Yale Professor Gaboury Benoit removes trash collected at a boom he placed on the Mill River in New Haven as part of CTSG-funded research into the plastic litter cycle.Lots of shellfish lovers stayed cool on July 13 while harvesting clams at Garvan Point beach at the annual Clam Dig sponsored by the Madison Shellfish Commission.The cargo ship Frauke carries the first shipment of nacelles (generators) for the Revolution Wind project to State Pier in New London on July 10, 2024.Dancers perform at the Sliver by the River celebration in Bridgeport in May, which included participation by CT Sea Grant Sustainable & Resilient Communities Extension Educator Deb Abibou.Waterford High School student Caydin Martinez, left, shows two of the approximately 370 Waterford elementary school students how to measure the depth of marsh sediment during Marine Science Day at Waterford Town Beach on June 3.Some of the 10 people who joined the CT Trails Day hike at Haley Farm State Park in Groton start the June 1 event co-led by the CT National Estuarine Research Reserve and CT Sea Grant.Flanders Elementary School teacher Laura Moore leads her first-grade students to a beach treasure hunt activity at Rocky Neck State Park in East Lyme on May 30, 2024, as part of the Long Island Sound Schools network program.Deborah Abibou, second from left, Sarah Schechter, fourth from left, and Maggie Cozens, sixth from left, all of CT Sea Grant, hear from members of the public about proposed revisions to the Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan for Long Island Sound at a public engagement meeting at Lighthouse Point Park in New Haven on May 8.Anoushka Concepcion, left, associate extension educator/seaweed aquaculture, and Clayton McGoldrick, lab technician, show the new mobile seaweed lab that arrived at the UConn Avery Point campus on April 29.A UConn Avery Point student holds Mr. Bob, a Buff Laced Polish hen that was part of the campus EcoHusky Club's Earth Day event, which included environmentally themed displays from many groups including CT Sea Grant.CTSG's Mike Gilman, 2nd row, 5th from left; and Zach Gordon, 3rd row, 3rd from left, were among those attending the Sea Grant Aquaculture Academy in New Hampshire April 8-11.Students at the Drop-In Learning Center in New London show sea creature puppets they made during an outreach activity led by CTSG staff during school vacation week.CTSG extension educators Owen Placido, second from right, and Sarah Schechter, not shown, led a talk about the formation of Connecticut's beaches to a group at the solar eclipse viewing event at Camp Harkness in Waterford on April 8.Pianist Hea Youn Chung, left, and Molly James, a UConn marine sciences doctoral candidate, led a performance and discussion of their "Harmony of Nature II" project on March 27. Their project received a CT Sea Grant Arts Suppport Award.Deborah Abibou, left front, CTSG assistant extension educator-sustainable and resilient communities, talks about resilience tools and strategies at a March 7 funding workshop attended by about 40 people.Assistant Extension Educator Michael Gilman talks about different types of oyster cages to some of the students in the 2024 "Foundations of Shellfish Farming" class being offered by CT Sea Grant.Audience members applaud after the Coastal Perspectives Lecture by author and artist Patrick Lynch titled, "A Tale of Two Estuaries."Fisherman John Genther, center, received a Meritorious Service Award from the Coast Guard for saving a man's life less than two weeks after taking first aid training hosted by CTSG.Lauren Barrett, left, Kayla Mladinich Poole, center, and Kristen Williams, CTSG-sponsored members of the 2024 class of the John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship, gather at a NOAA Hydrolab exhibit during program orientation in Silver Spring, MD, this winter.Michael Thomas of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe and Alissa Dragan, supervising environmental analyst at the state Department of Agriculture Bureau of Aquaculture, discuss ways to improve access to shellfishing grounds for his and other tribes in Connecticut after his talk at the Annual Gathering of Shellfish Commissions on Feb. 3.Some of the 80 students who participated in the the LEARN Sustainers of the Sound program supported by CT Sea Grant look from the beach at the Avery Point campus during a scavenger hunt activity. The Dec. 13 program included fish painting and a lesson on Long Island Sound.Ralph Lewis, state geologist emeritus, talks about the coastal geology section he wrote for the CTSG book "Connecticut's Sandy Shores" during a book launch and signing event on Nov. 29.Ulysses Hammond, interim executive director of CT Port Authority, points to components of the South Fork wind farm being stage at State Pier in New London during a Nov. 20 tour of the site for about 15 people, including CTSG Director Sylvain De Guise, third from left, and other CTSG staff members.Commercial fishermen practice cardiopulmonary resuscitation skills on a mannequin during first aid training class hosted by CT Sea Grant on Oct. 24, 2023.Group photo of volunteers who cleaned Rocky Neck State Park with bags of trashStudents launch kayaks from the UConn Avery Point campus during the "Messing About in Boats" event on Sept. 15.Volunteer Bobbi Brown, left, shows Anthony Leggitt, 5, how to cast a fishing rod during the CT Sea Grant-Groundwork Bridgeport "Let's Go Fishing" event Aug. 19 on Knowlton Park on the Pequonnock River.The CT Sea Grant-NOAA Milford Lab booth at the Milford Oyster Festival Aug. 19 drew dozens of visitors to play a shell matching game and see a touch tank with scallops and oysters.Lisanne Winslow of East Haven picks up a plastic bottle in the Long Wharf Nature Preserve in New Haven during the Aug. 12 cleanup kicking off the 2023 #DontTrashLISound campaign.Tessa Getchis and Mike Gilman represented CT Sea Grant at the Blessing of the Fleet in Stonington on July 30. Hundreds of people turned out for the annual event that included a Mass, parade, ceremony, food and music.Chris Menapace, director of education for Discovering Amistad, describes how shackles were used on the Amistad during a visit to the replica slave ship by CTSG staff as part of DEI learning activities. Associate Director Nancy Balcom, left, was joined by eight other staff members at the New London pier where the original ship was once docked.Fishermen in immersion suits practice getting into a life raft during Safety and Survival training in October 2022.Dr. Camille Gaynus, board chair of the professional organization Black in Marine Science, talks about marine science careers and the need for diversification and participation in these fields with students at the Sound School in New Haven last week as part of a project with the West River Watershed Partnership, Project WET, CT Sea Grant and CT DEEP.CT Sea Grant Director Sylvain De Guise was one of several speakers at an Aug. 8 event at Ash Creek in Fairfield announcing the Connecticut Shellfish Restoration Guide.Mark Phegley, left, QCW sign maker for UConn, directs student employees John Poland, center, and Braden Gutierrez in the positioning of a Connecticut Blue Heritage Trail sign at Bluff Point State Park on June 9. The trail is a project of CTSG, UConn and CT DEEP.David Carey, left, and Matt Bartel of the state Bureau of Aquaculturefill bags with oyster shell piled at Hammonassett Beach State Park that will be moved to oyster restoration areas in Branford and Bridgeport as part of a 2022 project with CT Sea Grant.UConn Marine Sciences Professor Hannes Baumann, left, and Connecticut Sea Grant Director Sylvain De Guise unveil a public outreach sign about endangered Atlantic sturgeon at Hammonassett Beach State Park on May 7.Crew members of Pot Luck, a vessel owned by Sam Fernandez of Sam's Seafood, sort clams from oysters as part of a restoration of natural shellfish beds near Bridgeport on June 10.
Flanders Elementary school students use an iPad to photograph items found during a beach treasure hunt at Rocky Neck State Park in East Lyme, CT.

Long Island Sound takes center stage in N.Y., CT classrooms

June 20, 2024

From the Bronx, Long Island and Westchester County in New York, to Connecticut’s hilly northwest corner and southeastern shoreline, elementary, middle and high schools students have been immersed in learning about Long Island Sound, the estuary that connects the two states.

[Read More]
Cover of Spring-Summer 2024 issue of Wrack Lines magazine

Issue features oyster videos, black sea bass, marshes & more

May 28, 2024

“Natural Effects: Tales of Our Dynamic Environment” is the theme for the Spring-Summer 2024 issue of Wrack Lines. Read about the project using GoPro cameras on oyster cages, research into the explosion of black sea bass in the Sound, three scientists studying CT salt marshes, and more.

[Read More]

Two undergraduates to engage in coastal summer research

May 8, 2024

Although the spring semester at their universities is over, undergraduate students Kelly Jiang and Edith Vincze-Farago won’t be taking down time from their academic pursuits this summer. Jiang and Vincze-Farago are the 2024 recipients of the CTSG Undergraduate Summer Research Fellowship.

[Read More]
Cover of Spring-Summer 2024 issue of Wrack Lines magazine

Upcoming Events

  1. Jul 18 Visioning sessions for Six Lakes 6:00pm
  2. Jul 20 History/Geology walk at Bluff Point State Park 11:00am
  3. Jul 25 Blessing of the Fleet 5K Road Race 12:00pm
All Events »