Author: Ivette Lopez

Ready, Set, Go! For a Healthier You!

Welcome any youth between the ages of 7 and 18 interested in challenging themselves to improve how they feel and how they feel about themselves.  Join us for the next 6 weeks in learning about ways to practice good habits, and getting rewarded for doing it.  We will be holding a weekly workshop on a […]

CAES Announces the Finding of the Box Tree Moth in Connecticut

The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES) in cooperation with USDA U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) announce the detection of the box tree moth, Cydalima perspectalis (Walker), at a single retail nursery in Connecticut on boxwood imported from a nursery in Ontario, Canada. As of […]

Connecticut Master Woodland Manager Program

Make your mark on Connecticut’s woodlands,  become a Master Woodland Manager! CFPA is excited to introduce the Connecticut Master Woodland Manager (MWM) program beginning August 2021. This year-long program provides woodland owners and managers with the knowledge and skills that they need to make the right decisions for their woodland that can help enhance their lives […]

¡Sí Se Puede! Empowering Families with Monica Jimenez

As a child, Monica Jimenez would have fun pretending to be a teacher. In high school, her interests shifted from teaching to law. Soon after beginning law school she realized that path was not for her. She then found her true passion, Special Education.  Monica graduated from La Universidad de Azuay in Ecuador with a […]

¡Sí Se Puede! Empoderando Familias con Monica Jimenez

De niña Monica Jimenez jugaba a ser maestra. En la escuela secundaria, sus intereses pasaron de educación a la abogacía. Poco después de comenzar la escuela de leyes, se dio cuenta de que ese camino no era para ella. Luego encontró su verdadera pasión, la Educación Especial. En 1996, Monica se graduó de La Universidad […]

UConn EFNEP Adult Course May 2021 Graduates!

Heather, Molly, and Juliana of our UConn Expanded Food and Nutrition Program led participants through a virtual nutrition and cooking class.  After completion participants shared: “Best class ever!” “The class was great, complete information, I liked it and learned a lot about food, hygiene, and sugary drinks. The drink class was very informative! Thank you […]

Socially-Distanced Community Conservation Partnerships

Over the past four years, the University of Connecticut Conservation Training Partnerships program has engaged more than 220 high school students and adult volunteers in applying innovative geospatial technology to address real-world conservation issues, resulting in over 70 local environmental projects throughout the state. Due to COVID-19, the program transitioned to an online format this […]

Celebrate CT Trails Day June 5 with Thames River Quests

The Thames River Heritage Park and Connecticut Sea Grant are celebrating Connecticut Trails Day on June 5 by inviting people to visit one or more of the four park sites where they can enjoy a self-guided, educational activity and receive a complimentary harbor cruise ticket for the heritage park water taxi. In the Thames River […]

Virtual Meat & Poultry HACCP Course – June 2021

  Date/Time of Event:  June 22, 23, and 24, 2021  Tuesday, June 22 (8.30 am-4.30 pm)  Wednesday, June 23 (8:30 am -4.30 pm)  Thursday, June 24 (8:30 am-2.00 pm)  Instructors  Indu Upadhyaya, Ph.D., Food Safety Specialist, UConn Cooperative Extension  Diane Hirsch, MPH, Food Safety Specialist, UConn  Lori Pivarnik, Ph.D., Food Safety Specialist, University of Rhode Island  Jason […]

ACE C & A Awards – UConn 2021

We would like to congratulate all of the UConn Extension team members who received awards from the Association for Communication Excellence (ACE)! Thank you for your hard work and continued efforts. All award recipients will be recognized at the ACE virtual conference in June.   Rising Star Award Recipient: Stacey Stearns C & A Awards […]

NOAA Live! Webinar: Kelp Farming in Coastal Waters with Anoushka Concepcion and Holly Turner-Moore

Anoushka Concepcion, one of our Extension educators with Connecticut Sea Grant, and Holly Turner-Moore, from the Bridgeport Aquaculture High School, introduce students to Kelp Farming during their presentation in the NOAA Live! Webinar Series.

Connecticut Institute of Water Resources 2021 Newsletter

In a state like Connecticut where water seems plentiful, it is easy to take water for granted. As long as clean water comes out of the tap, water issues may not rise to the top of our list of concerns. Although we do have plentiful water for the most part, there are still many reasons […]

What are those paper envelopes in my Mother’s Day hanging baskets?

These small paper “envelopes” are slow release “sachets” that contain beneficial predatory mites that attack young thrips larvae.  (Thrips are very small insects (1-2 mm.  long) with narrow bodies and fringed wings. As they feed they can deform flowers, leaves and shoots. Thrips are primarily a greenhouse pest and not a major pest in the home […]

UConn CLEAR Webinars in May

WEDNESDAY, May 12, 2021 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM Experimenting with Climate-Adaptive Forestry Practices: Challenges and Opportunities Christopher Riely, Sweet Birch Consulting, LLC Following a brief overview of general forest climate adaptation strategies, this talk will present one experimental project begun in Scituate, Rhode Island, in 2015, when Mr. Riely helped manage 13,000 acres of forestland buffering the […]

2021 UConn 4-H Virtual Public Speaking Contest Results

The 2021 UConn 4-H Virtual Public Speaking Contest results are in! UConn 4-H would like to thank all the presenters and judges for their time and commitment. All presenters did an amazing job displaying their public speaking skills while delivering outstanding presentations. A champion and reserve champion were selected in each division.  All other youth […]

Urban Agriculture Community Advisory Board

Attention New Haven Residents: Do you want to create an environment that supports all residents so that they can benefit from urban agriculture and its positive impacts on health, social, economic and environmental? Apply to the Urban Agriculture Community Advisory Council and help create a community-led vision and a plan for urban agriculture in New […]

Danbury Head Start and EFNEP Zoom Graduation

“Me encanto aprendí mucho.” “Fue de mucha ayuda y ahora lo pongo en práctica. Me ayudo mucho a comer más saludable y a gastar menos dinero comprando comida en ofertas.” “Tratare de integrar a mis comidas todos los consejos que aprendi en esta clase ya que son muy productivos. Gracias por compartir con nosotras todos […]

Earth Day to feature audiovisual exhibit, puppet show

Several special events are planned for Earth Day (April 22) at the University of Connecticut’s Avery Point campus, including audiovisual artwork projected on campus buildings and an original puppet show. Events will begin at 6:30 p.m. with music recorded by the five-person Connecticut-based group Hitch and Giddyup sponsored by the Avery Point EcoHusky club. At 7 p.m., […]

Healthy Soils to be Focus of 2021 Coastal Certificate Program

This year’s Coastal Certificate Program will take place virtually over four days in mid-May. Led by Judy Preston, CT Sea Grant’s Long Island Sound outreach coordinator, this year’s classes will emphasize healthy soils at the root of healthy gardens, landscapes, and ultimately the watersheds that are essential to clean waters and a healthy Sound. The […]

A Guide to Planting Along the Connecticut Coast

Juliana Barrett, Ph.D. and Kiernan Sellars, 2021 This 35-page guide lists native trees, shrubs, herbaceous perennials and vines that are appropriate for planting in Connecticut’s coastal zone. It includes a map of that ecoregion and characteristics of each species, such as tolerance to salt water and salt spray, light and soil requirements as well as […]

Sea Grant, DOE, NOAA Fisheries partner to invest $1M+ to support research for the co-existence of ocean energy with Northeast fishing and coastal communities

The Northeast Sea Grant Consortium, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Wind Energy Technologies Office and Water Power Technologies Office, and NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center, announces a research funding opportunity to improve understanding of offshore renewable energy interactions with fishing and coastal communities to optimize ocean co-use. This unique funding partnership will […]

CLEAR Webinars In April

WEDNESDAY, April 21, 2021 1:00 PM – 1:30 PM The N-Sink Tool: Tracking Nitrogen Through Coastal Watersheds Chet Arnold, UConn Dept. of Extension & CLEAR Qian Lei-Parent, UConn Dept of Extension & CLEAR Land use planners, property owners, and watershed managers need all the help that they can get to reduce the impacts of nitrogen […]

The Low Down on Selecting Tomatoes

Vegetable gardening is very popular these days, and even more so since the COVID outbreak.    Anyone new to this hobby is quick to hear some terms being thrown around when describing different types of vegetables. Knowing the meaning of these terms gives prospective gardeners some key information that helps them pick varieties of vegetables most […]

E-Corps Two-Part Workshop at the UConn Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning

Please join your UConn colleagues for two one-hour virtual CETL workshops in April on: The Environment Corps: an engaged scholarship model that combines classroom instruction, service learning, and Extension (an act in two parts) Workshop Description: A partnership at UConn that reaches across college and departmental lines is engaged in a project that seeks to […]

Getchis recognized with award for pandemic response efforts

Connecticut Sea Grant Aquaculture Extension Specialist Tessa Getchis will receive a Service Excellence Award in the University of Connecticut chapter of the American Association of University Professors’ 2021 UConn-AAUP Excellence Awards. The awards have been given annually since 1997 in six categories, and this year focused specifically on responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Getchis, who […]

Compost Sale

Spring 2021 UConn Compost Sale Details Pick-up date: Friday, April 16th 1-4 PM and Saturday, April 17th 10 AM – 3 PM Rain date(s): Friday, April 23rd and/or Saturday, April 24th $25 per yard. Customers must purchase a minimum of ½ yard. Payment must be made online by credit/debit card only. *Payments must be received […]

Bug Month

Bugs are crucial components of many ecosystems. Unfortunately, many people are unaware of the significant role they play in maintaining our environment. The UConn Extension Bug Month program provides educational resources and activities to help expand knowledge about insects. The program will host its 6th annual Bug Month virtually in July. You can learn more […]

CLEAR Webinar: The NEMO Rain Garden App – Reborn!

WEDNESDAY, March 24, 2021 1:00 PM – 1:30 PM Dave Dickson, UConn Extension and CLEAR Nearly eight years ago, CLEAR’s NEMO program first launched an app to help homeowners, landscapers, developers, and municipalities properly site, size, install, and maintain a rain garden to help protect their water resources. The app has since expanded to include […]

LIS Blue Plan now in hands of CT Legislature

The Long Island Sound Blue Plan, a marine spatial plan for what many consider the state’s most valuable natural resource, has been voted out of the state Legislature’s Environment Committee and awaits a vote in the full House and Senate. Read about the plan and why many believe it should be approved in articles by […]

Amid pandemic challenges, recreational shellfishing thrived

By Judy Benson While the pandemic curtailed many favorite activities, recreational shellfishing remained popular and even surged in many shoreline towns last year. “Clamming is a very COVID-friendly activity,” said Peter Harris, chairman of the Waterford-East Lyme Shellfish Commission. “You’re outside, you have a nice long rake so you stay socially distanced, and you get […]

‘Right Trees for the Right Time’ series begins March 10

Connecticut Sea Grant is joining with the Avalonia Land Conservancy and UConn CLEAR in presenting, “Finding the Right Trees for the Right Time,” a series of four talks about planning and planting for a resilient coastal forest in southeastern Connecticut. The series begins March 10, culminating in a June 9 presentation by Juliana Barrett, coastal […]