Trainings & Events

RecyclingWorks in Massachusetts (RecyclingWorks) is excited to the hybrid, in-person and virtual, RecyclingWorks in Massachusetts Spring 2025 Forum!

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and RecyclingWorks will share best practices on surplus food donation and resources for transitioning to reusable takeout containers. This year’s forum will feature a keynote address from the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic regarding enhanced liability protection, tax incentives, and date labeling for food donation.
 

Federal data is the backbone of American democracy, informing everything from public health and civil rights enforcement to economic development, and community planning. Yet, recent executive actions and policy proposals threaten to diminish the scope and accessibility of federal data—especially data on race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity (SOGI). Join us for a timely conversation with three national leaders at the forefront of federal data preservation, policy, and equity.

Featured Speakers

Meeta Anand, Senior Program Director for Census and Data Equity at The Leadership Conference Education Fund, has spearheaded national and statewide coalitions to ensure accurate, equitable census counts, particularly for immigrants and historically undercounted populations. Anand will address the critical role of federal data in upholding democracy, the impact of recent moves to eliminate advisory committees and reduce data collection on race, ethnicity, and SOGI, and the consequences for representation, resource allocation, and civil rights enforcement.

Lynda Kellam, organizer with the Data Rescue Project, has led a nationwide coalition of librarians, archivists, and data professionals working to preserve endangered federal datasets. The Data Rescue Project acts as a clearinghouse, coordinating efforts to rescue, curate, and provide sustained public access to critical data from agencies such as the CDC, Department of Education, FEMA, and HUD. Kellam will share insights from the frontlines of data rescue, highlighting the importance of community coordination, accessible repositories like ICPSR’s DataLumos, and the urgent need to prevent data loss as federal datasets on public health, education, and marginalized communities come under threat.

Amy O’Hara, Research Professor at Georgetown’s Massive Data Institute and Executive Director of the Federal Statistical Research Data Center, and President of the Association of Public Data Users, is a leading expert in data governance, privacy, and secure data access. O’Hara’s work bridges government, academia, and nonprofits, focusing on building data infrastructure that balances privacy with the public good. She will discuss the evolving landscape of federal data policy, the foundational role of data in evidence-based policymaking, and the risks and opportunities posed by proposed changes to data collection and accessibility—especially as legislation and executive orders reshape what data is collected and shared.
 

An industry expert will provide a detailed update of the current recycled metals commodities markets with a focus on the implications of the recent import/ export tariff activity and logistics issues.

Presenter:

• Amy Jane Hinton, N. American Metals Editor, Fastmarkets RISI

Coordinated with the UConn TAB program to provide networking and information dissemination on brownfield support for the SCRCOG. This is an in-person event taking place at 127 Washington Ave, North Haven, CT 06473.
 

This meeting is geared towards those living along the Yantic River, as well as those who operate businesses in the area. This event will be an open environment to discuss flood experiences, learn about the Yantic's complex flooding issues, and ultimately come together to determine the best actions for reducing flood damages in the future. This event is hosted by the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments (SECOG) in partnership with the City of Norwich, UCONN's Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaption, and GZA Geoenvironmental.
 

Join CLCC and the Xerces Society for an engaging lunchtime webinar exploring the fascinating world of fireflies and how land trusts can play a role in their conservation. Fireflies are more than just a magical summer sight—they are essential indicators of ecosystem health, yet many species are facing challenges from habitat loss, light pollution, and other threats.

Candace Fallon, Senior Conservation Biologist with the Xerces Society, will introduce firefly ecology, conservation concerns, and the growing movement to establish firefly sanctuaries. Learn how land trusts and conservation organizations can identify and protect important firefly habitats, implement firefly-friendly management practices, and engage communities in the stewardship of these beloved beetles. Whether you’re looking for ways to enhance biodiversity on your protected lands or simply want to learn more about fireflies, this webinar will provide valuable insights and practical steps to get involved.
 

Come join CT DEEP at Kellogg Environmental Center for a fun day of celebrating and learning about turtles. From 10:00-11:00 am learn all about turtles from Turtle Haven who will also have turtle ambassadors as part of the program! There will be plenty of fun and activities for all ages throughout the day.
 

As nonprofits navigate uncertain times and the availability and reliability of federal data is becoming less certain, nonprofit and public sector professionals need to connect and discuss where to turn for reliable data. Join us for a 90-minute in-person event designed to spark connections, share resources, and spotlight state data you can trust.

The event features a short presentation from state agency leaders on the data that they are working to make available, including updates on projects that have been ongoing and information about data sources you may not have considered. Participants will also discuss changes at the federal level and implications for data availability going forward. Then, dive into small group discussions to share challenges and brainstorm solutions for filling data gaps in your own community. The session will wrap up with dedicated networking time to build relationships and strengthen our data community.

Whether you’re a data professional, nonprofit leader, or just passionate about evidence-based social change, you’ll leave with new insights, useful resources, and stronger connections. Let’s build a more resilient, informed, and connected data ecosystem.
 

The Long Island Sound Study will host a series of public meetings to discuss and finalize the Stewardship Strategy. The Strategy aims to provide a framework in support of the 33 Stewardship Areas of the Initiative. The draft of the Strategy will be shared for public comment March 10 – May 9. 

Please use the registration links below to attend the meetings:

Meeting 1: March 18, 2025 from 11:00AM –1:00PM

• Introduce Strategy and Discussion
• Presentation 1 – Restoration Strategy at Bluff Point State Park by Larissa Graham and Jason Krumholz of the Connecticut National Estuarine Research Reserve 
• Presentation 2 – Partnership at Sunken Meadow State Park by Vicky O’Neill of National Audubon Society
• Next Steps and Close Out

Meeting 2: April 24, 2025 from 11:00AM –1:00PM

• Briefly Recap/Discuss Strategy Comments
• Presentation 1 – Revitilization of Veterans Park in Norwalk by Sarah Crosby of the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk
• Presentation 2 – River Restoration Network at the Stewardship Areas by Anthony Allen of Save the Sound
• Next Steps and Close Out

Meeting 3: June 4, 2025 from 11:00AM –1:00PM

• Summarize input and ideas for advancing the Stewardship Strategy
• Next Steps and Close Out

We'll be having our 2025 Spring into Summer Celebration at the Mark Twain House and Museum, 351 Farmington Avenue, Hartford, on Wednesday, June 4, from 4 to 7 p.m.

Some of our favorite partners will be tabling, we'll honor our spring certified communities, we'll introduce our newest cohort of Sustainable CT Fellows, and tours of the Twain House will be available, too. There will be music, light fare, and all of your Sustainable CT friends. "To get the full value of joy you must have somebody to divide it with," Twain said. We hope you will come divide it with us.

This event is generously sponsored by PosiGen, Energia, Clean Transportation Communities of Southern Connecticut, Orsted, WasteZero and All American Waste.

Discover actionable insights to inform policy, advocacy, and community solutions to improve access to affordable child care for Connecticut's families. Join us for a webinar presenting findings from Connecticut’s first RAPID Survey of parents with young children, along with an analysis of childcare affordability across the state.

To contextualize the RAPID Survey results, CTData analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) to answer the question: What percentage of Connecticut families can afford market-rate, center-based care for all their young children?

Some of the key findings from the data:

• Only half of income-eligible families have applied for a Care 4 Kids subsidy.
• Most surveyed families spend more than 7% of their household income on childcare—the federal benchmark for affordability.
• About 90% of families would need to spend more than 7% of their income to pay market rates for full-time, center-based care.
• Nearly one-third of families spend three months or more searching for childcare.
• Lower-income families are more likely to experience longer childcare searches.

The webinar will include a walkthrough of our interactive dashboard, which allows users to explore results by demographic group and county.

Conducted with 17 community organizations, the survey gathered input from over 1,800 caregivers of children under age six across Connecticut in May 2024. It covers childcare access, affordability, subsidies, and satisfaction.

This work was funded and directed by The Connecticut Project, in partnership with Stanford University and the CTData Collaborative.
 

Coordinated with the UConn TAB program to provide networking and information dissemination on brownfield support for the RiverCOG Region. This is an in-person event taking place at CT State Community College Middlesex (100 Training Hill Road Middletown, CT 06457).
 

Surveys and forms can help you gather important information about your programs, clients, and services. However, there is a science to crafting and designing questions that gather meaningful insights to improve your work. No matter what kind of data you need, this class will give you the knowledge and skills to create high-quality surveys and forms that collect valuable data.

By the end of this session, you will learn how to:

• Develop questions that result in meaningful data collection.
• Write survey questions using best practices.
• Create a high-quality survey.

If you have any accessibility needs or require accommodations to participate, please contact Jackie at [email protected]. CTData's goal is to make their workshops accessible to everyone, and they welcome feedback on how they can improve.
 

Most professionals have access to qualitative data that can help inform their work but may not even realize it. Even after discovering this data, it can be challenging to categorize it so we can gain valuable insights to inform our work. This workshop will provide you with guidelines and practices you can apply to analyze qualitative data and will provide you with the knowledge and skills to help you more confidently gather insights from your qualitative data.

By the end of this session, you will:

• Know what qualitative data is and where it comes from.
• Learn how to prepare and manage qualitative data.
• Be able to analyze qualitative data.
• Know how to generate and compile insights from qualitative data analysis.

Please contact Jackie at [email protected] with any questions.
 

Coordinated with the UConn TAB program to provide networking and information dissemination on brownfield support for the MetroCOG Region. This is an in-person event taking place at the Univeristy of Bridgeport (126 Park Avenue Bridgeport, CT 06604).
 

This free, three-part, virtual equity workshop series provides a comprehensive framework of racial equity, diversity, and inclusion. Attendance at all three sessions is required.

Sessions run 10:00 am – 12:00 pm on: April 10, May 8, and June 12. Content will be geared to help Sustainability Teams integrate equity considerations into their Sustainable CT initiatives. Anyone is welcome to register and participate.

Attendance is capped at 35. This will be a live, interactive training and will NOT be recorded. Please only sign up if you intend to participate for the duration of each session.

Attendees will actively participate in three different workshops:

April 10: From Unconscious Bias to Systemic Change - This workshop goes beyond recognizing unconscious bias to crafting strategies for systemic change. The session offers theoretical insights and practical tools to reshape the municipal landscape for equity and justice.

May 8: Race & Community - Deepening Engagement and Solidarity - This workshop is designed to deepen community engagement around issues of race and racism. This interactive session will focus on building partnerships, coalitions, and networks that can amplify efforts to challenge racism and build equitable communities.

June 12: Persuasion for Progress - Influencing Change in Community Attitudes - Aiming to create progressive shifts in community attitudes, this workshop provides participants with nuanced approaches to community conversation, listening, resistance, and persuasion. Understanding that change often meets resistance, this session equips leaders with psychological insights and advanced communication strategies to transform skepticism into support for the Be READI© principles.

This webinar is eligible for Certified Connecticut Municipal Official (CCMO) professional development credit from the CT Conference of Municipalities.
 

Saturday, April 12th from 10:00-11:30AM:

Join Dr. Chris Conroy, Assistant Professor at the University of New Haven, as he shares insights into the diverse marine ecosystems of the Long Island Sound and discusses ongoing research to map the diverse underwater habitats that lie beneath the water's surface.

Saturday, May 10th from 10:00-11:30AM:

Travel through history with John Buell, Chair of the New Haven Harbor Foundation, as he unravels the evolving story of New Haven Harbor, from its bustling past to its modern transformation.

Saturday, June 14th from 10:00-11:30AM:

Discover the diverse world of macroalgae in New Haven Harbor with Ujjal Banik, a Master's student at the University of New Haven. Learn how macroalgae blooms impact water quality and ecosystem health, and what they reveal about the changing conditions of our coastal waters.
 

This free, three-part, virtual equity workshop series provides a comprehensive framework of racial equity, diversity, and inclusion. Attendance at all three sessions is required.

Sessions run 10:00 am – 12:00 pm on: June 17, July 22, and August 26. Content will be geared to help Sustainability Teams integrate equity considerations into their Sustainable CT initiatives. Anyone is welcome to register and participate.

Attendance is capped at 35. This will be a live, interactive training and will NOT be recorded. Please only sign up if you intend to participate for the duration of each session.

Attendees will actively participate in three different workshops:

June 17: Be READI© Leadership - Championing Equity at the Forefront - "Be READI© Leadership: Championing Equity at the Forefront" is a workshop for those ready to lead by example in equity and inclusion. Participants will explore leadership techniques, including influencing organizational culture, inspiring teams, and leading equitable change initiatives that yield measurable results.

July 22: Measuring What Matters - Assessing DEI Impact in Municipalities -  "Measuring What Matters: Assessing DEI Impact in Municipalities" focuses on tracking progress and evaluating the impact of DEI initiatives. Municipal leaders will learn to collect and analyze data, report on findings, and use insights to drive continuous improvement and accountability in DEI efforts.

August 26: Sustainable Change - Institutionalizing Be READI© Practices - "Sustainable Change: Institutionalizing Be READI© Practices" is designed to ensure the longevity and resilience of DEI efforts. Leaders will be equipped with strategies for policy development, stakeholder engagement, and creating a municipal infrastructure that supports lasting DEI integration.

This webinar is eligible for Certified Connecticut Municipal Official (CCMO) professional development credit from the CT Conference of Municipalities.
 

Data integration by local and state governments is undertaken for the public good to support the interconnected needs of families and communities. Though data infrastructure is a powerful tool to support equity-oriented reforms, equity is rarely centered as a core goal for data integration. This raises fundamental concerns, as integrated data increasingly provide the raw materials for evaluation, research, and risk modeling. This session will provide an overview of the newly updated Toolkit for Centering Racial Equity Throughout Data Integration (2025), the companion Workbook, and explore how participants can apply these learnings to center equity throughout the data life cycle in their day-to-day work.
 

Join Sustainable CT for virtual, informal, discussions most third Thursdays of each month. We share program updates and resources, explore your questions, and strengthen the network of Sustainable CT champions. These sessions are free and open to all.
 

Join the Connecticut Equity and Environmental Justice Advisory Council for a public quarterly meeting. This meeting will be hybrid; in-person at 295 Meridian St Groton, CT (Groton City Council Chambers) or on Zoom. The council will hear reports from subcommittees (Waste, Water, Land, Energy, and Air) as well as engage in a discussion on an environmental justice topic. Comments from the public are welcome at the beginning of the meeting. Please reach out to [email protected] if you have any questions.
 

Join Sustainable CT for virtual, informal, discussions most third Thursdays of each month. We share program updates and resources, explore your questions, and strengthen the network of Sustainable CT champions. These sessions are free and open to all.
 

Join Sustainable CT for virtual, informal, discussions most third Thursdays of each month. We share program updates and resources, explore your questions, and strengthen the network of Sustainable CT champions. These sessions are free and open to all.
 

Join Sustainable CT for virtual, informal, discussions most third Thursdays of each month. We share program updates and resources, explore your questions, and strengthen the network of Sustainable CT champions. These sessions are free and open to all.
 

Join Sustainable CT for virtual, informal, discussions most third Thursdays of each month. We share program updates and resources, explore your questions, and strengthen the network of Sustainable CT champions. These sessions are free and open to all.
 

Join Sustainable CT for virtual, informal, discussions most third Thursdays of each month. We share program updates and resources, explore your questions, and strengthen the network of Sustainable CT champions. These sessions are free and open to all.
 

Join Sustainable CT for virtual, informal, discussions most third Thursdays of each month. We share program updates and resources, explore your questions, and strengthen the network of Sustainable CT champions. These sessions are free and open to all.