Trainings & Events

Join the Connecticut Councils of Government for a conversation on climate action implementation strategies, challenges, and opportunities within the context of the regional climate action plans COGs and others are preparing under the EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) program. Municipal staff, commission members and community groups with climate and sustainability-related responsibilities are invited to attend.
 

Today, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) announced the strategic expansion of the successful DEEP Climate Resilience Fund (DCRF) program to better enable communities to access federal funding for climate resilience. This upcoming investment of state funds will help towns, Councils of Government, and other stakeholders pursue project planning, and in some cases construction, allowing them to tap into the billions of federal dollars available to improve local resilience. As Connecticut experiences mounting costs from severe weather events, securing federal funding for proactive climate resilience planning and investment is critical to getting more projects built and keeping communities safe. DEEP is seeking feedback on a new framework for the DEEP Climate Resilience Fund, including from municipalities, Councils of Government, tribes, electric distribution companies, academic partners, private entities, and non-profit organizations. DEEP made this new future grant round announcement as part of a tour of the Meriden Green resilience project, a 14-acre flood control project using nature-based solutions located in downtown Meriden. The announcement was part of the State’s Sustainability and Resiliency Week.

Climate change and extreme weather are costing the state and its residents hundreds of millions of dollars every year. Initial estimates have found that the August 18, 2024 flooding event caused over $200 million in damage. Superstorm Sandy in 2012 cost the state an estimated $360 million (equivalent to $500 million in 2024 dollars) in damage to public infrastructure and homes. The state’s two largest electric distribution companies have incurred hundreds of millions of dollars in storm preparedness and recovery costs since 2011. Ensuring our cities and towns are resilient to these intense storms is critically important.

The expanded framework for the DEEP Climate Resilience Fund announced today builds on several years of partnership and funding for community climate resilience investment.  DEEP issued the first awards in the DEEP Climate Resilience Fund in 2023, through grants totaling $8.8 million that are supporting development of 21 innovative resilience plans and projects in 17 communities across the state. The DCRF’s predecessor program, the DEEP Microgrid Grant Program, constructed 10 microgrids to provide backup power to critical facilities. DEEP’s efforts to support community climate resilience also include a recent rapid response program deploying in-kind contractors for those communities affected by August 18’s unprecedented extreme flooding in southwestern Connecticut.

Today DEEP is issuing a Request for Information, seeking feedback on two programs: First is a new DCRF funding category for deployment to give eligible applicants money to build projects that will make Connecticut more resilient to the impacts of climate change and extreme weather. Eligible solutions could include stormwater parks, resilience hubs that serve as cooling and warming centers, microgrids and clean backup power and storage, and establishing stormwater authorities. Second, DEEP is seeking feedback on the design of a new Climate Resiliency Revolving Loan fund that the Legislature authorized earlier this year.

DEEP will hold virtual public meetings on both programs on October 24 and October 30; and written comments are due by November 8.
 

Por favor, únase a nosotros en un taller gratuito de dos horas para discutir la salud comunitaria y ambiental de Danbury. Queremos conocer qué es importante para usted como miembro de la comunidad de Danbury. Su experiencia vivida es valiosa y compartirla puede influir en las soluciones para mejorar la calidad de vida para usted, su familia y la comunidad de Danbury.

​Todos los que viven en Danbury son bienvenidos e invitados. Comparta su importante opinión mientras aprende sobre los recursos y beneficios relacionados de la bosque urbano en Danbury. Se ofrecerán comida gratuita y cuidado infantil gratuito.

​Este es un estudio de investigación realizado por UConn. Su participación es voluntaria y sus contribuciones durante el taller se mantendrán anónimas y confidenciales. Al llegar al lugar, deberá firmar un formulario de consentimiento que confirma su participación en el estudio.

​Please join the University of Connecticut and the CT Department for Energy and Environmental Protection for a free two-hour workshop to discuss community and environmental health of Danbury. They want to learn what's important to you as a member of the Danbury community. Your lived experience is important and sharing it can influence solutions to improve the quality of life for you, your family, and the Danbury community.

​Anyone who lives in Danbury is welcome and invited. Please share your important voice while learning about the resources and benefits around urban forestry in Danbury. Free food and free childcare provided.

​This is a research study being done by UConn. Your participation is voluntary and your contributions during the workshop will be kept anonymous and confidential. Upon arrival to the venue, you will sign a consent form that confirms participation in the study.

​Dirección / Address: 53 Ellsworth Ave, Danbury, CT

​​**Estacionamiento gratuito**Free Parking**
 

Beyond Business as Usual 2024: Co-Ops and the Next Economy is one-day conference on Saturday, October 26, 2024 in Hartford, Connecticut and online that seeks to convene our local and regional co-op movement, including co-op members, developers, funders, investors, and technical assistance providers, worker self-directed non-profits, grassroots collectives and coalitions, and the co-op curious to connect, learn, and strategize around building businesses and an economy that prioritizes people and the planet over profit.

Attendance is free with a suggested donation of $50. Our partners at Sustainable CT will match contributions up to $7,500 that we receive between now and October 26! You can donate online here or via cash or check prior to the conference or at the door.

No one will be turned away due to lack of funds. Childcare, Spanish interpretation, coffee, light refreshments, and lunch will be provided.

reSET held the first Beyond Business as Usual conference in 2010. The 2024 conference is co-hosted by Cooperate Connecticut and funded in part through a matching grant from Sustainable CT with additional support from the Cooperative Fund of the Northeast, the Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut, the 224 Ecospace, and your contributions!

For more information, including a conference program and a growing list of speakers, vendors, and partners, visit www.connecticut.coop/bbau

Cooperate Connecticut is an emerging membership-based network dedicated to growing and sustaining our local cooperative ecosystem. Cooperate Connecticut is made possible thanks to seed funding and support from the Cooperative Fund of the Northeast and reSET.
 

The Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group (CIPWG) 2024 symposium will be a full day in-person program on October 29, with some sessions directed to all attendees and other sessions in concurrent breakouts. This year's theme is Real Talk: Making an Impact in Invasive Plant Management.

The morning session will include a keynote presentation by Peter Picone, CT DEEP: “For the Love of Plants...To Plant or Not to Plant? A Wildlife Biologist's Perspective” plus “CIPWG’s Role in Combatting Invasive Plants” by Victoria Wallace and Lauren Kurtz, UConn, and Bryan Connolly, ECSU.

There's a full day of great speakers on the agenda so be sure to register early before tickets sell out. Questions? Contact Alyssa Siegel-Miles, [email protected].
 

Pop-in during the UConn Technical Assistance for Brownfield (TAB)'s open office hours. UConn TAB will be hosting an hour long office hour every Tuesday between October 15th - November 5th.
 

Today, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) announced the strategic expansion of the successful DEEP Climate Resilience Fund (DCRF) program to better enable communities to access federal funding for climate resilience. This upcoming investment of state funds will help towns, Councils of Government, and other stakeholders pursue project planning, and in some cases construction, allowing them to tap into the billions of federal dollars available to improve local resilience. As Connecticut experiences mounting costs from severe weather events, securing federal funding for proactive climate resilience planning and investment is critical to getting more projects built and keeping communities safe. DEEP is seeking feedback on a new framework for the DEEP Climate Resilience Fund, including from municipalities, Councils of Government, tribes, electric distribution companies, academic partners, private entities, and non-profit organizations. DEEP made this new future grant round announcement as part of a tour of the Meriden Green resilience project, a 14-acre flood control project using nature-based solutions located in downtown Meriden. The announcement was part of the State’s Sustainability and Resiliency Week.

Climate change and extreme weather are costing the state and its residents hundreds of millions of dollars every year. Initial estimates have found that the August 18, 2024 flooding event caused over $200 million in damage. Superstorm Sandy in 2012 cost the state an estimated $360 million (equivalent to $500 million in 2024 dollars) in damage to public infrastructure and homes. The state’s two largest electric distribution companies have incurred hundreds of millions of dollars in storm preparedness and recovery costs since 2011. Ensuring our cities and towns are resilient to these intense storms is critically important.

The expanded framework for the DEEP Climate Resilience Fund announced today builds on several years of partnership and funding for community climate resilience investment.  DEEP issued the first awards in the DEEP Climate Resilience Fund in 2023, through grants totaling $8.8 million that are supporting development of 21 innovative resilience plans and projects in 17 communities across the state. The DCRF’s predecessor program, the DEEP Microgrid Grant Program, constructed 10 microgrids to provide backup power to critical facilities. DEEP’s efforts to support community climate resilience also include a recent rapid response program deploying in-kind contractors for those communities affected by August 18’s unprecedented extreme flooding in southwestern Connecticut.

Today DEEP is issuing a Request for Information, seeking feedback on two programs: First is a new DCRF funding category for deployment to give eligible applicants money to build projects that will make Connecticut more resilient to the impacts of climate change and extreme weather. Eligible solutions could include stormwater parks, resilience hubs that serve as cooling and warming centers, microgrids and clean backup power and storage, and establishing stormwater authorities. Second, DEEP is seeking feedback on the design of a new Climate Resiliency Revolving Loan fund that the Legislature authorized earlier this year.

DEEP will hold virtual public meetings on both programs on October 24 and October 30; and written comments are due by November 8.
 

Antioch University’s School for the Environment and Sustainability is embarking on a year-long celebration to mark 50 years of community, excellence, impact and leadership. They are initiating a comprehensive series of events and international field study opportunities to mark this milestone. This year-long celebration uplifts their proud tradition of educating, inspiring and launching generations of environmental leaders who are dedicated to advancing a more just, sustainable and healthy future.

Environmental justice relies on democratic power, policies, practices, and institutions. Democracy is born through dialogue. Democracy has been called the worst form of government except for all others which have been tried. Democracy is not something we have, it is something we do, and if you aren’t at the table, you’re on the menu.

At their best, democratic systems create spaces of belonging, the rule of law, justice, and robust participation in the decisions that affect their members’ lives. Increasing rights, protection, and democratic representation and participation has been the work of environmental and social justice advocates in the United States and elsewhere for generations. New forms of rights are emerging, including the right to a healthy environment and the rights of nature.

Democracy in its most familiar forms, however, has often floundered in the face of systemic injustice. Democracy has also repeatedly been used as a shield to further environmental injustice and colonial extraction both domestically and internationally. How can we work toward justice while reckoning with and disrupting this disturbing legacy? How do we understand the importance, possibilities, and approaches for centering environmental justice in our contemporary democratic systems and processes? What solutions-oriented pathways already exist? What practices will no longer serve us? This colloquia series aims to support and enliven the discourse around these and other questions. Most fundamentally these colloquia seek to build our collective capacity for engaging in democracy to cultivate environmental justice.
 

​Please join the University of Connecticut and the CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection for a free two-hour workshop to discuss the community and environmental health of Waterbury. They want to learn what's important to you as a member of the Waterbury community. Your lived experience is important and sharing it can influence solutions to improve the quality of life for you, your family, and the Waterbury community.

​Anyone who lives in Waterbury is welcome and invited. Please share your important voice while learning about the resources and benefits around urban forestry in Waterbury. Free food and free childcare provided.

​This is a research study being done by UConn. Your participation is voluntary and your contributions during the workshop will be kept anonymous and confidential. Upon arrival to the venue, you will sign a consent form that confirms participation in the study.

​Por favor, únase a nosotros en un taller gratuito de dos horas para discutir la salud comunitaria y ambiental de Waterbury. Queremos conocer qué es importante para usted como miembro de la comunidad de Waterbury. Su experiencia vivida es valiosa y compartirla puede influir en las soluciones para mejorar la calidad de vida para usted, su familia y la comunidad de Waterbury.

​Todos los que viven en Waterbury son bienvenidos e invitados. Comparta su importante opinión mientras aprende sobre los recursos y beneficios relacionados con la arboricultura urbana en Waterbury. Se ofrecerán comida gratuita y cuidado infantil gratuito.

​Este es un estudio de investigación realizado por UConn. Su participación es voluntaria y sus contribuciones durante el taller se mantendrán anónimas y confidenciales. Al llegar al lugar, deberá firmar un formulario de consentimiento que confirma su participación en el estudio.

​Dirección / Address: 158 Grand St, Waterbury, CT

​​Street Parking
 

There are a range of federal and state programs available to help water managers invest in sustainable, equitable and climate resilient solutions. But matching these various funding options to community’s priority projects can be challenging. WaterNow Alliance will host a 1-hour webinar for municipal, utility, and community leaders in the Intermountain West to learn about funding and financing options for sustainable water projects of all scales.

The program will feature U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s WaterSMART grant program as a way to kick-start water conservation projects, Colorado’s State Revolving Fund program as a key pathway to larger-scale investments in sustainable projects, and U.S. EPA’s Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loans as flexible financing for communities’ largest investments in sustainable infrastructure.

The webinar has 3 objectives:

1. Answer participants’ questions about WaterSMART grants, Colorado SRF loans, and WIFIA loans.
2. Equip participants with the know-how for matching their sustainable water projects with best-fit funding and financing options.
3. Inspire broadened thinking about the types of projects that water infrastructure grant and loan programs can help fund.

Speakers:

• Dallas Shattuck, Senior Program Manager, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, WIFIA program
• Desi Santerre, Water and Wastewater Program Manager, Colorado Department of Local Affairs
• Lucy Schurr, Program Analyst, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
• Drew Manning, Program Analyst, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
• Victoria Arling, WaterNow, [email protected]
• Caroline Koch, WaterNow, [email protected] (moderator)

The CCEH Board of Directors invites you to join us for the 2024 Annual Meeting on Thursday, November 7th, from 10:00 to 11:30 AM, to be held via Zoom.

The Coalition is delighted to welcome all of our partners in our efforts to prevent and solve homelessness to participate in this event.

During this meeting, we will reflect on the past year, introduce CCEH’s 2024-2029 Strategic Plan and the exciting re-launch of the CT CAN End Homelessness Campaign. These initiatives are critical as we continue working together to strengthen our impact in Connecticut. We look forward to your participation and hearing your insights as we embark on these new strategic priorities.
 

Join Eversource on the first Thursday of most months to learn about their energy efficiency programs and offerings in Connecticut. These lunchtime webinars are an opportunity to learn directly from your desk.

For Eversource's November webinar, they will begin with an overview of energy efficiency as a concept and then share programs and offers that may fly a little under your radar. You will hear from Eversource and Connecticut Green Bank staff, who will share information about available financing programs. The program will conclude by learning more about Eversource's online marketplace, where you can find energy efficiency products for your home and business.

Why should you attend? 

• You want to hear more about what energy efficiency is and why it is a valuable resource 

• You want to learn about available financing programs and consumer offers for energy efficiency projects, products, and solutions

Please plan to join us for the 2024 Sustainable CT Awards Celebration on November 13 at the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center ("The Kate") in Old Saybrook. We'll be honoring all of our 2024 certified towns and a brand new cohort of Climate Leaders. We'll also be celebrating FIVE YEARS of Community Match Fund success!

The Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center is a non-profit performing arts organization located in an historic theater/town hall on Main Street in Old Saybrook. Originally opened in 1911, the building is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The center includes a 285-seat theater that presents works in music, theater, opera, dance, comedy, film, and a variety of children’s programming. The Katharine Hepburn Museum, located on the first floor, is the only museum of its kind honoring Katharine Hepburn, Old Saybrook’s most celebrated resident. Exhibits feature costume and personal wardrobe items, photographs, home movies, awards, and other memorabilia.

Space is limited, so we encourage you to register early. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us at [email protected]. We're always happy to connect with you.

Your hard work and continuing support are of vital importance to us, so we look forward to seeing you on November 13th!
 

​​Please join the University of Connecticut and the CT Department of Energy and Envrionmental Protection for a free two-hour workshop to discuss the community and environmental health of New London. We want to learn what's important to you as a member of the New London community. Your lived experience is important and sharing it can influence solutions to improve the quality of life for you, your family, and the New London community.

​​Anyone who lives in New London is welcome and invited. Please share your important voice while learning about the resources and benefits around urban forestry in New London. Free food and free childcare provided.

​​This is a research study being done by UConn. Your participation is voluntary and your contributions during the workshop will be kept anonymous and confidential. Upon arrival to the venue, you will sign a consent form that confirms participation in the study.

​​Por favor, únase a nosotros en un taller gratuito de dos horas para discutir la salud comunitaria y ambiental de New London. Queremos conocer qué es importante para usted como miembro de la comunidad de New London. Su experiencia vivida es valiosa y compartirla puede influir en las soluciones para mejorar la calidad de vida para usted, su familia y la comunidad de New London.

​​Todos los que viven en New London son bienvenidos e invitados. Comparta su importante opinión mientras aprende sobre los recursos y beneficios relacionados de la bosque urbano en New London. Se ofrecerán comida gratuita y cuidado infantil gratuito.

​​Este es un estudio de investigación realizado por UConn. Su participación es voluntaria y sus contribuciones durante el taller se mantendrán anónimas y confidenciales. Al llegar al lugar, deberá firmar un formulario de consentimiento que confirma su participación en el estudio.

​Dirección / Address: 26 Broad St, New London, CT

​​**Estacionamiento gratuito**Free Parking**

​Park at Fiddleheads Co-Op Lot
 

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.
 

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.