Trainings & Events

On Thursday, August 15, 2024, at 12 p.m. ET, join the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of the Under Secretary for Infrastructure and BlueGreen Alliance for the launch of a new mapping resource that highlights the location of selected projects, awarded investments, and associated community benefits made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

The webinar will also feature DOE’s Office of Community Engagement (OCE) and leaders who will sharing their experiences about working in communities where clean energy infrastructure investments are being deployed.
 

The Trust for Public Land (TPL), Blue Hills Civic Association (BHCA), and the Connecticut Green Bank recently released the Hartford ParkScore Report, a detailed park assessment project for the City of Hartford conducted by paid youth interns through BHCA’s Summer Youth Employment Program in 2023. This webinar will present findings and takeaways from the report and continue a conversation about parks benefits, stewardship, park development, and maintenance across Hartford public green spaces.
 

Get your bike and head over to The Devil’s Gear Bike Shop, a Bicycle Friendly Business (BFB), for a basic bicycle maintenance class. This class is for cyclists who know how to ride a bike and would like to learn and practice hands-on basic repairs and adjustments on their bicycles, as well as the essentials to carry on a ride. This class does NOT include fixing a flat tire. See Maintenance 102 for how to fix a flat tire. The class will be offered by staff of The Devil’s Gear, who are also League Cycling Instructors (LCIs).

What to bring: A bicycle for you to use to practice conducting maintenance. Contact the New Haven Coalition for Active Transportaiton if you have questions about your bike ([email protected]), or let them know in the registration that you need a bike to use (they will follow up to fit you to a bike we can lend to you).
 

The New Haven Coalition for Active Transportation (NHCAT) is offering FREE bike riding and maintenance classes for every level of experience, from beginning to balance through advanced skills and social group rides.

NHCAT's certified League Cycling Instructors are excited to ride with you and provide educational support toward whatever goals you have on a bike.

What to bring: A water bottle to stay hydrated. NHCAT provides a free helmet if you tell them you do not have one in your online class registration. A bicycle for you to use. The bike should be in good working order, which means the tires are inflated enough to feel hard, the pedals and chain move smoothly, and the brakes slow the bike down to a stop. Contact NHCAT if you have questions about your bike ([email protected]), or let them know in the registration that you need a bike to use (they will follow up to fit you to a bike we can lend to you).
 

Get your bike and head over to The Devil’s Gear Bike Shop, a Bicycle Friendly Business (BFB), for a basic bicycle maintenance class. This class is for cyclists who know how to ride a bike and would like to learn and practice hands-on basic repairs and adjustments on their bicycles, as well as the essentials to carry on a ride. This class does NOT include fixing a flat tire. See Maintenance 102 for how to fix a flat tire. The class will be offered by staff of The Devil’s Gear, who are also League Cycling Instructors (LCIs).

What to bring: A bicycle for you to use to practice maintenance.

Esta es una clase bilingüe en español. 

Entregue su bicicleta y dirígase a The Devil's Gear Bike Shop para recibir una clase básica de mantenimiento de bicicletas. Esta clase es para ciclistas que saben andar en bicicleta y les gustaría aprender y practicar reparaciones y ajustes básicos prácticos en sus bicicletas. Esta clase NO incluye la reparación de una llanta pinchada. Consulte Mantenimiento 102 para saber cómo reparar una llanta pinchada. La clase será ofrecida por el personal de The Devil's Gear, que también son instructores de ciclismo de la liga (LCI).

​Traiga su propia bicicleta a esta clase.
 

Join Vision Zero Network (VZN), in collaboration with the Road to Zero Coalition, for a webinar in which they bring together a diverse panel to reflect on equity advancements in the Vision Zero and roadway safety space. Experts will highlight promising developments and progress, while also engaging in honest discussions about what critical areas need improvement to truly address disparities in roadway safety. In this webinar, Vision Zero Network will also provide real-world context to some of the actionable steps highlighted in VZN’s Prioritizing Health Equity in Vision Zero Planning resource and the National Safety Council’s Equity in Transportation: Best Practices Framework. 

Vision Zero Network's esteemed panel will include public health experts, transportation practitioners, along with national and local advocates focused on enforcement, racial justice, equity and holistic planning. We’ll be joined by:

• Keshia Pollack-Porter, PhD, MPH, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health
• Jamila Porter, DrPH, MPH - Chief of Staff of de Beaumont Foundation
• Jacob Smith, Executive Director for NOYS
• Jill Locantore, Executive Director, Denver Streets Partnership
• Moderator: Tiffany Joyce Smith, MPH, Program Manager of Vision Zero Network

In 2017, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) published the safety study, “Reducing Speeding-Related Crashes Involving Passenger Vehicles” which included recommendations for state and federal agencies to slow traffic and reduce speeding. In this webinar, the League of American Bicyclists will follow-up on those recommendations and how solutions identified then have evolved.

Speakers include:

• Ivan Cheung, Senior Advisor at NTSB
• Rachel Carpenter, Chief Safety Officer at Caltrans
• Wes Kumfer, Engineering Research Associate at UNC's Highway Safety Research Center

Register to learn alongside individuals who are working to connect the people, ideas, and practical steps needed to bring state and federal funding resources to Connecticut communities. 

Through this gathering, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection hopes to begin a practice of documenting the ideas, projects, and people working on promising solutions and making them available to attendees who are looking for partners. Responses will help to shape the conversation.
 

Climate change continues to influence the complexity and frequency of multiple weather-related hazards. Hurricanes, flooding, extreme heat, drought, wildfires, and more all pose significant challenges to communities. Join the Resilient Nation Partnership Network (RNPN) as they explore how various weather hazards are connected and the strategies we need to build climate resilience.

The event is part of RNPN's Resilience Exchange series, which offers monthly learning sessions on a specific subject to share knowledge and advance conversations around a particular area of natural hazard resilience. These events are open to all! If you know someone who may be interested, feel free to share this registration with your network.
 

Authorized by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA’s Clean School Bus Program provides $5 billion over five years to replace school buses with low- and zero-emission school buses. Additionally, NREL’s $5 million Clean Bus Planning Awards Program provides free technical assistance to create comprehensive and customized bus electrification plans for fleets. This webinar series co-hosted with the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation will cover the following technical assistance topics related to clean school buses: 

• June 18 @ 1 PM ET – Differences Between ESBs and ICE Buses, ESB Maintenance, and Bus RFP Best Practices
• July 24 @ 1 PM ET – Battery Overview, Recycling/End-of-Life Options, and Warranties
• August 28 @ 1 PM ET – Building a Case For ESBs in your Fleet including Benefits, Total Cost Of Ownership (TCO), and Emissions Calculators
• September 25 @ 1 PM ET – Electrification Process including a Step-by-Step Guide for New Adopters

For more information on the EPA Clean School Bus Program, please visit: epa.gov/cleanschoolbus

For more information on the NREL Clean School Bus Planning Awards Program, please visit: driveelectric.gov/clean-bus-planning-awards

If you have any programmatic questions or feedback, please email: [email protected]

If you have any technical assistance programs, please email: [email protected]
 

Join the Partnership for Strong Communities for the next session in their year of learning!

The Partnership is featuring advocates, policy experts and leaders in other sectors across Connecticut who aim to promote intersectional solutions to help address the critical need for diverse, accessible and affordable housing in our state.

This session will focus on the intersection of Affordable Housing and Social Health. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn from Deb Bibbins, Founder and CEO, Gary Sekorski, Co-Founder and COO with For All Ages, Inc. and Rick Brush, CEO with Wellville as they explore the relationship between social isolation, loneliness and affordable housing.
 

Join the Eastern Connecticut State Univeristy NAACP College Chapter on September 15th for a movie presentation of Cooked: Survival by Zip Code. This film, directed by Judit Helfand talks about the racial disparities of deaths caused by Chicago’s 1995 heat wave and the disproportionate impact on communities of color. Refreshments will be served.

This event is sponsored by the Eastern Connecticut State Univeristy NAACP College Chapter and cosponsored by the Gary Ralls Youth Council, the Appalachian Mountain Club, the Interreligious Eco-Justice Network, and Temple B'Nai Israel.
 

Join the Connecticut Green Bank as they provide an update on program offerings and solutions for homes, buildings, and investments. Topics will include updates on Energy Storage Solutions, C-PACE, Smart-E, Environmental Infrastructure, Green Liberty Notes and more.
 

How do power outages impact people who use home medical devices and live in affordable housing units across Connecticut? How can resilient power - solar paired with battery storage - support medically vulnerable affordable housing residents in the event of an outage? Recently, a team of researchers investigated this question with the goal of supporting informed decision-making regarding the implementation of Climate Smart Technologies. Through this effort, the project team aims to increase the resiliency of home medical device users through advances in resilient power development, building codes, and other policy changes so that they can remain healthy in the face of extreme weather events.

Join this webinar to hear from the research team behind the recently published report titled “Emerging Public Health Needs for Climate Smart Technology in Connecticut Affordable Housing," which highlights the results of nearly 100 interviews and focus groups with affordable housing residents and support staff. Clean Energy Group will also speak to resilient power feasibility analysis at affordable housing facilities that support medically vulnerable residents. An affordable housing partner will speak to their experience engaging in the interview process and exploring renewable and resilient energy opportunities for their residents.

Presenters:

• Annie Harper, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Yale University
• Bryan Garcia, President and CEO, Connecticut Green Bank
• Marriele Mango, Project Director, Clean Energy Group
• Darlene Yule, MPH, Chief Operating Officer, Operation Fuel
• Jesse Wescott, Vice President, The Towers

As data people, our role is often one of making connections across organizations or across geographies to better understand progress or challenges in the social sector. During the conference, participants will learn about the pivotal role data has played in making connections, improving systems, and measuring outcomes through data integration, data infrastructure development, data strategy building, and more.

The conference will take place at the beautiful Heritage Hotel in Southbury, CT. With many beautiful indoor-outdoor gathering spaces, you will have many opportunities to develop new connections, share ideas, and start new partnerships.
 

The Partnership for Strong Communities (the Partnership) is thrilled to announce this year’s Connecticut Affordable Housing Conference (CAHC) November 18-19, 2024 with the theme Here for Housing. The CAHC is your opportunity to convene, collaborate, and drive meaningful change to improve and expand housing affordability, creation, choice, and stability across our state.

The CAHC will span two days, offering a diverse array of sessions tailored to advocates, policymakers, housing and service providers, lenders and funders, and the public. All are welcome. Each year, the Partnership spotlights strategies and solutions that help advance the vision that everyone in Connecticut has a safe, stable, affordable home.

The Partnership for Strong Communities is dedicated to promoting equitable change in Connecticut’s housing policy landscape. Through coordinated advocacy, expert research, and collaboration with partners, the Partnership strives to address historic and ongoing housing injustices and support equitable and resilient communities across the state. CAHC content is free and open to all thanks to our generous sponsors.

CAHC content is free and open to all thanks to the Partnership's generous sponsors.