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 […]
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The Climate Change Denier Awards
With the spotlight on the COVID-19 virus and the social and economic devastation it is causing, it’s easy to overlook the many other challenges that are still ahead. One such challenge is our response to climate change. In the interest of diverting attention from the present troubles, the Climate Deniers Awards have been created. While […]
CLEAR Bunch #SocialDistancing
Today we held our regular Tuesday CLEAR staff meeting. For the first time in a while the meeting wasn’t cancelled due to looming deadlines, stress, panic, conflicting meetings or anything else. Even in these social distancing times, everyone “made” it despite being all over the state, juggling households with small children, “distance learning” efforts, dogs […]
NEW CT 3D Lidar Viewer on CT ECO
The new Connecticut 3D Lidar Viewer marks the first time that 3D elevation points from remotely-sensed Lidar are available in an interactive format over the web. Lidar is a remote sensing technique to map elevation using a laser sensor on an airplane. The result is millions and millions of points that each have a measured […]
Environmental Conservation on Display
What do salamanders, bats, compost and microplastics have in common? They’re some of the many conservation topics that teens and adults enrolled in the UConn Natural Resources Conservation Academy (http://nrca.uconn.edu/) have investigated this past year. Participants in the NRCA Conservation Ambassador Program and Conservation Training Partnerships will share their community project posters, story maps and […]
New option for taking nitrogen samples
There wasn’t a cheap and simple way to take field measurements of Total Nitrogen (TN). Samples had to be sent to a lab – until now! To help reduce water quality testing costs, CT DEEP agreed to allow MS4 communities to use less expensive field tests for nitrate and ammonia to estimate Total Nitrogen. If […]
Journey of A Climate Corps Student
By Sarah Schechter Major Choices I entered UConn as a Natural Resources Major, knowing I wanted to focus on the environment, but unsure of the exact path I wanted to follow. When choosing classes during my orientation session in Summer 2017, it was recommended that I take ANTH 1010: Global Climate Change and Human Societies, […]
No coal-tar pavement sealants in Connecticut (for the most part)
You know what they are – the tried and true sources of stormwater pollution like dog poop, lawns with fertilizer, pesticide or herbicide applications, poorly maintained septic and sewer systems, or improperly maintained construction sites to name a few. Once in a while something new gets added to the list, here in Connecticut in recent […]
Preparing for Marsh Migration
With a CLEAR webinar on SLAMM (Sea level affecting marsh migration) this week by Emily Wilson (UConn CLEAR) and David Kozak (CT DEEP), it is timely to provide an update on the marsh migration buffer we’ve been developing in Stonington Borough. A small parcel of land was donated to Avalonia Land Conservancy (ALC) and added […]
Spring- time for…a soil test?
There’s nothing like the smell of fresh cut grass in the springtime…after a long winter we all seem to be longing for something green. Our lawns provide a place for recreation, but if not managed properly, they can cause problems for our local waters, and ultimately the Long Island Sound. Perhaps you fertilize your lawn, […]
Apply Now for NRCA Summer Programs!
Registration is now open for the Natural Resources Conservation Academy’s 2019 summer programs. The Natural Resources Conservation Academy (NRCA) is an innovative program in environmental conservation that engages Connecticut high school students, adult conservation volunteers and teachers in conservation efforts at the community level. NRCA’s three interconnected programs (below) benefit participants through education on natural resource […]
Projections Matter, Especially on Election Night
The first thing I teach someone about maps is that they are more than just lines and direction on a page, screen, or device. Maps convey information. Maps tell a story. But maps can also be deceiving. Consider for a minute, election maps. If you’re reading this blog post then you survived, if just barely, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Can You Hear Me Now? Smartphone Maps (that work!) Off the Beaten Path
It’s summer. Family vacation time. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been waiting for this all year. We had planned to take the family west for two weeks in the mountains. Utah, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. Off the beaten path. Round up the kids, pack up the camping […]