CLEAR’s venerable, award-winning NEMO (Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials) Program is embarking on a five-year program to assist Connecticut communities in complying with the state’s revised “General Permit for the Discharge of Stormwater from Small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems,” or the MS4 permit. Stormwater runoff is a major source of flooding, erosion and […]
CLEARscapes – Fall 2016 Edition
In This Issue Climate Corps MS4 Program Story Maps Gallery Land & Climate Program Updates Water Program Updates Geospatial Training & Technology Updates (View Newsletter as pdf)
A Firsthand Rain Garden
Stormwater is one of the largest polluters of surface water in our area. When rain falls to the ground and lands on impervious surfaces (such as roads, rooves, driveways, and more), the water collects all of the pollutants on this impervious cover and dumps them in concentrated amounts wherever the stormwater drains to. Often, the […]
MAGIC’s Historical Map Database
The Map and Geographic Information Center (MAGIC) located at the University of Connecticut’s Homer D. Babbidge Library in Storrs, CT offers a vast array of historical maps from around the world, but with a large focus on the Connecticut region of North America on their website http://magic.lib.uconn.edu/ As you delve into this historical map database […]
Citizen Science and the Connecticut Woodland Owner: New Extension Forestry program assists woodland owners with monitoring wildlife habitat
Scott Matties was checking his mailbox one late winter afternoon when he saw three shadowy figures cut across Ridge Road heading for his property. The shadows did not move like dogs. Domestic cats are not that big, he thought. He dashed to the back of his house and froze: three young bobcats trotted across his […]
Connecticut’s Forest History
May 31, 2016 Presented By Tom Worthley, Project Manager UConn CLEAR, UConn and Jeff Ward, Department of Forestry and Horticulture, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station Aligned with the theme of Connecticut’s Changing Landscape, but looking much farther back in time, we will discuss the natural forces and human land-use activities that have shaped the composition […]
Connecticut is Bear Country
By Mike Evans, PhD, University of Connecticut Department of Natural Resources and the Environment Connecticut is bear country. It may sound strange, but western CT is home to a growing population of American black bears. While bears may at times look out of place in the 4th most densely populated state, black bears living around […]
New Stormwater Regulations Spur a Look Back
Our family gatherings often involve interesting discussions (aka arguments) on politics, religion or other fun topics. Occasionally the conversations stray into the environmental arena. Although many in my family argue against “big government” getting in the way of everything, they have had to agree that some federal regulations like the Clean Water act and the […]
Research, Results and Ruminations About Connecticut’s Bears
May 5, 2016 Presented By Cary Chadwick, UConn CLEAR & Michael Evans, Graduate Student, Department of Natural Resources and the Environment If you’ve been following the news for the past few years, you know that black bears have returned to Connecticut. Given this fact, it is important to understand how these animals respond to different levels of […]
Low Impact Development in CT: Policies, Drivers, and Barriers
April 5, 2016 Presented By David Dickson & Chet Arnold, UConn CLEAR The concept of low impact development (LID) has been around for quite some time now. So….is Connecticut buying it? If so, how much? If not, why not? New research by CLEAR’s NEMO Program provides some answers to these questions. This webinar will review […]
Fostering Young Scientists through Conservation Projects that Benefit Connecticut Environments
Television, video games, internet, oh my; these days one hardly has to leave their room to find endless entertainment. Today, many have lifestyles that are disconnected from the outdoors and nature. Couple this with the decline of student interest in science, and we are now seeing a shortage of environmentally-conscious and scientifically-informed citizens to tackle […]
Natural Resources Conservation Academy
The 2015-2016 Natural Resources Conservation Academy (nrca.uconn.edu) students presented their amazing community projects Monday at the Connecticut Conference of Natural Resources. The students attend a week-long field experience at UConn in the summer and spend the next 7-9 months completing a conservation project in their community. These projects are often a combination of research (many of […]
Living Shorelines in CT: Design Considerations & Site Suitability
March 10, 2016 Presented in partnership with CIRCA, the CT Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation An increasing awareness of the need to reduce the potential adverse impacts of hardened coastal structures has prompted interest in the development of living shorelines as an alternative. This webinar will review of the benefits of living shorelines in […]
Seven Signs of Spring in Connecticut
Forget meteorological winter or astronomical winter. When does spring really come to Connecticut and how do we know? We all have our favorites – not walking the dog with a flashlight in the morning, red-winged blackbirds calling, piles of snow are melted, snow drops in bloom… As a New England transplant from the mid-Atlantic, the […]
This is Nuts!
By Tom Worthley, Associate Extension Professor, Forestry UCONN Cooperative Extension Wow, there were tons of acorns this past fall…literally tons. At least it seemed so, in my yard alone! There really were lots of acorns in many areas, and this phenomenon does occur every now and then, why is that? Why the great abundance of acorns […]
CLEAR’s 2015 Family Update Letter
Like ugly sweaters and fruitcake, the family update letter is a wonderfully annoying/possibly charming holiday staple. Here is our contribution to that time-honored tradition. (Note: In keeping with tradition, this post may have been embellished a bit.): Chet Took his first sabbatical after 28 years at UConn. Scoped out a few promising spots to plant a […]
Roadside Forests: Management Solutions for Storm Resilience
December 8, 2015 Presented by Tom Worthley, UConn CLEAR, and Jeffrey Ward, CT Agricultural Experiment Station This webinar will highlight the forest stand conditions along roadsides that contribute to the tree issues we encounter during high-intensity wind-storm events. It will also explore how traditional arboriculture and silviculture by themselves have not adequately addressed the management […]
Connecticut Celebrates GIS Day
Every year on the third Wednesday of November, in the heart of Geography Awareness Week, the world celebrates GIS Day. GIS Day is a global educational event that encourages geographic information system (GIS) users to participate in events and programs that showcase real-world applications of geospatial science and technology. According to Esri, the official guardian […]
A small tribute to clean water in Connecticut’s capitol city.
Have you ever drunk water in a restaurant in the Hartford region? Maybe you live or work in one of the towns surrounding the City, and get your water from the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC)? We take this seemingly limitless supply of pure, clean water for granted, but in the not-so-distant past, obtaining water in […]
Mapping Great Gull Island with an Unmanned Aircraft
Assistant Extension Educator Joel Stocker spends a lot of his work and personal time documenting changes to the shoreline. In 2010 he contacted Helen Hays, asking if he could capture photographs over Great Gull Island with his homemade drone. She agreed. While on the island, Helen told him about the problem with invasive plants, and […]