NRWA Newsletter & Webinar Series

Norwalk River Watershed Association

Newsletter In the Mainstream

Webinars

Our Earth, Your Choice Webinar Series
Co-sponsored by NRWA, Norwalk Library, Rowayton Library, Norwak Land Trust, Norwalk Garden Club, Rowayton Gardeners, Norwalk Tree Alliance, and Norwalk Pollinator Pathway

Managing Your Yark for Pollinators in Fall & Winter
with Aaron Anderson of Xerces Society 11/10/22

Watch the Webinar Here

Sarah F. Evans, PhD, MPH, Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health and a member of the Institute for Exposomic Research at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr. Evans’ research is focused on the impacts of early life environmental exposures on nervous system development and child behavior. She is a trusted voice on the health effects of toxic chemicals and what individuals can do to protect their own health as well as how to advocate for healthier policies in their local communities.

The Hazards of Artificial Turf: Learn the Latest from Leading Experts

Watch Here

Learn more about artificial turf and why a rapidly growing number of scientists, communities, athletes, and others are saying “no” to its ongoing use. Hazards include exposure to toxic forever chemicals (PFAS) – children are uniquely vulnerable to them; injuries and heat stress; high cost with limited life-span; and contamination of our watershed by PFAS chemicals and microplastics. With new artificial turf fields being planned for Allen’s Meadow in Wilton and Broad River Park in Norwalk, understanding what’s at stake is an urgent matter.

NRWA presents two leading experts to lay out the facts and answer viewers questions:

Kyla Bennett, PhD, JD, Director of New England Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) and PEER’s Director of Science Policy. Dr. Bennett has a Ph.D. in ecology from the University of Connecticut and a law degree from Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon. Her familiarity with science, the law, and the inner workings of state and federal governmental agencies gives her unique insight into this issue.

Our Partnership with the Ridgefield Library, Ridgefield Pollinator Pathway, & Ridgefield Conservation Commission

Designing Biodiversity: Meadows & Hedgerows for Pollinators

Webinar Series With Norwalk Library

Click on the title to watch each 1-hour webinar

Norwalk Flood Recovery Seminar: Resources for Those Affected by Recent Flooding

Why Trees Matter: The Value of Protecting and Improving Norwalk’s Tree Canopy with Dr. Andrew Reinnman

Urban Forests and Climate Change: Why City Trees Matter with Danica Doroski

Seeds for Seven Generations

Let’s Grow the Best Food! Organic Vegetable Gardening

May! New England’s Best Birding Month With Chris Bosak

Every Small Space of Meadow Helps the World with DEEP’s Peter Picone

Sound Ecology: Welcoming the Voices of Nature to Your Garden

Virtual Tour of the EcoType Project

Know Your Weeds With Roberta DiBisceglie (this is a recording of the same talk Roberta gave for NRWA on July 9, but it was given earlier at a CT NOFA Conference)

Attracting Butterflies to Your Garden and Yard with Redding’s Victor Demasi.

Attracting Songbirds to Your Garden & Yard With John Root

Invasion of the Invasives With Pollinator Pathway NE co-founder, Jackie Algon

Weeds & Seeds: Building Wild Resilience Through Ungardening

Our Partnership With Weston Pollinator Pathway

BEE the Change: How to Join the Pollinator Pathway

For Earth Day 2021 Celebration with the Norwalk Historical Society: “Conservation Norwalk: A Present Day History”

Webinar Series on Wilton’s Comstock Brook–-Its Importance as a Trout Brook, Threats to its Health, and What We Can Do to Restore It With Co-hosts Wilton Library, Wilton Land Conservation Trust, Trout Unlimited and NRWA

Comstock Brook provides Wilton and Norwalk with drinking water and is home to some of our watershed’s only native brook trout—which is exciting for fishermen but is also an indicator of a healthy aquatic ecosystem, and one we as a community need to work together to protect. The Brook is currently threatened by storm-water runoff, habitat fragmentation, dams, and water company withdrawals. All of these impacts are magnified by the impacts of climate change.

We would like to open a town-wide discussion in Wilton about how we can advocate for protecting and restoring it. Please join us and learn how you can play a role in protecting and conserving this precious stream. This series is presented by NRWA, Wilton Library, Wilton Land Conservation Trust, and Trout Unlimited Mianus Chapter.

Part 1: Comstock Brook: Protecting & Restoring Our Native Brook Trout Stream with Jeff Yates, Conservation Chair of the Mianus Chapter of Trout Unlimited. August 18, 2020.

Part 2: Bee The Change: Protecting Our Rivers By Joining the Pollinator Pathway with Donna Merrill of Wilton Land Conservation Trust and Louise Washer with Norwalk River Watershed Association.

Part 3: From Spectacle Swamp to Long Island Sound: Growing Up Fishing Comstock Brook with Long Island Soundkeeper Bill Lucey. Sepetember 15, 2020.

Part 4: Comstock Brook Benefits from New Initiatives to Improve Stream Management in Connecticut with Chris Bellucci, CT Dept. of Energy and Environmental Protection. Wednesday, January 13, 6 PM.

Pollinator Pathway Talks

BEE the Change: How to Join the Weston Pollinator Pathway, 6/22/20

Join the Glastonbury Pollinator Pathway, 2/11/21

New Digital Conservation Mapping for Norwalk Neighborhoods and City Planners

Learn about your neighborhood, and our city, at a glance. Common Council representative and member of the Norwalk Land Trust, Lisa Shanahan, and H2H Coordinator Katie Blake demonstrate how we can all use these maps to better understand the conservation issues our city faces. Connectivity, Ecology, Urban Heat Island Effect, Equity and Social Factors, Flood Risk, Recreation Opportunities, and Public Health data were considered when creating the maps.

These maps are a resource available to help you plan and advocate for your community. Come learn how they can help you in:
o Addressing climate change
o Protecting open space
o Ensuring access to nature
o Creating connected corridors
of wildlife habitat

The maps are the result of The Norwalk Urban Conservation Mapping Pilot Project, an initiative of the H2H Regional Conservation Partnership in partnership with the Norwalk Land Trust. They were born out of a need for a new conservation mapping model that could be utilized by cities and towns across the H2H region to identify priority locations in need of conservation, protection, or restoration. This webinar was sponsored by the Coalition of Norwalk Neighborhood Associations, NRWA, Norwalk Land Trust & the Norwalk Public Library.