UConn Center for Land Use Education and Research

Land Use Commissioner Training Opportunities

As we are approaching the January 1, 2024 deadline to complete the initial four (4) required credits of the land use commissioner training under the CGS Sec. 8-4c, I am excited to share a number of upcoming opportunities for our commissioners to obtain the required credits. I am listing the most immediate opportunities below and […]

Online Environmental Courses Available

The Center for Land Use Education and Research (CLEAR) is the new home to a suite of online certificate trainings. The CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) offers online certificate courses for new and existing land use officials charged with protecting our environment. DEEP asked CLEAR to host them to expand reach and […]

Multi-Faceted Approach to Nitrogen Management

We have a multi-faceted approach to nitrogen management in Connecticut that addresses land use issues, agricultural production, and water quality.  Extension faculty from the Center for Land Use Education and Research (CLEAR) are working on several applied research projects in support of better nitrogen (N) management. They are collaborating with the University of Rhode Island […]

CLEAR Online Training Portal

The Center for Land Use Education and Research (CLEAR) is the new home to a suite of online certificate trainings. The CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) offers online certificate courses for new and existing land use officials charged with protecting our environment. DEEP asked CLEAR to host them to expand reach and […]

New Geographic Information Systems Office

Geospatial Educator Emily Wilson was named as the UConn representative to the newly formed Geographic Information Systems Advisory Council. The Council was established by the Connecticut Legislature last session in a bill that created a state Geographic Information Systems Office within the Office of Policy and Management, a Geographic Information Officer (GIO) to oversee the […]

Job Opening: Water Quality Extension Educator

We are seeking an Assistant/Associate Extension Educator in Water Quality with a 75% extension, 25% research mission split housed within the UConn Center for Land Use Education and Research in Haddam. This joint-appointed position between UConn Extension and the Natural Resources & the Environment in UConn CAHNR begins reviewing applications on April 1st. Full details: […]

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 […]

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 […]

Environmental Conditions Online

Your One Stop Shop for Maps and Geographic Information cteco.uconn.edu Technology has expanded the mapping world. No longer are maps static and flat. They are now interactive, zoom able and clickable. They allow focus on a location or a question and enable us to explore our backyard, town, state and world. The Connecticut Environmental Conditions […]

Connecting Towns and UConn Students

UConn received a $2.25 million grant from the National Science Foundation to expand and study a new public engagement program that combines teaching, service learning, and Extension outreach. The program is called the Environment Corps and focuses on using STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) skills to address important environmental issues like climate adaptation, brownfields […]

Grant Will Fund Creation of Climate Impacts Video

Adapt CT, an outreach partnership of Connecticut Sea Grant and the Center for Land Use Education and Research (CLEAR), has been awarded a $2,978 grant to fund a student intern to work on a video about climate change in Connecticut. The video is intended primarily for municipal commission members. The grant is one of 14 […]

CLEAR Mini-webinar Series

In a small attempt at lessening the pain of social distancing, CLEAR has been hosting a “mini-webinar” series since late March. There are two 30-minute webinars per week, on Monday and Wednesday afternoons. So far, we’ve held 5 and had almost 500 people in attendance. The webinars are also taped and posted on the website. […]

Free Environmental Webinar Series from UConn CLEAR

The UConn Center for Land Use Education and Research is offering free webinars. Here is the schedule for the next three weeks:   WEDNESDAY MARCH 25, 2020 1:30 PM – 2:00 PM UConn Environment Corps: Harnessing Student Power to Help Towns Chet Arnold, CLEAR Director THURSDAY MARCH 26, 2020 11:00 AM – 11:45 AM Emergency […]

MS4 Work from UConn CLEAR Featured

The latest issue of Interstate Waters from New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC) arrived, and the MS4 support program for communities from the UConn Center for Land Use Education and Research are the cover story. Read the full issue: http://bit.ly/InterstateWaters #UConnImpact #UConnExtension

Gregory Desautels: Reflection on my Extension Internship

Gregory Desautels interned with Dr. Mike Dietz of UConn Extension in the summer of 2019, working with Dr. Dietz on projects for UConn CLEAR. Gregory has continued working with Dr. Dietz on projects funded by Connecticut Sea Grant during the fall 2019 semester. In the article below, Gregory reflected on his summer internship. Through my […]

Land Use Academy Advanced Training

The Land Use Academy is offering an Advanced Training session on October 26, 2019. Registration at 8:30. Training from 9:00 AM-3:30 PM at the Middlesex County Extension Office in Haddam, CT.  The  topics covered are listed below. Cost is $45 and includes continental breakfast, lunch and course materials.  Follow the registration link at the bottom to register online or […]

UConn Story Map in Esri Map Book

A map that Extension educator Emily Wilson created last year made it into the most recent Esri Map Book. The Map Book is a hard copy, glossy publication (complete with a textured cover) that Esri publishes every year and distributes to attendees of the Esri International User Conference in San Diego, that had an attendance […]

CT ECO: Growing with UConn Extension

CT ECO is a website that provides access to many of Connecticut’s statewide geospatial data layers in different formats including over 9000 pdf maps, 10 map viewers (and counting), 138 data services and in some cases, data download. The website contains 18 aerial imagery datasets, the most recent having 3 inch pixels (wow!), statewide elevation […]

Tackling the climate change challenge, one place at a time

Climate change is perhaps the biggest challenge humanity has ever faced, and just thinking about it can make someone feel exhausted and overwhelmed. How can the next generation of environmental professionals be prepared to deal a problem that big? One answer could be found this fall in the Climate Corps class taught at the University […]

Coastal Storm Preparedness Story Map for Connecticut

As part of the Coastal Storm Awareness Program (CSAP) 10 social science research and related new technology projects were funded to improve public response to coastal storm hazard information. In one of these studies, Jennifer Marlon, of Yale University, and other collaborators in 2015 found that 70 percent of coastal Connecticut residents are either unsure […]

CT MS4 Guide

The CT MS4 Guide website (http://nemo.uconn.edu/ms4) was established to provide a repository for NEMO trainings, materials, tools, and templates that towns can use and modify to meet local needs. Every year, NEMO will also be providing webinars and workshops to help towns and institutions address the more complex portions of the permit. In the first […]

Legal Issues and Climate Adaptation

A number of questions were raised at Legal Issues in the Age of Climate Adaptation, a conference held by UConn CLEAR’s and Connecticut Sea Grant’s Climate Adaptation Academy in late 2015. The Marine Affairs Institute & RI Sea Grant Legal Program at Roger Williams University School of Law reviewed the questions, which came from the audience […]

CLEAR, 20 Years Online

By Kara Bonsack Websites have come a long way since the inception of the Internet. While the Internet can be traced back to the 1960s, 1991 is considered the year the World Wide Web went live. In 1995 the last usage restrictions were lifted, clearing the path for the internet to become what we now know it […]

UConn CLEAR February Webinars

UConn CLEAR has announced their February webinars for the 7th and 14th. The first is Getting Started on Your New MS4 Permit, and the second is Road Salt Use in Connecticut: Understanding the Consequences of the Quest for Dry Pavement. Attendance is FREE! Register online now, and invest just one hour of your time in the […]