The Environmental Professionals Organization of Connecticut (EPOC) is pleased to announce our environmental grant awards for 2023 as follows (total amount of all awards is $10,820):

• Roaring Brook Nature Center

  The Roaring Brook Nature Center (RBNC) is a satellite campus of West Hartford’s Children’s Museum. Located in Canton CT, their mission is to increase awareness, appreciation and knowledge of the natural world and the interrelationships that exist between people and the changing environment. The goal of this project is to re-establish RBNC’s Raptor Rehabilitation project by creating a separate quarantine area to temporarily house raptors most susceptible to HPAI. The project includes erecting enclosures to hold birds within the shed, and an exam table and lighting will be installed.
  
  

• Mianus Chapter of Trout Unlimited
  
  Mianus Chapter of Trout Unlimited is part of a national conservation organization dedicated to conserving, protecting and restoring our coldwater fisheries. The Mianus Chapter has over 4,000 members and supporters - all passionate anglers and conservationists - in the Greenwich, Stamford, Darien, Norwalk, New Canaan, Ridgefield, Wilton and other nearby communities. The goal of their conifer revetment project is to restore 200’ feet of the Norwalk River at Schenck’s Island Park back to its original width - creating at least 10-15’ of new streambank on both sides of the river. Narrowing the river channel will increase the velocity of the water, add depth and habitat, as well as increase dissolved oxygen in the water helping fish like trout survive low water periods in the summer.
  
  

•  Southington Land Conservation Trust, Inc.
  
  The Southington Land Conservation Trust is an all-volunteer,  nonprofit organization whose primary mission is the preservation and protection of natural spaces either through acquisition or easements that prevent development in perpetuity. Their project supports the purchase of tools for reduction and control of invasive species throughout a recently acquired 30 acre property, clearing the way for regrowth of native species.
  
  

• Connecticut Scuba Academy (Non-Profit Educational Organization for Marine & Aquatic Sciences)
  
  The Connecticut Scuba Academy  hopes to inspire and empower youth to take on environmental challenges. The Academy's Citizen Science program improves ocean health by deepening the understanding between people and our blue world by building a network of student researchers through local schools, Universities, and organizations like the Scouts and YMCA. They train and inspire youth and life-long learners to understand and protect our aquatic environment through field-based research and media actions. Our grant supports producing quality media on our local environment and research projects undertaken by the organization.
  
  

• Northwest Conservation District (NWCD)
  
  The Northwest Conservation District serves 34 towns in northwestern Connecticut on conservation challenges. These include drinking water and aquifer protection, wetland protection and restoration, aquatic resource protection through Low Impact Development (LID) measures, Open Space and Farmland Preservation, sustainable land care and land use, agricultural resiliency and renewable energy. Our grant will support a hands-on program to teach children ownership of their food, broaden their view of the environment, and promote knowledge of our local agricultural systems. At-home gardening kits will allow children to practice what they learn each week. The program is also a great educational opportunity for NWCD to better discuss with, and learn about, the desires/needs of its constituents. Increasing interest in gardening and agriculture is an important first step to increasing a community’s overall food resilience, while fostering environmental stewardship.

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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 on our website at epoc.org/grants.