July 10, 2018
Presented by Adam Fox, P.E., Principal Engineer, Environmental Compliance, Contract Development & Permit Coordination Connecticut Department Of Transportation & Daniel Imig, P.E., Transportation Engineer 3, Environmental Compliance Section, Connecticut Department Of Transportation
CTDEEP recently released an MS4 permit for the Department of Transportation (DOT). While largely similar to the municipal version, there are some significant differences based on the DOT’s different role.
This webinar will highlight the details of the DOT permit, how it differs from the municipal permit, how DOT plans to implement it, and how it overlaps with the work municipalities are required to do.
June 26, 2018
Presented By Dave Dickson & Amanda Ryan, UConn CLEAR
Connecticut’s updated MS4 permit begins its second year on July 1st. Now that a year has passed, MS4 towns and institutions may be getting the hang of things but with a new year comes at least a few new tasks.
This webinar will cover the permit tasks that recur each year, highlight the new tasks due over the next year and provide an update on upcoming workshops and new tools.
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 redevelopment of which is complicated by the potential presence of contamination. While Connecticut communities have made great strides in advancing brownfield revitalization, much work lies ahead and municipalities are often challenged by limited resources. In this webinar, Dr. Maria Chrysochoou Director of the Connecticut Brownfields Initiative (CBI) at the University of Connecticut and Ms. Binu Chandy, Deputy Director of the Office of Brownfield Remediation and Development at the Ct Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD), will discuss opportunities for brownfield redevelopment support. Specifically, Ms. Chandy will present an overview of brownfield financial assistance programs, while Dr. Chrysochoou will present the technical Municipal Assistance Program that is launched this year through CBI.
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 little real progress toward developing a collective effort to grapple with climate change. Underlying this lack of progress is the enormous diversity in viewpoints about climate impacts. Many in the Global North focus on the impacts of recurrent severe weather patterns and the economic impacts they generate; others focus on the effects of sea-level rise and storm-water management in areas of relative wealth. In the Global South, however, impacts are much more humanly acute, as they create economic havoc, migration flows and extreme loss of agricultural productivity. Focusing on this diversity of global perspectives, this webinar will examine the nexus between climate change and security as it divergently impacts people around the globe. In the latter portion of the talk we will focus on the Caribbean and examine data on the threats to a range of island states.
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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 of spatial, spectral, radiometric and temporal resolutions, and each serves its purpose depending on the objectives of the person using it. The U.S. based Landsat series of multi-spectral satellite sensors has been collecting global imagery since 1972. A more recent satellite series, Sentinel-2, first launched in 2015 by the European Space Agency, is Landsat like and also provides global coverage. While these sensors may only provide moderate spatial resolution (10m – 60m) imagery, they are rich in spectral information, and together these satellites collect imagery over Connecticut at less than a seven-day interval. The best part, these data can be downloaded and used free. This webinar will briefly overview the Landsat and Sentinel-2 sensors, provide information about the images and how to download the data, and show examples of potential applications of this type of data in Connecticut using ArcGIS, along with some online resources for viewing the imagery.
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 understanding of multi-use trail use in the state of Connecticut and to make this important information available to trail user groups, administrators, government agencies and the general public. The Census collects 2 types of data: 1) Count data obtained by use of infrared (IR) counters installed at 15 sites on 11 different multi-use trails across the state, and 2) Survey data from a survey administered by volunteers at each trail site. The survey collects data regarding trail use topics such as distance traveled to use the trail, primary reason for using the trail, and demographic information about who is using the trail. The first full year of count and survey data has just been released and this webinar is being offered to walk through how to interpret the data and the exciting variety of applications the data could have.
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 certification in efficient and environmentally friendly winter maintenance practices for municipal, state, and private snow plow drivers. Certified Green Snow Pro Drivers receive liability protection.
This webinar will highlight how the program was developed, how it works, and what kind of impact it has had. There will also be some discussion of efforts to try to adapt the model to CT.
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 program and describe the certification process. Sustainability actions, policies, and investments deliver multiple benefits and help towns make efficient use of scarce resources and engage a wide cross section of residents and businesses. There are many ways to participate – join us to learn how you can be involved in Sustainable CT!
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 find it difficult to know where to start. By engaging youth, these organizations not only can expand their capacity to impact the local environment, but also help train the next generation of conservation leaders and informed citizens.
UConn’s Natural Resources Conservation Academy (NRCA) programs train teens, adult volunteers and teachers in natural resource science to catalyze on-the-ground conservation projects through a mentorship model. The NRCA has collaborated statewide with 90 conservation partners to mentor 136 service-learning projects that have generated real conservation benefits to Connecticut communities.
In this webinar, NRCA Coordinators Abby Beissinger and Laura Cisneros will: 1. Describe best practices for effectively mentoring while accomplishing conservation goals; and 2. Provide examples of effective mentoring that has led to the success of many NRCA projects.