May 2024

The Resilience Roundup highlights announcements and events along with links to the previous month's state, regional, and national resilience news. 

Learn more about CIRCA at circa.uconn.edu

and the Resilient Connecticut Project at resilientconnecticut.uconn.edu

CIRCA Webinar Series

We are excited to announce that the Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation (CIRCA) is hosting a new webinar series in late May. This series is a continuation effort after our research symposium and research seed grant and is aimed at showcasing the research efforts of UConn faculty members and fostering collaboration within the university’s community. Each webinar will center around one of the four research areas outlined by CIRCA, accessible on our website HERE.

Tuesday, May 21st; 12 pm - 1 pm

Join James O’Donnell, Professor of Marine Sciences, to learn and discuss his research on Resilience Adaptation and Engineering and Inland and Coastal Flooding. Click HERE to register.

Thursday, May 23rd; 12 pm - 1 pm

Join Chad Rittenhouse, Professor in Residence of NRE to learn and discuss his research on Decarbonization and Energy and Biodiversity, Ecosystem & Conservation. Click HERE to register.

Tuesday, May 28th; 12 pm - 1 pm

Join a conversation with Shareen Hartel, Professor of Political Science and Human Rights, Desen Ozkan, Assistant Professor, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering Department and Eleanor Ouimet, Assistant Professor of Anthropology to learn and discuss research on Economy, Workforce and Planning Perspectives and Climate Communication and Policy. Click HERE to register.

Thursday, May 30th; 12 pm - 1 pm

Join Eleanor Ouimet, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, to learn and discuss her research on Climate Justice and Equity and Public Health and Emergency Management. Click HERE to register.

CIRCA Research Seed Grant Awardees

Three UConn faculty members have been awarded seed grants from the Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation (CIRCA) to support their research. Congratulations to the following faculty members:

Dr. Eleanor Ouimet

Award: $50,000

Project Title: "Addressing Disaster Preparedness-Disparity in Connecticut: Cultivating trust and increasing resilience through effective and equitable risk communication"

Dr. Charles Towe

Award: $50,000

Project Title: "Flood Insurance-Pricing, Coverage, and Distributional Impacts for Underserved Communities"

Dr. Nalini Ravishankar

Award: $25,000

Project Title: "Extremal Dependence, Forecasting, and Flood Warning Alert Generation Based on Water Level and Wave and Wind Variables in Coastal Towns"

Grants

CLCC: Climate Smart Land Stewardship Grant Program

The overarching goal of the Climate Smart Land Stewardship Grant Program is to increase the number of acres in Connecticut that are managed using climate smart land stewardship practices and encourage the use of climate smart practices among Connecticut’s land trusts. This grant program, and CLCC's accompanying outreach and technical assistance, will elevate the role of conserved lands in providing natural climate solutions by integrating climate mitigation, resilience, and adaptation into the stewardship of conserved lands throughout the state. This program will award $500,000 over multiple years for both planning and implementation grants. In 2024, grants will be awarded quarterly. In 2024, applications will be reviewed quarterly. Submission deadlines are at 5:00pm on: March 1, May 1, August 1, and November 1. Funding decisions are anticipated approximately six weeks after application deadlines.

Long Island Sound Futures Fund 2024 Request for Proposals

Full Proposal Deadline: May 13, 2024

The Long Island Sound Futures Fund (LISFF) is seeking proposals to restore the health and living resources of Long Island Sound (Sound) with approximately $12 million for grants in 2024. The program is managed by National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) in collaboration with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Long Island Sound Study (LISS). Major funding is from EPA through the LISS with additional funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Zoetis Foundation. All proposed projects must be within the Long Island Sound watershed boundary. The LISFF supports efforts to test innovative approaches to conservation, deliver transformative projects and support people and communities who value the Sound and take a role in its future.

Long Island Sound Study (LISS) Research Call for Proposals Open

Connecticut Sea Grant (CTSG) and New York Sea Grant (NYSG) announce a request for preliminary proposals for the Long Island Sound Study Research Grant Program. The intent of this program is to fund research that will support the science-based management of Long Island Sound (LIS) and its resources, and the implementation of the LISS Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP). The LISS is a regional, community-based partnership to protect and restore LIS. Information on the LISS can be obtained HERE. Preliminary proposals are invited for the funding period of January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2026. Subject to available federal funding, up to $6.5 million is expected to be available for one- or two-year projects. Any investigator seeking support for this period (or a portion thereof) must submit a preliminary proposal via NYSG’s electronic submission website www.NYSGproposal.org by 5:00 p.m. EDT on Monday, April 8, 2024. Hard copy, email, and fax submissions will NOT be accepted.

EPA: Community Change Grants

Application Deadline: November 21, 2024

The Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grant program (Community Change Grants), created by the Inflation Reduction Act, offers an unprecedented $2 billion in grants under this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). The Community Change Grants will fund community-driven projects that address climate challenges and reduce pollution while strengthening communities through thoughtful implementation. This historic level of support will enable communities and their partners to overcome longstanding environmental challenges and implement meaningful solutions to meet community needs now and for generations to come. There will be two tracks of funding under this opportunity. Track I will fund approximately 150 large, transformational community-driven investment grants of $10 million - $20 million. Track II will fund approximately 20 meaningful engagement grants of $1 million - $3 million. Grants cannot exceed 3-years in duration. Please review the NOFO for further information about the exciting opportunities under the Community Change Grants program and details about the application process.

Events

Sustainable CT: National Flood Insurance

Program's Community Rating System Webinar

May 9, 1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Join Sustainable CT and Diane Ifkovic from DEEP to learn more about how your municipality can pursue floodplain management strategies through the National Flood Insurance Program's Community Rating System (CRS). There will be information about the CRS program, available resources, and earning Sustainable CT certification points under Action 5.9.

CT DEEP: Updated GHG Inventory

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (“DEEP”) published its latest Greenhouse Gas (“GHG”) Emissions Inventory, the most comprehensive accounting of the state’s air pollution that contributes to climate change. In tracking progress toward the state’s statutory GHG emissions reduction targets, the report’s preliminary data shows that emissions increased in 2022 for a second consecutive year.

University of Auckland: Climate Resilience Toolkit: Arts-Based Activities for Changing Climates

This pioneering resource is born out of extensive research and collaborative efforts involving artists, educators, and climate scientists from Sydney, Australia, and Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand, with assistance from researchers at the University of Bristol, UK, and Lund University, Sweden. It is designed to bridge the gap between the abstract world of scientific data and the tangible realities of individual and community lives, utilising the transformative power of art to foster a deeper, more empathetic understanding of the climate crisis as well as adaptation, mitigation, and transformation efforts. This toolkit represents a new way to approach climate change communication and climate adaptation by allowing people to think about and imagine climate resilience, climate justice, and adaptation using different medium.

Biden-Harris Administration Announces Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to Receive Nearly $62.5 Million to Deliver Residential Solar, Lowering Energy Costs and Advancing Environmental Justice Across Connecticut

EPA - April 22, 2024

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has been selected to receive $62,450,000 through the Solar for All grant competition to develop long-lasting solar programs that enable low-income and disadvantaged communities to deploy and benefit from distributed residential solar. This award is part of the historic $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which was created under President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act to lower energy costs for families, create good-quality jobs in communities that have been left behind, advance environmental justice, and tackle the climate crisis.

Over $1.4 Million in State Funds Will Help CT

Farms With Climate Resilience

CT Public Radio - April 23, 2024

Nearly two dozen Connecticut farms and producers are getting state funds this year to brace against extreme weather conditions tied to climate change. The state Department of Agriculture named 20 farms for the first round of Restoration, Climate Resiliency, and Preparedness grants. About $1.5 million will be allocated this year.

The grants come after two major weather events last year in Connecticut —subfreezing temperatures in May, and record rainfall in July that led to major flooding — that led the state to request federal disaster declarations due to widespread crop damage.

New State Fund Will Protect Rhode Island’s Coast from

Climate Change

Rhode Island Monthly - April 11, 2024

Governor Dan McKee and state agencies announced that $4 million in state grants have been made available for public projects that protect or enhance coastal and riverine habitats from the effects of climate change.The funds are part of the Ocean State Climate Adaptation and Resilience fund program, a new grant source established in 2021 by the General Assembly. Public agencies have until Friday, May 17, to submit applications for projects that protect or adapt coastal habitat, including those that provide public access to shorelines and riverbanks.

Biden Awards $830 million to Toughen Nation’s Infrastructure Against Climate Change

AP News - April 11, 2024

The Biden administration awarded $830 million in grants to fund 80 projects aimed at toughening the nation’s aging infrastructure against the harmful impacts of climate change.The money is expected to improve bridges, roads, ports, rail, transit and other infrastructure across 37 states, Washington, D.C. and the Virgin Islands, particularly those battered by increasingly frequent extreme weather events brought on by the planet’s warming.

The Power of Us: Climate Change Has Disproportionately Impacted These Vulnerable US Communities, Experts Say

ABC - April 27, 2024

Researchers have been warning for years that the world's most vulnerable populations will suffer the most dire consequences of climate change. But the disproportionate impacts of climate change on the poorest communities – the members of which contribute the least amount of greenhouse gas emissions – are already affecting pockets of the U.S. as extreme weather events are exacerbated by warming global temperatures, events in recent years have shown.