity
April 15 marked the 15th anniversary of the founding of CLEAR. On that date in 2002, the UConn Board of Trustees approved CLEAR as an official university center. (It may surprise some of you to know that, at UConn at least, you can’t just hang up a shingle and call yourself an institute or center, […]
Anti-Bullying Campaign Gets an Assist from CLEAR Offspring
Anna Dietz, the 11 year-old daughter of CLEAR member Dr. Mike Dietz and his wife Sandra Guerrero, was the winner of a contest held by Munson’s Chocolates to design a new chocolate bar wrapper with an anti-bullying theme. The contest description and pictures of the three finalist designs, including Anna’s KINDNESS COUNTS, are on the […]
Major New CLEAR Programs Getting Underway in 2017
As 2017 gets underway, CLEAR folks are working hard on the early stages of major new projects that cover all three of CLEAR’s traditional program areas, and actually add a fourth! Each one of these projects will no doubt be the fodder for many blogs to come, but for now, here’s a quick summary of […]
A Brief Departure from the Hallowed Halls
With the summer pretty much behind us (sorry, but it’s true), the Center puts its nose back to the grindstone and, among many other things, turns its attention back to the blog. Except for me. My nose will not touch whirling pumice this semester, because I’m going on sabbatical leave. For those of you not […]
Land Use Academy wins award from CT Planners
CLEAR’s Land Use Academy has won the 2014 Education Award from the Connecticut Chapter of the American Planning Association. The Academy, created in 2007, provides basic training for municipal land use commissioners on roles and responsibilities, legal requirements and site plan reading, as well as advanced training on emerging topics. As we all know, land […]
The Human Pixels of CLEAR
CLEAR is a communal entity, kind of like a coral reef or The Blob of classic science fiction fame. We are much less extensive than either of these examples, however, allowing you the inestimable opportunity to get to know a little more about each of the human pixels that make up the CLEAR image. You […]
Cece & Sully Super CNN Sibling Celebrants!
Last Friday Cary Chadwick’s children Cece and Sully quite literally became CNN’s national poster children for National Siblings Day (4/10). Check it out!
New Faces @ CLEAR
Two recent additions to the ranks have appeared in the hallowed hallways of CLEAR, swelling our ranks to double digits and causing the mean age of the CLEAR crew to plummet. Andrew Kinlock is a recent graduate of The George Washington University who comes to the Center from a position with the CT DEEP. Andrew […]
Time to Reassess Connecticut’s Landscape
“Now is the time for Connecticut to move swiftly to save our dwindling open spaces and our great heritage of natural resources for the use and enjoyment of future generations.” Thus began a letter from the Governor of Connecticut ordering the preparation of a plan of action for statewide conservation. The Governor was John Dempsey, […]
A Congressman Supports Infiltration: of Stormwater, that is…
On Tuesday April 14th, Representative Joe Courtney of Connecticut’s Second District stopped by UConn for a brief tour of low impact development (LID), or green infrastructure (GI), stormwater practices on campus. The Congressman and his aide Cutter Oliver were doing some fact finding related to a bill introduced to the House last year, the […]
Green Roofs Blossom in America’s Cities
City parks and stock exchanges are not the only place to find large expanses of green these days. Green roofs are starting to become part of the cityscape in many of the larger cities on both the East and West coasts. The reason? Green roofs provide a host of environmental benefits: they increase energy efficiency, […]
CLEAR Faculty/Staff Honored at 2013 Awards & Honors Event
Three CLEAR faculty/staff were recently honored by UConn’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. For the second year in a row CLEAR team members (a team of two this year) have won the CES Grant for Innovative Programming in Extension Award. David Dickson and Michael Dietz won for their creation of the Rain Garden App, the […]
Of Witch Hazel and Wood Frogs
Here at CLEAR I don’t think anyone would claim to be a naturalist, at least of any skill or repute. But that doesn’t prevent our collective and individual enjoyment of the natural world, including the signal events that mark the turning of the seasons. For me (forgive me, crocus fans), there are really three signature […]
Celebrating World Water Day at Home
Today, Friday March 22, is World Water Day. Most of us have heard quotes like “the next war will be fought over water” (generally attributed to various U.N. diplomats). And, on the other side of the water quotation spectrum, there is the oft-repeated but unsubstantiated quote by comedian W.C. Fields, who supposedly said “Water, I […]
New CLEAR Progress Report Not as Boring as it Sounds!
Every 5.5 years or so (we have only two data points, so this may or may not be a trend) CLEAR issues a Progress Report in an attempt to characterize our rather unconventional blend of research, training, tool development, and outreach. Our second such report is now out, and to be frank—not to mention immodest […]
The Lawn and the Short of It
Thanks to Frederick Law Olmsted, Central Park has great expanses of grass. But can you imagine a lawn 14 times the size of Manhattan? That’s basically what we have in the Connecticut and lower New York area. Humble old grass has become the area’s third most extensive land cover, after forest and developed land (see […]