Author: Mary Looney

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 […]

Under Pressure: Rethinking CT’s Coastal Land Use and Adaptation Strategies

UConn CLEAR’s Juliana Barrett and colleague Tao Wu were recently featured in UConn Today’s Under Pressure: Rethinking CT’s Coastal Land Use and Adaptation Strategies. This article focuses on Barrett and Wu’s recently publication about land change throughout the years and the important factors at play when it comes to climate resilience. It keys in on the […]

Connecticut Institute of Water Resources Expands Groundwater Safety Efforts

CLEAR’s own Mike Dietz has done it again! Dietz was featured in UConn Today’s Connecticut Institute of Water Resources Expands Groundwater Safety Efforts to discuss his new funding to increase groundwater testing for rural drinking wells. Over the next two years, Dietz is hoping to increase the availability of the service from 25 homeowners to 1,000 homeowners. […]

Stormwater Utility Trends Across the US

June 15th, 2022 Presented by Dr. Warren Campbell, Western Kentucky University Dr. Warren Campbell from Western Kentucky University has been collecting and analyzing information on stormwater utilities in the US for 15 years. He has been described as a human encyclopedia of stormwater utilities. In this webinar, he will dive into how widespread stormwater utilities are […]

UConn Team Wins Second Place in EPA’s 2021 Campus RainWorks Challenge

A group of UConn students, faculty, and staff have won second place in EPA’s 2021 Campus RainWorks Challenge! The team presented a new look for the Avery Point Campus, redesigned with native plants and green stormwater infrastructure in order to better mitigate and reduce the impacts of stormwater pollution. This proposed disconnections of impervious cove, […]

Stormwater Utility Webinar Series: South Burlington

Introducing out next stormwater utility webinar, Starting A Stormwater Utility: Learning from the South Burlington Experience!   In this webinar, the Stormwater Superintendent of South Burlington, VT, Dave Wheeler, will discuss the process of establishing the first stormwater utility in the state. This webinar will provide further detail on various aspects of setting up and […]

Fallout from tree mortality recently caused by insect pests

May 27, 2020 Presented By Tom Worthley, Extension Professor and Forester, UConn Dept. of Extension Recently, insect pests affecting trees, particularly emerald ash borer and gypsy moth, have caused the deaths of trees in varying degrees of severity, from individual trees to entire stands. And with so many folks taking physically-distant recreational time outdoors – […]

Water Quality Challenges in Groundwater Influenced Streams

May 20, 2020 Presented By Dr. Ashley Helton, UConn Department of Natural Resources and the Environment Groundwater discharge zones along river networks sustain water flow and provide thermal refugia for aquatic organisms while also acting as conduits of legacy contaminants, including nitrogen. Efforts to protect and manage groundwater-influenced stream ecosystems, however, are limited by our […]