EPOC Environmental Grant Awards for 2012

The Environmental Professionals Organization of Connecticut (EPOC) is pleased to announce our environmental grant awards for 2012 as follows (total amount of all awards is $9,020):

• Care & Safe House, Inc.: To help formerly homeless and mentally challenged men to engage in their community by improving a small New Haven park near a busy intersection including planting shrubs, trees and plants, and maintaining plantings at the park’s WWI stone monument area. Goal of the project is to give these men and residents pride in their park; to encourage area maintenance; and, to beautify park area to encourage visitation.
• Niantic River Watershed: To provide equipment for water quality monitoring. The purpose of the monitoring program is to characterize baseline stream conditions, including nitrate nitrogen levels.  The objective is to bracket or isolate potential sources of nitrogen to Latimer Brook, with the goal of reducing or eliminating those sources through the adoption of targeted stormwater best management practices in partnership with local property owners and municipal officials.
• Wildlife-in-Crisis: Focus area is southern CT and surrounding communities. Grant is to underwrite the cost of baby formula and foods for thousands of wild animals that will be orphaned in 2012. Goal is to provide care and rehabilitation to orphaned wildlife by providing formula to assist with their independent development and eventual release back into their habitats.
• Pratt Nature Center: The goal of this project is to naturally control the invasive plant species that are invading the Pratt Nature Center Property (New Milford, CT) while educating youth and the community.  One measure of success will be the control of invasive plant species over a three-year period. The project includes the purchase of four female sheep and portable solar powered electric fence. The sheep will be moved about in portable pastures and used for invasive species control.
• Menunkatuck Audubon Society: This project will provide for radio telemetry tracking of American Kestrels in northeastern and north central Connecticut. The range that they occupy after they leave their parents will be mapped, as well as whatever migration route they take. The data will be coordinated with the Connecticut DEEP and university researchers to enhance the knowledge base of this threatened species.

The EPOC Grant Program provides non-profit and not-for-profit environmental advocacy groups, community based groups and environmental education organizations, funding for local projects that benefit the environment on an annual basis. For further information, see our Grant Program page.