The Connecticut River Coastal Conservation District offers natural resource education to municipal staff, land use commissioners, environmental professionals, engineers, farmers, teachers, Realtors, civic groups, and the general public.
Every other year the District offers “Reading the Land: A Practical Workshop for Real Estate Professionals” a 3 CEU credit workshop on land use, tools for reading the land, soils and wetlands, low impact design techniques, and understanding septic systems and water supply wells.
District Staff offer technical training workshops on a variety of topic areas including:
- Five Easy Pieces of Site Development Plan Review
- Controlling Erosion and Sedimentation in and around Wetlands and Watercourses
- Protecting Backyard Water Resources
In addition, the District sponsors environmental seminars presented by local and regional experts. Past sponsored workshops include:
- Rain Garden Workshop – Dr. Michael Dietz, NEMO stormwater specialist (co-sponsored by the UConn NEMO program)
- Diversity on a Suburban Lot: Creating a Backyard Wildlife Habitat – Peter Picone, DEP Wildlife Biologist; Lori Brant, Connecticut Forest & Parks Association Education Coordinator (co-sponsored by New England Wild Flower Society, Ecological Landscaping Network, Project Green Lawn)
- The Hows and Whys of Organic Lawn Care – Paul Tukey, Editor & Publisher, People, Places & Plants magazine and National Spokesperson for Safelawns.org (co-sponsored by Project Green Lawn)
- Monitoring Ponds & Lakes for Aquatic Invasive Plants – Robert Capers, CT Agricultural Experiment Station
- Introduction to Stream Restoration (2-days) – Dr. Greg Jennings, PE, North Carolina State University
- Planning for Nature: Integrating Biodiversity into Local Land Use Decisions – Dr. Michael Klemens, Wildlife Conservation Society (co-sponsored by CT DEP)
- Planting for Nature: Backyard Landscaping for Homeowners – Heather Crawford, UConn Sea Grant; Dave Gumbart, TNC; Todd Harrington, Harrington OrganiCare; Nancy DuBrule, Natureworks; Denise Ciastko, Natural Attraction Project, Inc
Project Green Lawn: Healthy Lawns for Healthy Communities
Pet waste adds nitrogen and phosphorus to the water. In large amounts, these nutrients encourage the runaway growth of algae and aquatic weeds, which can impact the health and quality of our waters, making them murky, green and smelly.
