June 19, 2018 Presented By Dr. Maria Chrysochoou Director of the Connecticut Brownfields Initiative (CBI) at the University of Connecticut & Ms. Binu Chandy, Deputy Director of the Office of Brownfield Remediation and Development at the Ct Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) Brownfields are underutilized properties, most often located in urban cores, the […]
One CAP Cohort Finishes and Another CAP Cohort Joins the Fold
I continue to be impressed by our Natural Resources Conservation Academy (NRCA) Conservation Ambassador Program (CAP) students. We said goodbye to our 2017-2018 CAP cohort at the 12th Annual Connecticut Conference on Natural Resources, where they graduated as our newest Connecticut Conservation Ambassadors. The students presented their work during a poster session, and described the […]
Is there any hope to fix our salt problem? Perhaps…
Another winter has finally ended, and messy roads and salty cars are quickly becoming a distant memory. Where did all that salt go? The millions of tons of deicing salts that get applied to our roads either wash off into local streams, or move into the local groundwater. Yet another research study has recently come […]
Dealing With Storm Damaged Trees
On May 15, 2018, late in the afternoon, a striking example of one of those “severe weather events” we see quite often these days passed through my neighborhood in Higganum. Severe winds, downpours, lightning and thunder all were part of a wicked and deadly storm that ripped limbs from and uprooted trees, downed powerlines and […]
Climate Change & Environmental Security Beyond our Borders
May 15, 2018 Presented By Dr. Mark A. Boyer, Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor, Geography, UConn, Executive Director, International Studies Association Climate change is the signature issue of our time, yet the topic remains one of great controversy politically (if not scientifically). Mostly as a result of this political controversy, the global community has made […]
Using GIS to Find Birdwatching Hotspots
Do you know why May is a New Englander’s favorite month for birdwatching? It is because it’s the peak of spring migration! Neotropical birds are passing through the area on the way to their breeding grounds, or are staying the summer. Plus they are sporting their best and brightest plumage to attract a mate, which […]
Landsat & Sentinel-2: Satellite Based Sensors for CT’s Landscape
April 24, 2018 Presented By James Hurd Research Associate, UConn, Dept. of NRE, Program Coordinator ConnecticutView and Chandi Witharana, Visiting Research Professor, UConn, Dept. of NRE, Director ConnecticutView There is no shortage of available imagery to view the landscape of Connecticut, or any place in the world for that matter. Imagery comes in all types […]
What do you do after you scoop?
On my drive home last week I saw two of my neighbors walking their dogs. One of the dogs had just done his business and the owner dutifully scooped it up with a doggy doodie bag dangling from the dog’s leash. Excellent, I thought, he knows that dog poop left on the street can be […]
Another win for rain gardens
It’s well known that rain gardens are great for infiltrating stormwater but people may not realize that they also help destroy common stormwater pollutants. Several studies have found that rather than accumulating pollutants in their soils, rain gardens tend to biodegrade them instead. One study (LeFevre et al., 2011) investigated petroleum hydrocarbon levels in 58 […]
Digging into the 2017 Connecticut Trail Census Data
April 3, 2018 Presented By Kristina Kelly, Connecticut Trail Census Statewide Coordinator, Laura Brown, Community and Economic Development Educator with UConn Extension and Certified Economic Developer (CEcD), and Aaron Budris, Senior Regional Planner for the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments The Connecticut Trail Census is a statewide volunteer data collection program intended to inform a better […]
Spring NEARC at UConn May 8
The Northeast Arc Users Group (NEARC) is a regional group of people from many disciplines who are interested in geospatial technology in some form or other. You join by showing up or joining the email list– all are welcome! NEARC is a non-profit organization that hosts a 3-day conference every fall at venues around New […]
New Hampshire’s Green Snow Pro: Would it Work in CT?
March 20, 2018 Presented By Ted Diers from the NH Watershed Management Bureau & Mary McCarthy, Program Manager, Educational Outreach The State of New Hampshire has developed a novel way to provide for effective snow management and removal while also reducing impacts of chlorides on the environment. The Green Snow Pro program provides training and […]
clear.uconn.edu, Now Mobile-friendly!
The CLEAR website recently had an overhaul, and is now mobile-friendly. While this may seem pretty standard for 2018, it was a big lift for our rather hefty website! The site has hundreds of pages of information, hosts multiple project websites, and is bursting at the seams with tools, interactive maps, webinars, blogs, videos and […]
Sustainable Connecticut – Local Actions, Statewide Impact
February 27, 2018 Presented By Lynn Stoddard and Jessica LeClair, Eastern Connecticut State University’s Institute for Sustainable Energy Join us to explore Sustainable CT, a new statewide, sustainability certification program for Connecticut’s cities and towns. Lynn Stoddard and Jessica LeClair of Eastern Connecticut State University’s Institute for Sustainable Energy will present an overview of the […]
Engaging & Mentoring the Next Generation of Conservation Leaders
January 30, 2018 Presented by Laura Cisneros & Abby Beissinger, NRCA, UConn Department of Natural Resources and Environment Conservation groups that depend on the efforts of volunteers often find themselves with a long to-do list to achieve their conservation goals. At the same time, these organizations often seek to include youth in their efforts, but may […]
How Healthy Are the Coastal Habitats of Long Island Sound?
This blog is a reposting of a blog published by Georgia Basso and Samantha Brooke, USFWS Coastal habitat are critical to both environmental and human well-being. The importance of the Long Island Sound is reflected in its Congressional designation as an “Estuary of National Significance” in 1987. Photo credit: J. Murray When intense storms hammer […]
CLEARscapes – Winter 2018 Edition
In This Issue New State Imagery NRCA New Impervious Layer MS4 Program CLEAR Website (View Newsletter as pdf)
NEW Connecticut Statewide Impervious Surface Map Layers
With funding from CT DEEP, CLEAR has acquired and made available on CT ECO a new statewide, high-resolution, impervious cover data layer. While acquired to support new stormwater regulations, the layer can be used for other purposes as well. What is it? Statewide, 1 foot resolution raster (pixel) data where each pixel is one of […]
Another winter approaches…here comes the salt
This is not my first blog about salt- in 2013 I detailed the problems we are facing in the Northeast with rising salt levels in our fresh waters in this blog. I have continued the monitoring in Eagleville Brook that I described in the past blog, and now four years later, I have the ability […]
Invest in map layers, make them accessible and work together – a cost saving combination
Mapping layers acquired by CLEAR through the MS4 project + making them available on the CT ECO website = big benefits for users including a surprise savings of at least a half million dollars for the state. Whoa. Read the full story written by Tyler Kleykamp, Chief Data Officer at the Connecticut Office of Policy and Management where he explains the series […]