The Nature Conservancy in Connecticut, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, and Save the Sound have received funding to continue their partnership in facilitating the bi-state Long Island Sound Coastal Watershed Network. The award of more than $262,000 was announced Monday by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, through the Long Island Sound Futures Fund.
The new round of funding will support information sharing—including an upcoming webinar in January on nitrogen pollution—and collaborative opportunities for local governments, NGOs, businesses, and concerned residents around Long Island Sound to address water quality challenges in their communities. Further programming and regular communications showcase successful projects and foster a shared commitment to reducing the impacts of pollution resulting from stormwater, sewage, fertilizer, and marine debris.
“We are thrilled to receive this Long Island Sound Futures Fund grant to continue leading the Network with Citizens Campaign for the Environment and Save the Sound. Since 2020, our organizations have highlighted more than 40 local projects and built a network of 560 members working to reduce local water pollution from sewage, stormwater, fertilizers, litter, and marine debris. We are grateful to the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation for supporting this effort to protect and conserve the Sound’s water quality,” said Holly Drinkuth, director of river and estuary conservation for The Nature Conservancy in Connecticut.
“The Network brings together communities, stakeholder groups and individuals working to reduce nitrogen, fertilizers, and plastics from polluting Long Island Sound. Our focus on municipal and NGO collaboration knits together communities to support and learn from each other, amplify success and drive progress that can be replicated throughout the Sound’s many rivers, harbors, and bays. The strong partnership between The Nature Conservancy, Save the Sound, and CCE has already resulted in 10 events, with more than 500 individuals attending. We look forward to building on this success in the next two years. Thank you to the Long Island Sound Study and the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation for their continued support,” added Adrienne Esposito, executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment.
“Our goal for the Long Island Sound Coastal Watershed Network is to drive action to tackle water pollution at the local level,” said Peter Linderoth, director of water quality for Save the Sound. “Our webinars, roundtable discussions, and the Long Island Sound Summit that we held in Port Jefferson, NY, earlier this year, we bring together environmental leaders from around the Sound to elevate awareness of pollution mitigation projects and share best practices. Our Network enables municipalities, environmental groups, scientists, educators, and committed community members to learn from each other’s experiences in planning, securing funding for, and executing clean water projects. Reducing the harmful impacts of microplastics, sewage, and excess nitrogen, are priorities of this collaboration—especially with our waters warming due to climate change.”
The first Network webinar of 2024 – “Tackling Local Nitrogen Pollution: Reducing Fertilizer in Communities” – will be held on Thursday, Jan. 11, from 12:00-1:00 p.m. Registration for the event is open. Click here for additional information about the Long Island Sound Coastal Watershed Network.