Meet Sydney, our new NRCA Intern

June 11, 2020

Hello all! My name is Sydney Collins, and I am excited to announce my partnership with UConn Extension as a NRCA Intern for the Natural Resources Conservation Academy (NRCA) in Summer 2020. 

Sydney enjoying the outdoors in her backyard.

More about me, I am a rising sophomore at the University of Connecticut studying Environmental Science with a keen interest in Urban and Community Development. My love for the outdoors spawned from the beloved stream I regularly paddled around in growing up in the backwoods of Willington, CT. I was able to interact with a plethora of ecosystems right in my backyard and experience the beauty of the environment, that almost appears untouched by human influence.

This love soon turned into a passion when I uncovered the atrocities occurring to our planet, and thus the stream that I grew quite fond of. This was due to human dependence on fossil fuels to supply our ever growing energy demand and also the poor maintenance of our resources through dumping and pollution. I am fascinated by the intersection of social science and natural resources, particularly in the realm of environmental justice, to best curate human experiences founded on sustainable and accessible development. My engagement in organizations that address various local issues emphasize the importance of community-based initiatives, especially in reference to sustainability, hence my excitement to be involved in UConn NRCA. My interests are particularly focused on areas of food and energy production and how they influence the ever-dawning threat of climate change.

Sydney showing her love for the Vernon Rails to Trails on Earth Day.

While I’m not interning at the office, I can also be found planting and plucking crops at a local farm in Coventry, where I work to better understand the farming practices that support the food we eat. I look forward to further engaging with my local communities at farmers markets to provide fresh grown vegetables, and thus decrease the carbon footprint of families shopping locally. When you’re not looking for a bite to eat, feel free to pop by the beautiful hiking trails of Vernon, where you can find me as a Trail Manager up-keeping the local landscape. 

I am so excited for all I have to learn at the “office” this summer through this distance internship, and all the wonderful workshops and community-initiated projects I have the pleasure to engage with. NRCA is a wonderful office, but we also would not be anything with the splendid engagement with local youth, volunteer adults, and professionals that bring great dedication to our programs. So here is to an amazing summer and all we have to learn!

Meet Meg, our new Environmental Education Intern

June 9, 2020

Hello everyone, my name is Meg Sanders, and I am a UConn Extension Environmental Education intern with the Natural Resources Conservation Academy for summer 2020.

Meg on a hike at Heublein Tower in Simsbury, CT.

A little bit about myself, I am a sophomore at UConn studying environmental science with a minor in communication. I was an intern with UConn Extension during the summer of 2019 and I worked with other extension educators and 4-H educators. My experience with UConn Extension has allowed me to gain valuable field experiences at Auer Farm, the 4-H Hartford County Fair, and other 4-H sites in CT. I’ve been really lucky to have had opportunities working with many diverse groups of youth and adults in order to both teach others and learn about their experiences with the environment. I especially loved working with CT youth at Auer Farm, and being able to teach students who didn’t have much experience with rural ecosystems about the animals on a farm.

 

 

 

 

 

Meg, Maggi Anstett and Madeline Williams on Connecticut Environmental Action Day demonstrating a lesson to CT middle schoolers.

During the academic school year of 2019-2020, I was a grant recipient for the UConn Co-op Legacy Fellowship Change Grant. With this grant, I worked with two fellow UConn undergraduate students to create environmental education curriculum kits that we hoped to distribute to middle school educators all over Connecticut. We prepared an online and in-class curriculum using existing 4-H educational materials on climate change education, and planned to distribute these and kits to CT middle schools before schools were closed down this spring. This effort was done in paralleled with Connecticut Environmental Action Day. From this experience, I was able to learn more about what goes into creating environmental educational content, and was able to further my experience working with extension educators.

 

My interests in the environment are still growing and changing daily. A fun fact about myself is that I had the opportunity to attend a short UConn study abroad experience before I began interning for UConn Extension. Unfortunately, it did not happen due to the pandemic, but we would have traveled to South Africa to study African field ecology. With this, I’d hoped to be able to see ecosystems that I normally wouldn’t be exposed to, and learn about what conservation means to different people around the world. This trip will not be happening this year but will be next year, and I hope to be able to still gain these unique experiences. Next year, I would love to be able to use some of the knowledge about conservation that I will have learned this summer and apply it to what I will be learning abroad.

This summer, I am very excited to learn how to provide environmental education in many ways, including online. Learning how to utilize resources online to deliver similar content that would have been used in hands-on field experiences will be interesting and thought-provoking. I look forward to improving my skills with mapping technologies, such as GPS and GIS. Overall, I look forward to being able to apply all of the natural resources knowledge that I can to other aspects of my life in order to promote conservation and sustainability.

Environmental Justice in the Era of COVID-19

April 22, 2020

Hi all! This is AJ, one of the spring 2020 NRCA Difference Makers. As an Environmental Studies student, which is a humanities-based environmental major, I am interested in the human dimensions side of natural resource issues. I’m particularly interested environmental justice, and the public’s awareness of these issues. So, my goal for this blog article is to share information about environmental justice issues arising during these trying times of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Environmental justice is, simply, “fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people, regardless of race, color, national origin, or income…” in environmental policies and solutions (Department of Energy). For example, when we allow a few industries to dump pollutants into a river, such policies not only hurt the river ecosystem but they also do not consider anyone living downstream that relies on the water. In our COIVD world, although we may be seeing environmental benefits from significantly reduced travel during shutdowns, we are also seeing a sudden uptick of disposable food and beverage containers, as well as single use personal protection equipment. Not only will this have environmental implications, but how might particular communities be adversely affected by this? It all has an effect somewhere down the line.

 

Environmental justice also means that no group should bear a “disproportionate share of negative environmental consequences” (Department of Energy). So those people downstream that did nothing to pollute that river are being disproportionately burdened by other peoples’ actions.

 

“Air pollution may affect the lethality of COVID-19” https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/article 1

Similarly, certain communities are now being disproportionately harmed by COVID-19. Often, industrial buildings that emit high amounts of pollution are relegated within communities of color or low-income. Exposure to pollution for extended periods of time has been shown to lead to health problems like cardiovascular and pulmonary disease (Friedman and Schlanger, NYTimes). With COVID-19 being a respiratory illness, people that live in those high pollution areas are more likely to experience complications if they get sick.

 

 

“Discarded masks and gloves are becoming a health hazard as people dump them on streets“ https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/21/us/corona 1

Similarly to the pollutants in the river, the increasing amount of single-use protection equipment that is ending up in landfills also poses a threat if not taken care of properly. Landfills, alongside factories, are more likely to be found in minority communities. So, the danger of being exposed to contaminated materials is higher along with the chance of developing complications. Especially when asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic people recover at home and do not properly take care their trash. And while there have not been any reported cases of spread of the virus from contaminated materials, it can live on cardboard for up to a day and even longer on metals and plastics so the risk is still present (Calma, Verge).

 

But, there are solutions to these environmental justice issues! First, we can create dialogue about these issues with even just a few people to increase awareness.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nco 1

Another way to reduce your personal environmental impact (and subsequent negative impacts on particular communities) while staying safe is to make your own face masks. There is a plethora of online tutorials that only require some fabric, a needle, and thread. The one above provided by the CDC only needs a shirt and scissors! Everybody has the opportunity to do good and to make a positive change in a world that seems out of control right now. Since everyone is at home this is the perfect time to create those healthy and eco-friendly habits that carry into your life for years to come.

 

Blog References:

Department of Energy. Environmental Justice. https://www.energy.gov/lm/services/environmental-justice

Justine Calma. Covid-19 Pandemic is Generating Tons of Medical Waste. The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/26/21194647/the-covid-19-pandemic-is-generating-tons-of-medical-waste

Lisa Friedman and Zoë Schlanger. Race, Pollution, and the Coronavirus. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/08/climate/coronavirus-pollution-race.html

 

First Ever Virtual CTP Conference… Success!

March 25, 2020

The First Ever Virtual CTP Conference (FEVCC) took place online Saturday, March 21st, and was a huge success! A total of 18 participants representing 13 CTP teams (six teams in the morning and seven in the afternoon session) presented their projects to an audience of over 50 people, including folks from CT DEEP, Housatonic Valley Association, and Kent Land Trust.

We held the virtual conference in lieu of the two conferences where CTP teams had planned to present earlier this month: the Connecticut Conference on Natural Resources / Connecticut Outdoor Environmental Education Association joint conference and the Connecticut Land Conservation Conference, both of which were postponed due to COVID-19.

We were so glad to be able to create this opportunity for our participants to showcase all of their hard work! Projects topics ranged from bats to beavers to the importance of conserving water to mapping a former zoo in a Hartford park few people have ever heard of.

Todd Campbell, one of our colleagues from the Neag School of Education, live tweeted the afternoon session, sharing images of the teams’ project posters and StoryMaps, describing the projects, and even including quotes from the presenters.

Audience members asked thoughtful and engaging questions, such as What skills did you learn?, Is there software that people can load onto their home computers or tablets that will allow us to monitor bat activity from our own homes around the state?, What was the most challenging aspect of your project? and Any evidence of beaver predation by Bobcat or Coyote?

Below is the list of the exciting and diverse conservation projects showcased during the virtual conference. Each includes a link to the project poster and recording of the CTP team presentation. Additional links provide access to ArcGIS StoryMaps, online maps, and other resources. You can also check out the full presentation YouTube playlist.

Participants were provided feedback and comments on their projects, for example: Would love to use this project/poster to teach my middle school students about invasive plants locally, A big take away is that species of special concern in that part of the state, which is exciting!, The map looks great and very professional!, This project is amazing and the amount of things she did to catalogue land use is inspiring!, Very cool that this helped your town with their Sustainable CT efforts!, I love the cross-disciplinary linkings – no matter your interest and/or talent, something to inspire., Great job getting the local businesses involved!, Impressive study and your results are certainly consistent with what we would expect, even though both watersheds are fairly low in impervious cover., and Great Project.  I may go visit this weekend.  My son would love to climb those rocks!.

Thank you so much to everyone who made this virtual conference possible!

Additional material from CTP participants can be seen on the Community Projects and Participant Products pages of our website.

 

 

Thinking Ahead to Spring & CTP

March 18, 2020

The coronavirus and COVID-19 pandemic has thrown all of us in the NRCA office for a loop, and with each day’s breaking information and precautions it can be a little (or a lot) overwhelming. We just found out yesterday that the university will finish out the remainder of this semester entirely online, and all employees (who can) should work from home until further notice.

I am, therefore, excited to spend some time thinking ahead about spring, positive changes, the chance to grow and new opportunities. I’m also happy to use this platform to plug a free statewide UConn program that is perfect for anyone who gardens or even simply enjoys spending time outdoors among nature.

The Conservation Training Partnerships (CTP) partners teens and adult community volunteers, and supports their conservation efforts by providing training during a two-day field workshop and guidance as they conduct a local conservation project of their choosing.

 

Teams of teen and adult participants are paired prior to the workshop. During the workshop, each team learns how they can apply innovative, user-friendly mapping and web technology to address local conservation issues through hands-on fieldwork. We currently have workshops scheduled in Stamford, Waterbury and Eastford this June.

 

After the workshop, the team carries out a conservation project that addresses a local environmental issue in their hometown using their new toolset. The projects are developed by the team at the workshop and CTP instructors provide support to help the team along the way.

Examples of past projects include planting pollinator gardens, cleaning up local parks, removing invasive plants, and installing rain gardens. Below I highlight a few specific projects.

 

This Glastonbury CTP team chose to install a monarch waystation at Wind Hill Community Farm. They planted native monarch-friendly plants in a small patch of earth on the farm property, but the plants got eaten by a pesky rabbit. After a second planting that included protective fencing, they were ecstatic to find a monarch caterpillar happily munching on a milkweed. I consider that a huge success!

The image to the left is from a CTP team that created an interactive map of Benjamin Wildflower Preserve, a property of Aspetuck Land Trust in Weston. This map can be accessed by anyone and used to help identify a number of different wildflower species along the trail. Feel free to check out their project poster and online map.

 

A multi-part project in Hebron involved both digitizing a nature trail and native planting for pollinators at the RHAM High School Memorial Garden. Their goal was to engage the local community and get more people into nature by: (1) using technology to excite and make the public aware of a school trail, and (2) planting a native garden in a school park to attract both local community members and pollinators.

CTP teams typically showcase their projects in the form of a poster or video at one of two events in March, but unfortunately, these events were recently postponed due to concerns about COVID-19.

 

The good news is that we’ve decided to host a virtual conference to highlight their hard work and you’re invited to attend!

Come learn first-hand about the program and how you can help make a difference in your community. More information can be found at http://s.uconn.edu/fevcc.

Meet AJ, our new Difference Maker

February 17, 2020

Hi all, my name is AJ Barthel and I am one of the NRCA Difference Makers for Spring 2020.

As a Difference Maker, I will be contributing to the NRCA blog, working with program data and assisting current Conservation Ambassador Program (CAP) and Conservation Training Partnerships (CTP) participants with their work during the semester. I also plan to create video content that can be used to motivate current students as they progress through the program. We understand how hard it can be to balance school, clubs, friends and family along with one’s NRCA project. That balance was something I struggled with in high school and I am looking forward to helping anyone who might be going through a similar situation. Another goal during this semester will be to work on recruitment materials to bring more students into the program in upcoming years. I would love to encourage more people to participate. CAP was an important part of my high school experience and I think it is a valuable resource for anyone interested in nature and learning more about it.

My exposure to farms and farming lifestyle led me to develop an interest in animals. This motivated me to apply for the Future Farmers of America (FFA) in my high school. The FFA is a national program that teaches students about natural resources, mechanics, and animal /plant science. My love for animals quickly turned to love for the natural world and a curiosity for how everything works together. The FFA was where I heard about CAP. I couldn’t help but be involved in a program that allowed you to get hands-on experience on a variety of different topics pertaining to natural resources. It felt like a once in a lifetime opportunity to be apart of mapping projects, wading in a stream, or using animal tracking equipment. I participated in CAP in 2014-2015, and after my time there, I knew that I wanted to move forward with what I had learned. Which brings me to my plan of study here at UConn. I am currently a senior Environmental Studies major with a minor in Urban and Community Studies which essentially means that I am interested in the relation of people and the environment, particularly in cities. Growing up in Middletown, CT; a town that has both a lively downtown city center and several long-established plots of farmland not too far from each other. I was fortunate enough to live between the two.

It took some time for my interests to settle where they are now but I certainly gained an appreciation for human interactions in nature from my experience in CAP. The program also taught me a lot about some of the issues going on locally and what we, as students, can do to help. Because we can all do something but educating yourself is the first step.

(3rd from left: AJ)

 

 

Meet Amy Cabaniss, Conservation Ambassador Program Coordinator

February 10, 2020

Hi! I’ve been at UConn for nearly five months now and have learned so much about UConn, the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, and our amazing Natural Resources Conservation Academy (NRCA) programs – the Conservation Ambassador Program (CAP), Conservation Training Partnerships (CTP) and Teacher Professional Learning (TPL). NRCA programs have so far engaged 405 participants from 123 high schools and 138 local organizations, located in 125 towns & cities in Connecticut. Tremendous reach, with impressive results. NRCA participants have completed more than 230 community conservation projects around the state.

This is all very exciting to me. I’m currently working with the 2019-2020 cohort of CAP students who are wrapping up their conservation projects and distilling their experiences for professional poster presentations at the Connecticut Conference on Natural Resources at UConn on March 16th. It’s also time to bring a new cohort into the fold and so recruitment activities are underway. Their journey will begin with an immersive summer field experience led by UConn faculty. An amazing experience for anyone, and especially rewarding for teens!

As a longtime environmental educator, I can’t wait to get out there and experience first-hand, the CAP field experience. I chose my career well, given my passion for nature and engaging people of all ages in discovering the natural world. While I’m  a coastal person in love with marshes, estuaries, beaches and dunes, I’m ready for the forested landscape this summer in the CAP field experience.

So, a bit more about my background. I have a B.S. in Environmental Conservation, an MBA in Management and Organization and a PhD in Environmental Studies. My research area is conservation psychology – “the scientific study of the reciprocal relationships between humans and the rest of nature, with a particular focus on how to encourage conservation of the natural world,” per Wikipedia. I pursued my doctorate enhance my environmental education efforts by finding out “what works” to motivate, and hopefully sustain, environmentally-responsible behavior. I’ve learned some pretty interesting things about human behavior and influencing change, and I apply this to the development and delivery of environmental communications messages and programs.

When I’m not sharing nature with youth, and just about anyone who’ll look and/or listen, I’m outdoors enjoying birds, boating, hiking, dog-walking and attending our daughter’s sports events. I love creative expression and have recently indulged in painting. I use an abstract realism style and my subjects are, of course, all inspired by nature.

What is a “Better” Scientific Poster?

December 12, 2019

It’s mid-December and we’re already thinking ahead to March conference season. We try to help our NRCA participants that choose to present their conservation projects to be as prepared as possible. CAP students traditionally create posters that are presented during a special session of the Connecticut Conference on Natural Resources. CTP folks can present their projects in a variety of formats (video, StoryMap, speaking in front of an audience, poster, etc.) at either the CCNR or Connecticut Land Conservation Conference. January and February are a busy time for NRCA poster editing, which got me thinking…

The term “better poster” was used during one of our recent CTP team meetings and today I decided to get up-to-speed on what this idea is all about. Mike Morrison, a doctoral student in psychology at Michigan State University, is behind the campaign to “fix” academic posters. In short, his proposed new poster design “looks clean, almost empty. The main research finding is written right in the middle, in plain language and big letters. There’s a code underneath you can scan with a cellphone to get a link to the details of the study.”

Better Poster

Mike Morrison's Better Poster Tweet

 

Since March, Mike’s Better Poster idea has really taken off. I mean, look at the number of likes and retweets it got! In fact, at the time this blog post was written, three people had shared photos of their #betterposter on Twitter in the last FOUR HOURS.

I should point out, though, that there has been at least one critique written about Mike’s Better Poster.

The American Psychological Association liked Mike’s idea so much that they created their own APA mod template of the Better Poster and encouraged presenters to use it, or a similar format, at their 2019 Conference. According to them:

  • The new format fosters conversation
  • It’s easy to identify critical takeaways
  • It’s visually appealing and eye-catching which makes people more likely to stop and read more
  • It helps posters stand out from the pack
  • It encourages presenters to be creative, think about how to translate their findings, and focus on what is important.

Templates for Mike’s Better Scientific Poster are available in multiple formats (one was even updated this morning!) on OSF.io – a free, open platform to support research and enable collaboration.

Perhaps some of our NRCA participants will choose to create posters using Mike’s design or something similar. Look for them at the March conferences!

And speaking of the conferences, are you curious about the Connecticut Conference on Natural Resources? You can take a tour of the 2019 CCNR held on the UConn Storrs campus!

Conferences, Symposiums & Workshops, Oh My!

October 28, 2019

CT Urban Forest CouncilLast week was a busy one for me, as program coordinator for the Conservation Training Partnerships… with an all-day Advisory Board Meeting on Monday, the CT Urban Forest Council Conference Wednesday, and the CT Trails Symposium on Thursday.

Despite the full schedule, I really enjoyed being able to network, meet new people, and discover new organizations that the NRCA can hopefully partner with in the future. I especially enjoyed chatting with folks from Audubon Sharon, The Last Green Valley, and Riverfront Recapture. I feel inspired by all of the productive discussions and ideas that were generated, particularly those which might improve the programs we offer.

 

Later this week we will be leading a couple different workshops with teens – one during the Sisters in STEM Conference organized through UConn’s School of Engineering and another during the 4-H Adventures in STEM Conference hosted by UConn Extension.

 

This is an exciting time for us in the NRCA as we shepherd our current participants along with their projects and begin recruitment efforts for next year’s programs. Part of that effort includes our Difference Makers (interns), who have been fundamental in gathering data on all of the high schools throughout Connecticut. There are so many schools! One of our goals is to reach out to as many science and math educators as possible in the hopes that they will share information about the NRCA with their students and invite us to come give a presentation. I will be sending a whole bunch of emails very soon.

 

And one last thing… I am happy to report that we have officially set the dates for next year’s programs…

Conservation Ambassador Program (CAP): June 19-25, 2020

Conservation Training Partnerships (CTP):

  • Stamford, June 13-14, 2020
  • Waterbury, June 18-19, 2020
  • Eastford, June 27-28, 2020

Meet NRCA Alumna and UConn Undergraduate Amanda Hernandez

September 23, 2019

Why were you interested in participating in the NRCA?

My brother participated in the NRCA experience before I did, every week he would get together with his friend and work on building a bat house. The project had given him a common goal to strive towards, he had become a scientist in my eyes. I look up to my brother and he knows that, so he encouraged me to look into the NRCA and voila!

Taking cover under tree fort

What did you do for your conservation project and who was your community partner?

My conservation project was in support of the EPA’s national Soak up the Rain initiative. I investigated the water retention of green roof modules, from those numbers I made a model that would provide an estimate on how much money a 1000 ft² green roof would save the city of Bridgeport in wastewater management per year. I also studied the responses that soils would potentially have to hydrocarbon inputs from motor oil. My community partner was Aris W. Stalis, a landscape architect, at Aris Land Studio. My NRCA experience was possible due to a generous scholarship from The United Illuminating Company and materials donated by Prides Corner Farms.

What was the most memorable part of the NRCA, and why?

The most memorable part of the NRCA was working on my project. At least three times a week I would stay after school until about 6:00pm tending to my green house and doing water quality testing. Those water quality tests took a long time, some samples took 4 minutes to develop and I had 20 samples in total. Not to mention I had to build a green roof structure that had: 4 separate independent modules, all insulated with working drains. This project was busy work and I really enjoyed it. I felt all sciency.

Which aspect of your NRCA experience or project are you most proud of, and why?

My NRCA project involved many steps including engaging in wood-shop work, using colorimetry, using an electron microscope and managing a green house. I had assistance and training in a lot of these steps, meaning I had to be an effective communicator. I wasn’t the most well-spoken individual and avoided asking for help but my NRCA project pushed me out of my comfort zone and has allowed me to successfully complete other projects, as I have learned to properly communicate with professionals and ask for their help.

Describing Pumpkinseed fish

Why did you choose to study your major?

Initially I was a Mathematics major but am now looking to pursue a degree in Statistics. There are aspects of Mathematics that I am in love with such as manifolds and number sequences. But when I work with data I get a magical feeling. I love working with numbers and churning them out to see what results I can get. It’s exciting especially when you get to work in groups with people who are asking questions, it’s like they collect all the pieces and now you just have to make the picture. I’m hoping to develop different statistical models and methods to aid in statistically complex environmental issues. I can’t wait to work with others!

 What advice would you give to a student considering applying to an NRCA program?

If you’re thinking of applying to the NRCA program go take a walk in the forest, catch a frog, then go home and apply for the NRCA. But seriously, this program appeals to all sorts of folks, if you enjoy nature then you’ll enjoy the program. Also stay hydrated.

If you could describe your NRCA experience in 3 words, what would they be?

Nature, Water, Friends