Author: Mary Looney

Mapping Invasive Plants in a Coastal Forest

June 26th, 2024 1:00-2:00PM Presented by: Shelby Larubina and Jason Krumholz, CT NERR; Cary Chadwick, UConn CLEAR The newly designated Connecticut National Estuarine Research Reserve encompasses ~52,000 acres of upland, marsh, sandy beach, rocky shoreline and open water habitats in Southeastern CT. One of our first efforts in habitat mapping aimed to quantify the spatial […]

Neag School Professor Appointed to National Science Foundation Advisory Committee

A congratulations to CLEAR affiliate Todd Campbell for being appointed to a three-year on the National Science Foundation’s Directorate for STEM Education Advisory Committee. On this committee, Todd will meet with other members twice a year to provide insights and recommendations on emerging STEM topics. You can read more about his incredible achievement in the […]

New Model Identifies Shortcut for Understanding Dolphin Health

CT Sea Grant Director and UConn CLEAR affiliate, Sylvain De Guise, was mentioned in UConn Today’s article, New Model Identifies Shortcut for Understanding Dolphin Health! De Guise and his research group have been studying dolphins and their blood samples as biomarkers for health and mortality, especially in dolphins living in toxic and harmful environments. You […]

Tending Your Garden: New Rain Garden Installation Offers Lessons in Local Impact

Mike Dietz and the newest UConn green stormwater infrastructure installation was featured in UConn Today’s article Tending Your Garden: New Rain Garden Installation Offers Lessons in Local Impact. Dietz, Dickson, and their students installed a new rain garden located on the UConn Storrs’ campus next to the Dairy Bar. It will take in about 60,000 […]

How Will Climate Change Impact Connecticut?

May 29th, 2024 1:00-2:00PM Presented by: Owen Placido, UConn CLEAR and Deborah Abibou, Connecticut Sea Grant Continued changes to the climate around the world and in Connecticut are inevitable – the consequences of these changes, or climate impacts, are being experienced by Connecticut residents today and will continue to evolve in the coming decades. While […]

CT Stormwater Quality Manual Webinar 3: An Update on Stormwater Management in CT Recording

February 27th, 2023 12:00 – 1:00PM Presented by: Mary Looney & Dave Dickson, UConn CLEAR; Kathleen Knight, Chris Stone, & Nicole Kibbe, CT DEEP; Victor Benni, North Branford This webinar is the final one of our CT Stormwater Quality Manual: An Update on Stormwater Management in CT. Stormwater management and its impact on our water […]

CT Stormwater Quality Manual Webinar 2: The LID Process Recording

January 22nd, 2023 1:00 – 2:00PM Presented by: Mary Looney & Dave Dickson, UConn CLEAR This is the second webinar of the Stormwater Quality Manual Webinar Series on the newly released Connecticut Manual. CT NEMO has teamed up with CT DEEP to help provide more information and insight into the revised Manual and what it […]

Extension Educators Launch School-Based Green Infrastructure Initiative

A few of CLEAR’s Extension Educators were featured in today’s UConn Today article, Extension Educators Launch School-Based Green Infrastructure Initiative. Mike Dietz and Dave Dickson talk about their $100,000 grant, awarded by EPA. With this grant, Dietz and Dickson, along with their team – the Natural Resources Conservation Academy, are focused on partnering with local […]

Protecting Drinking Water Sources: A GIS Tool to Rank Priority Areas in CT

November 2nd, 2023 1:00 – 2:30PM Presented by: Emily Wilson & Rachel Lei-Parent, UConn CLEAR & CT DPH Hosted by: CT Council on Soil and Water Conservation An introduction to a tool for Source Water Protection developed by UCONN CLEAR in collaboration with the Department of Public Health and the Council on Soil and Water Conservation. This […]

UConn Land Use Academy Celebrates 20th Anniversary and Evolving Needs

CLEAR’s very own Renata Bertotti was featured in UConn Today’s article, UConn Land Use Academy Celebrates 20th Anniversary and Evolving Needs, discussing her work with the Land Use Academy – which is now celebrating its 20th anniversary. The Land Use Academy provides education for local land use planners as they make decisions balancing development and environmental […]

Trails and Active Living Program Expands Access to the Outdoors

Check out UConn Today’s new article, Trails and Active Living Program Expands Access to the Outdoors! This article features CLEAR’s very own, Emily Wilson, who discusses her work on the Connecticut Trail Census and Connecticut Trail Finder. These websites allow for the tracking of different usage trends on the trails across the state and offer […]

The New Stormwater Quality Manual: What You Should Know

September 26th, 2023 1:00 – 2:00PM Presented by: Mary Looney & Dave Dickson, UConn CLEAR The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP) has recently updated the 2004 Stormwater Quality Manual and plan to release the newly revised Manual this Fall. CT NEMO has teamed up with CT DEEP to help provide more […]

The Ecology and Importance of CT’s Beach Dune Systems Webinar

June 14th, 2023 1:00 – 2:00 Presented by: Juliana Barrett (Juliana.barrett@uconn.edu), Ralph Lewis (rlewis1@fandm.edu) This webinar provides an overview of the ecology and geology of sandy beach-dune systems in Connecticut. We provide highlights from a soon to be available booklet which includes an overview of the ecology of Connecticut’s beach-dune ecosystem and an in-depth look at the […]

E-Corps: Building Skills and Bolstering Environmental Efforts Across Connecticut

The Environment Corps (E-Corps) was featured in UConn Today’s article, E-Corps: Building Skills and Bolstering Environmental Efforts Across Connecticut. CLEAR’s Extension Educator Emeritus and a Co-Founder, Chet Arnold, was interviewed to talk about the program and its invaluable assistance to Connecticut municipalities with regards to climate change mitigation, all while providing real-world experience to UConn students. Also […]

Land Use Academy Position Now Open!

The UConn Center for Land Use Education and Research (CLEAR) is searching for a new team member to lead our Land Use Academy and participate in our Adapt CT and Climate Corps programs. We are looking for someone with planning experience and a desire to contribute to a dynamic, fun, creative team focused on helping […]

Regional Stormwater Utilities Efficiencies and Challenges

February 22nd, 2023 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM Presented by Jeff Colella, Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority, PA For this webinar, we invite Jeff Colella, Stormwater Division Manager of the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority (WVSA) to discuss the program’s experience as a regional stormwater utility and MS4 Administrator in Pennsylvania. In this webinar, we will hear […]

Inside the Effort to Reduce Road Salt Amounts in Connecticut

Our  very own Mike Dietz was mentioned in NBC Connecticut’s Inside the Effort to Reduce Road Salt Amounts in Connecticut talking about the need to reduce the amount to salt being applied on the roads throughout the winter season. Dietz is working to shine the light on the many consequences of over salting, including the negative […]

Trail Mapping for CT Trail Finder with Avenza Maps

December 7, 2022 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM Presented by Cary Chadwick & Emily Wilson, UConn CLEAR Connecticut Trail Finder is a free, interactive mapping site designed to help Connecticut residents and visitors find publicly accessible hiking, walking, snowshoeing, mountain biking, cross-country skiing, and paddling trails across the state. It is a critical resource for […]

A New Tool to Assess Watershed Health in CT

Nov 2, 2022 Presented by Chet Arnold & Qian “Rachel” Lei-Parent, UConn CLEAR It’s well known that there is a close relationship between watershed health and land use. Until now, however, statewide or other large scale examinations of this relationship have been limited to what can be determined using moderate resolution (30 meter) land cover […]