We are so excited that over our first 7 months, nearly 300 have joined our collaborative community caring for the ecological heath and resilience of life in the Mystic River Watershed !
We love your passion!!
Do you have 1 to 2 hours per week to invest in the quality of life in the Mystic River Watershed?
Would you be willing to co-chair:
a. Pollution Solutions: How can we use natural solutions and make wise decisions on land to limit the amount of pollution in the waters?
b. Invasive Investigators: Learn and teach others about how to stop the spread of the "Hydrilla monster," and boost native species knowledge and stewardship on land and in the water.
c. Save the Alewife: Track and count the alewife population as they pass through Old Mystic on their way to spawn. Will there be any survivors of the trawling nets this year? Let's show up for this essential species of fish!
d. Designing Spaces and Places that Regenerate: Imagine living in a beautiful house that cost almost nothing to operate, generated its own energy and then some, filtered its own water, processed its own waste, used healthy materials, bathed you in natural light, helped you maintain your focus and health...no, you didn't wake up as a tiny bug on a lovely flower--this is a regenerative, "living" design. Great for low-income and high-end housing; great for the environment; great for our communities; great for the bottom line. Work with BuildGreen CT and workforce education partners to transform our corner of CT into a resilient, regenerative hub for living and working well. Be the re-generation.
e. Policies to keep us safe:
Track and participate in local decision making. Help to update and coordinate the various sets of plans and regulations to keep our region safe, healthy, and inclusive.
f. Community Learning:
Help people of all ages to experience and express their love for our whole family of being--from learning to action.
We have the power to transform!
g. Caring for the Alliance itself :
Perhaps you have 5-10 hours per week to share...and special skills such as accounting, grant-writing, fund-raising, communications...
How can we adapt to sea level rise, more intense storms, and increasing flooding frequency?
Take Action!!!
This petition supports the Stonington Planning and Zoning Commission and the inclusion of the following changes in the upcoming zoning rewrite :
Establish and enforce non-infringement zones around waterways
Eliminate regulatory loopholes for development in flood zones
Prioritize the stewardship of our natural resources for the benefit of the public trust
How can zoning laws prevent flooding:
When it comes to flood prevention in a coastal community, the first rule of thumb is to do no harm. While we all have a right to peaceful enjoyment of private property and public land; construction, grading, fill, and impervious surfaces that increase runoff to storm-water and sewage systems can have a more significant impact on total flood volumes than any other manageable factors. Developments that work around previously established rules can affect the whole community, damaging infrastructure and increasing risk to neighboring properties and the natural resources we all share.
You do not have to live in Stonington to sign this petition. Environmentally, what happens in one place affects what happens in other places. Anyone is allowed to sign and comment on subjects of public hearing. Even though the process might seem arcane because local regulation must be derived from state statutes, the petition goals would lead to massive environmental benefits. - If you know of anyone to share this information with, please do so. Just click the link above to read (and hopefully sign) the petition.
Save the Alewife, Save Commercial Fishing
We love this strangely beautiful little fish. Looking flashy in silver, this River Herring used to churn the river and Whitford Brook white on their spawning runs. River Herring are one of the relatively few species of fish who can live both in fresh and salt water, and who return after the freezing and before spring buds to freshwater lakes to spawn. In August, they head back to the sea with their young. Osprey migratory patterns returning from the Caribbean and South America are timed to the spawning runs. River Herring are a crucial middle link in the food chain. But their numbers in Long Island Sound and possibly in our Watershed have dropped precipitously in the last few years. Why?? What can we do to bring them back? Stay tuned for an Alewife Gathering!!
Generating Hope -- Friendly Climate Conversations
Would you or someone you know be interested in joining Maggie Favretti (Author of Learning in the Age of Climate Disasters (Routledge 2023)) and some of her friends and educators from the Climate Psychology Association in healthy conversations about climate anxiety, how to talk with kids about climate change, how to transform learning into a joyful experience, what is resilience, how to co-empower each other to take action? Futurephobia is real. Together, we are already generating hope.
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