The Connecticut Sea Grant program, joined by volunteers from Save the Sound, the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk and other groups, will launch the fifth annual #DontTrashLISound campaign with a cleanup at Sherwood Island State Park in Westport on Aug. 16. This year’s campaign, run by the Connecticut and New York Sea Grant programs with support […]
Sustainable Landscapes
Designing sustainable landscapes across urban-rural interfaces
Catch Up on the Latest Trail News with the CT Trails Program
Last month the Connecticut Trails Extension team launched The Connecticut Trails Blog on the Connecticut Trails Website! This blog will serve as a place where Connecticut Trails faculty, staff, and partners will discuss the things that are important to them, work-related and in the broader, global community. They are very excited to share with you […]
Teacher Webinar Offered on Long Island Sound Habitats
A new educational tool for teachers will be showcased in an Aug. 19 webinar sponsored by the Long Island Sound Study national estuary program and its partners Connecticut Sea Grant (CTSG) and New York Sea Grant (NYSG). Titled “A Spotlight on Long Island Sound Habitats,” the webinar will showcase a Next Generation Science Standards-based StoryMap […]
Job Openings – CT Sea Grant
CT Sea Grant is now accepting applications for the following positions: Regional Aquaculture Liaison Assistant Extension Educator Sustainable and Resilient Communities Assistant Extension Educator Apply Today! Connecticut Sea Grant, the Department of Extension, College of Agriculture Health and Natural Resources, University of Connecticut, and the NOAA Milford Lab invite applications for a Regional Aquaculture […]
Updated App, New Rules & Soggy Summer: Time For a Rain Garden
Story and photos by Judy Benson July’s wet weather may have dampened plans for beach days and barbeques, but it’s also a reminder of an environmental problem homeowners can help solve in their own yards. The excess of rainfall—about twice the amount normally seen so far this month—means more stormwater tainted with lawn chemicals, oil […]
New Normal with Extension Programs
Extension educators rose to the challenge and virtually shared our programs and educational outreach over the past year and a half. While we will continue incorporating virtual educational opportunities, we are eager to resume in-person programs as well. A few of our educators share what the new normal with Extension will be for their programs. […]
What should I do if I hear Chainsaws in the UConn Forest? – #AskUConnExtension
Extension educator Thomas Worthley says, “The UConn Forest has a long history of human intervention.” On this week’s #AskUConnExtension Showcase, we show how Forest Managers preserve the natural landscapes and beauty of the UConn Forest as a key educational resource for students. Learn more about CT Forestry at s.uconn.edu/forestry Text: The UConn Forest, located around […]
USDA Announces Pandemic Assistance for Timber Harvesters and Livestock Producers
USDA to Provide Pandemic Assistance to Livestock Producers for Animal Losses Farm Service Agency Will Begin Taking Applications for indemnity program July 20th Livestock and poultry producers who suffered losses during the pandemic due to insufficient access to processing can apply for assistance for those losses and the cost of depopulation and disposal of the animals. The […]
CT Trail Finder – #AskUConnExtension
For our first installment of our #AskUConnExtension Showcase, we’re covering CT Trail Finder, a great new tool to help connect you to your next adventure. Perfect for walking, hiking, mountain biking, and exploring nature in our state, CT Trail Finder has got you covered with over 2,000 miles of trails to explore. Visit cttrailfinder.com for […]
Save Your Boxwoods: Check Them for the Box Tree Moth!
A Message from USDA to Gardeners in Connecticut A New Invasive Pest May Be in Connecticut The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is responding to a significant plant health threat and needs your help. Please check your boxwood plants for the invasive and destructive box tree moth. During the spring, a number of U.S. nurseries […]
Songbird Alert
CVMDL (Drs. Mishra, Reinhardt, and Frasca) in UConn CAHNR are working with wildlife biologists of the CT DEEP to investigate this illness of songbirds; it is a disease concern throughout the mid-Atlantic and Northeast. CVMDL – the Connecticut Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory – is coordinating sampling and testing with CT DEEP, who are working with […]
UConn CLEAR Stormwater Pond Retrofit Workshop
UConn CLEAR is holding a Stormwater Pond Retrofit Workshop that will demonstrate how to retrofit existing dry and wet stormwater ponds and bioretention areas to allow for infiltration and/or better pollutant removal. The workshop will be presented by nationally-known expert Dr. Bill Hunt from North Carolina State University on Monday, July 26, 2021, from 9 […]
What should I do if I hear chainsaws in the forest? – #AskUConnExtension
Tom Worthley, one of our Extension foresters, explains what you should do if you hear chainsaws in the UConn Forest or in a forest near your home. Have more questions? Connect with one of our specialists today. Extension specialists are here to help you, your family, and your community. We have answers to your questions […]
‘Born Out of Crises’ Issue Looks at Responses to Pandemic, Disasters
The Spring-Summer 2021 issue of Wrack Lines examines actions that grew from different crises, from the pandemic to sea level rise to the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster. The issue leads off with an article by Robert Klee, former commissioner of the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, reflecting on the valuable lessons we can take from the […]
CLEARScapes Spring 2021 Edition Now Available!
Read about the new N-Sink Online Tool and UConn CLEAR program updates in the newest edition of CLEARScapes! Click here to view.
Volunteer Spotlight: Dr. Lynn Keller
UConn CAHNR Extension typically holds Bug Week in July; however, this year Extension has designated July as Bug Month. The UConn Extension Master Gardeners and Master Gardener interns participate. Bug Month is an educational outreach activity that promotes insects in the environment (bugs.uconn.edu/). Volunteers like Dr. Lynn Keller make this educational event fun and successful. […]
Sen. Blumenthal Seeks Funding for CT River Hydrilla Control
Sen. Richard Blumenthal announced on June 3 that he is leading an effort to secure $100 million over four years in federal funding for a multistate effort to control hydrilla in the Connecticut River watershed. In an event at Harbor Park in Middletown, Blumenthal said he is seeking an urgent fiscal year 2022 appropriation for […]
Job Openings: Educational Program Assistants
Search #: 495338 Please Apply Here: https://jobs.hr.uconn.edu/cw/en-us/job/495338/educational-program-assistant-1-tolland-county-extension Educational Program Assistant 1, Tolland County Extension Search #: 495338 Work type: Full-time Location: Tolland County Extension Ctr Categories: Academic Programs and Services JOB SUMMARY The UConn Extension Center located in Vernon, CT is seeking applications for two (2) Educational Program Assistant 1 positions – one full-time position and one part-time position (75%). These […]
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 […]
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 […]
N-Sink Online Tool
A New Way of Looking at Nitrogen Pollution Extension educators from the Center for Land Use Education and Research (CLEAR) and their partners have developed an online tool that helps land owners and land use decision makers better understand the direct connection between their land and nitrogen (N) pollution in coastal waters. The tool, called […]
Frontlines of Extension
Meet Some of our Staff Extension serves over 124,265 individuals statewide every year. Our staff are essential to the success of our Extension programs— ensuring that participants, volunteers, and educators have what they need. We’re pleased to introduce you to a few of the faces on our frontlines. Maria Camara Haddam Office “I support all […]
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 […]
CT Trail Census
A Yearly Review The Connecticut Trail Census (CTTC) is a volunteer-based program that brings transparent trail use data to the community and state through a network of infrared trail counters statewide and through implementation of trail-based user surveys. CTTC was created four years ago, and the data generated each year is instrumental in helping with […]
UConn Environment Corps
Connecting Students to Communities Riverfront climate resilience. Low impact development practices to reduce stormwater runoff. Brownfields redevelopment grant proposals. Forest resilience planning. The impact of sea level rise on marinas. What do all these things have in common? They are all the focus of projects conducted for Connecticut communities by undergraduates enrolled in the Environment […]
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 […]
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 […]
Extension Services
Connecticut Environmental Conditions Online (CT ECO) CT ECO is a mapping website that contains environmental and natural resource geographic information for Connecticut. The site encourages, supports, and promotes informed land use and development decisions in Connecticut by providing local, state and federal agencies, and the general public with convenient access to the most up-to-date and complete natural resource […]
New Interactive Tool Will Guide Shellfish Restoration in LIS
Oyster habitat in Long Island Sound is a bit like sunny summer days at the seashore—generally speaking, the more the merrier. These native bivalves help keep the Sound clean by filtering excess nutrients and shoring up shorelines with colonies that create structure and buffer wave action, while also creating habitat for juvenile fish and other […]
Highlights of Extension Report
Committed to a Sustainable Future Connecticut has faced challenges related to sustainable landscapes, food and agriculture, health, and the climate for generations. As problems are solved, new issues arise. Our educators faced the unprecedented challenges of 2020 and pivoted programs to offer life transformative education despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Programming moved to virtual environments through […]
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 […]
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 […]
Job Opening: Evaluation Specialist/Academic Assistant II
Position Location: Storrs, CT Position Description: Reporting to the CAHNR Associate Dean for Extension, the Evaluation Specialist works with an interdisciplinary team of faculty and staff in UConn’s College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources (CAHNR). The Evaluation Specialist provides leadership to build Cooperative Extension’s capacity to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of Extension’s instructional […]
All Paws In – Join Us for UConn Gives
In a time of extraordinary circumstances, UConn has adapted by seeking new opportunities and new ways to keep UConn Nation connected in a socially distant world. Through all the change and uncertainty, there has been one constant—our commitment to providing an exceptional education to our program participants. During this year’s UConn Gives, a 36-hour giving initiative, […]
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 […]
Undergraduate Summer Internships with UConn Extension
Applications are being accepted for UConn Extension’s undergraduate summer internship program. Students: Get paid and gain valuable in-the-field experience in your chosen discipline at an in-state Extension office location. • Food • Health • Nutrition • Sustainability • Research • Agribusiness • Youth Education • Community Development • Marketing Learn where Extension offices are located across the […]
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 […]
Connecticut Trail Census Welcomes New Graduate Assistant
UConn Extension is excited to welcome Eniola Fasola as Connecticut Trail Census‘s newest graduate assistant. Eniola obtained her Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Economics at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and the University of Connecticut, respectively. Currently, she is doing her Ph.D. in Agricultural and Resource Economics at The University of Connecticut. Eniola will be […]