Projects

Funds are requested to support the convening of a bio blitz on August 22nd to provide a list of species found in the preserve during one 24-hour period.

Funds are requested to support the implementation of an intensive workshops to teach 100 Connecticut school groundskeepers how to mamnage fields without the use of harmful pesticides.

Funds are requested to support the continuation of measuring elevation change and water levels in the Quinnipiac River marshes in efforts to understand the rate and causes  of marsh drowning (conversion to mudflat) that has been observed there.

Funds are requested to support the continuation and extension of the successful Safe Grounds Campaign in efforts to reduce non-point source pollution from lawn pesticides and synthetic fertilizers.

Funds are requested to support an environmental study assessing relationships among habitat structure, marsh topography, ecological dynamics and potential conservation initiatives in the Lower Quinnipiac River marshes.

Funds are requested to support implementation of informational and educational efforts and activities advocating for pesticide use reduction. These efforts will focus on the 80 property owners whose properties abut the Quinnipiac River in Plainville, CT. The activities will include 2 river clean-ups, coordination of a fishing derby, Earth Day Extravaganza, promotion and advocacy of Freedom Lawn Initiative, and a Tomasso Nature Park clean-up. (see grant notes)

To support the development and adoption of an intermunicipal agreement with the lower river towns regarding land use guidelines and tax sharing.

To support the organization and implementation of QRWA Stream Buffer Initiative to encourage land use practices that minimize adverse impacts on the watershed and increase public access to the river and its tributaries.

To support the creation and development of the Organic Land and Turf Handbook for school, municipal, and commercial groundskeepsers to manage lawns and turf without the use synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.

To support investigation of the various stresses that may be contributing to the extensive loss of vegetation in the Quinnipiac tidal marshes and begin to gather data on the relative importance of sub-surface compaction, decompositon in causing elevation loss in this ecosystem.