Author: Mary Looney

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 […]

Virtual Town Meetings: Use Online Polling Technology to Engage with Virtual Audiences

May 18, 2020 Presented By Dr. Miriah Russo Kelly, UConn Department of Extension Now that online communication is becoming ubiquitous, land-use officials may be challenged to find new and innovative ways to connect with, and gather feedback from stakeholders. In this webinar, Dr. Kelly will demonstrate how to use sli.do, an online polling platform, to […]

Zoning for Outdoor Living During COVID-19

May 15, 2020 Presented By Sara C. Bronin, Thomas F. Gallivan Chair of Real Property Law, UConn Law School and Chair, Hartford Planning and Zoning Commission Governments around the country are slowly allowing businesses to re-open as new COVID-19 cases taper off. One strategy to make re-opening safer is to move commercial activities outdoors. How […]

The View from Above, Updated: How to Access and Use New Aerial Imagery

May 13, 2020 Presented By Emily Wilson, UConn Department of Extension, CLEAR New high resolution imagery is here! Connecticut’s 2019 aerial imagery is now part of the CT ECO website in the form of viewers, download, and services. The 4 band, 6 inch pixel imagery is the 20th imagery dataset of Connecticut on CT ECO. […]

Connecticut’s Changing Forests: What it Means for Carbon Dynamics and Climate Resilience

May 11, 2020 Presented By Dr. Robert Fahey, UConn Department of Natural Resources and the Environment Forests represent an important potential component of climate mitigation strategies and are increasingly being promoted as an important solution in addressing global climate change at local to global scales. However, the forests of Connecticut are entering a period of […]

Green Snow-Pro Training: Proven to Reduce Road Salt Impacts

May 6, 2020 Presented By Dr. Mike Dietz, UConn Department of Extension, CLEAR, CT Institute of Water Resources Let’s face it, the weather is improving (slightly), and the last thing anyone wants to think about is winter and road salt. However, now is the time to start planning for next year! New Hampshire’s Green Snow Pro […]

The Trail Less Traveled: Apps to Find Social Distancing in the Great Outdoors

May 4, 2020 Presented By Cary Chadwick and Dave Dickson, UConn Department of Extension, CLEAR During the COVID-19 crisis, trail usage has skyrocketed. However, that usage has been concentrated on the best known trails, creating a challenge for social distancing. There are several smartphone apps that can help connect people with lesser known trails that can […]

What’s Driving Climate Adaptation in Connecticut (And Why)?

April 27, 2020 Presented By Mark A. Boyer, Dept. of Geography Department, UConn; Executive Director, International Studies Association (ISA; www.isanet.org) When confronted with the demands of global climate change, why do some towns move the climate adaptation agenda forward in their communities while others seemingly get little accomplished? To answer this question, we look at […]

Path to brownfield redevelopment: CBI’s Municipal Assistance Program

April 22, 2020 Presented By Dr. Nefeli Bompoti, Project Manager, Connecticut Brownfields Initiative The Connecticut Brownfields Initiative (CBI) is an educational and community support program with a mission to promote brownfield redevelopment in the State of Connecticut. CBI operates within the University of Connecticut and provides training and support for CT stakeholders on brownfield remediation […]

Learning from Cottontails: Successes and Challenges of the Young Forest Initiative

April 20, 2020 Presented By Lisa Wahle, Wildlife Management Institute, Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Young forest and shrubland, and the wildlife species that depend on these areas have been in decline for many years due to anthropogenic development on natural lands and the normal maturation of forests. The designation of the New England […]