Cool Stuff

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Part 3: Customizing Connecticut’s Changing Landscape Story

Visit Part 1: The Story of Connecticut’s Changing Landscape and Visit Part 2: Creating the Story Map of Connecticut’s Changing Landscape This is part 3 of a 3-part blog about the Connecticut’s Changing Landscape Story Map. This blog is the most technical and is meant for folks that already have created a story map and […]

Part 2: Creating the Story Map of Connecticut’s Changing Landscape

Visit Part 1: The Connecticut’s Changing Landscape Story Why did we make a story map? Because a story map is visually appealing and catchy, is easy to understand AND information rich, guides the reader while allowing for exploration and is an interesting, multimedia experience. The goal of this blog (Part 2) is to share some of the “how” when creating […]

Part 1: The Story of Connecticut’s Changing Landscape

Connecticut’s Changing Landscape CLEAR has been creating and sharing land cover for decades. Our websites and methods for slicing and dicing and displaying the data have evolved along with technology. One thing has remained constant through the versions – the maps (now up to six dates covering 25 years) are a rich set of information with […]

Want to Make a Real Difference in Nepal? Be a Digital Volunteer!

By now, you’ve heard about the devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck the country of Nepal on April 25. As of today, it has tragically claimed over 5,000 lives. Shortly after the quake, chaos and confusion engulfed the capitol city of Kathmandu. Landmark building and temples, some in world heritage sites have been destroyed and city […]

Land Use Academy wins award from CT Planners

CLEAR’s Land Use Academy has won the 2014 Education Award from the Connecticut Chapter of the American Planning Association. The Academy, created in 2007, provides basic training for municipal land use commissioners on roles and responsibilities, legal requirements and site plan reading, as well as advanced training on emerging topics. As we all know, land […]

The Climate Adaptation Academy is looking for Input

The Climate Adaptation Academy (CAA) is developing a list of challenges that municipalities and residents are facing as a result of climate change, and we need your help. CAA is a partnership between Connecticut Sea Grant and UConn’s Center for Land Use Education and Research (CLEAR) and was developed after talking to a variety of […]

A Map in an App: Drainage Class for 25 States

The Rain Garden App  In case you haven’t heard, a couple of years ago, NEMO (David Dickson and Mike Dietz) created a cool smartphone app that is all about building rain gardens.  It is full of background information including what a rain garden is, how it works, pictures of existing rain gardens and even videos about how […]

Geocaching: A High Tech Game of Hide and Seek

CLEAR’s Geospatial Training Program recently held a workshop for the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History on the art (and fun) of geocaching. Have you heard of geocaching? No? Then you fall solidly into the “muggle” category – aka a human who is not in the know about the greatest real-world treasure hunt that’s happening […]

Bringing Some Green to Our Big Cities

When people think of Hartford and New Haven, “green” may not be the first thing that jumps to mind. However, recent efforts of the UConn Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials (NEMO) program are helping to make these cities a little bit greener, both figuratively and literally. This past June, NEMO partnered with Neighborhood Housing Services […]