2025 Grants in Connecticut

CLEAN WATERS AND HEALTHY WATERSHEDS

Buffers for Bridgeport, Connecticut

Grantee: Aspetuck Land Trust

Grant Amount: $179,951
Matching Funds: $99,313
Total Project Amount: $279,264

Supply 40 free buffers to qualified residents and business owners in Bridgeport, Connecticut and install a 3,100 square foot demonstration buffer at a high traffic community art and event site along the Pequonnock River. Project will add 15,100 square feet of nature-based infrastructure to the landscape and engage 17,000 people and community organizations in supporting a healthy Long Island Sound.

Constructing Agricultural Nutrient Management to Reduce Nitrogen in Long Island Sound

Grantee: Eastern Connecticut Conservation District, Inc.

Grant Amount: $513,224
Matching Funds: $257,000
Total Project Amount: $770,224

Construct a composting facility in Woodstock, Connecticut. Project will provide local farmers with a nutrient management system that will reduce 2,299 pounds of nitrogen and 853 pounds of phosphorus from entering the Long Island Sound.

Developing a Watershed-based Plan for the Still and Mad River Watersheds

Grantee: Farmington River Watershed Association, Inc.

Grant Amount: $117,735
Matching Funds: $58,971
Total Project Amount: $176,706

Develop a combined EPA-approved 9-Element Watershed-Based Management Plan (WBP) for the Still and Mad River watersheds. Project will identify and quantify the primary sources of nutrient, sediment and bacterial loading, and use this data to outline Best Management Practices to reduce nutrient loads, restore water quality, and improve ecological health in the Still and Mad Rivers, the Farmington River, and ultimately, Long Island Sound.

Installing Nature-based Infrastructure at Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo

Grantee: Save the Sound, Inc.

Grant Amount: $275,375
Matching Funds: $137,694
Total Project Amount: $413,069

Install nature-based infrastructure, as well as a replica at the ground level to provide an interactive exhibit on the improvements to stormwater at the Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Project will create infrastructure that will prevent 29,000 gallons of stormwater from entering the Long Island Sound and replace 1,200 square feet of impervious surface.

Planning for Riparian Buffer and Supplemental BMP Strategies at Three Rivers Park in Woodbury

Grantee: Pomperaug River Watershed Coalition, Inc.

Grant Amount: $160,000
Matching Funds: $81,507
Total Project Amount: $241,507

Develop engineering plans for riparian buffer restoration and Best Management Practices to stabilize the streambanks at Three Rivers Park in Woodbury, Connecticut. Project will facilitate site assessments and stakeholder engagement in order to deliver preliminary design plans for the permitting phase.

Stormwater Management and Education for Edgewood Park

Grantee: New Haven Urban Resources Initiative

Grant Amount: $273,026
Matching Funds: $140,000
Total Project Amount: $413,026

Implement a coordinated stormwater management effort for Edgewood Park, Connecticut through the removal of parking lot impervious surfaces, construction of two large bioswales, installation of a rain garden, removal of invasive vegetation, replanting of native plants, and restoration of a hydrologic connection to Iris Pond. Project will remove 1,250 square feet of impervious surface, improving water quality of rivers draining into the Long Island Sound and restoring riparian areas.

THRIVING HABITATS AND ABUNDANT WILDLIFE

Designs to Restore Stream Continuity, Fish Passage, and Water Quality along the Norwalk River

Grantee: Norwalk River Watershed Association, Inc.

Grant Amount: $140,000
Matching Funds: $107,202
Total Project Amount: $247,202

Complete planning, designs, and permitting to restore fish passage along the Norwalk River in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Project will prepare plans for the removal of one stream barrier, opening 3 miles of brook for fish passage and restoring 4.12 acres of wetland habitat.

Managing Invasive Plant Species and Restoring Island Habitat at Shell Island Preserve

Grantee: The Greenwich Land Trust

Grant Amount: $164,314
Matching Funds: $114,000
Total Project Amount: $278,314

Remove invasive plant species across 4.20 acres on Shell Island in southwestern Long Island Sound through invasive species control and native plant installation. Project will restore coastal island forest, coastal grassland, and dune habitat, improving ecological function and resilience of coastal island habitat, enhancing biodiversity and supporting nesting and foraging habitat for priority birds, native pollinators, and other wildlife.

Planning to Restore Fish Passage along the Quinnipiac River

Grantee: Save the Sound, Inc.

Grant Amount: $499,504
Matching Funds: $250,000
Total Project Amount: $749,504

Conduct a site assessment and develop designs to restore fish passage along the Quinnipiac River. Project will complete design plans, cost estimates, and permit applications, resulting in a shovel-ready plan that will ultimately restore the Quinnipiac River by reconnecting over 30 miles for migratory fish, including 8 river miles of permanent, maintenance-free, whole-system restoration with a total impact area of over 255 acres of rivers and ponds.

Restoring Fish Passage on the Fourmile and Branford Rivers

Grantee: American Rivers, Inc.

Grant Amount: $757,601
Matching Funds: $900,000
Total Project Amount: $1,657,601

Complete the design, engineering, permitting to restore fish passage along the Fourmile and Branford Rivers, which drain directly to Long Island Sound. Project will open up 12.30 miles of aquatic habitat for migratory fish species.

Restoring Salt Marsh Habitat in Stamford Harbor

Grantee: SoundWaters, Inc.

Grant Amount: $152,403
Matching Funds: $107,322
Total Project Amount: $259,725

Restore a degraded 2.20-acre salt marsh, one of the last remaining natural spaces in Stamford Harbor, through the removal of the common reed from the upland and high marsh areas. Project will engage 760 community volunteers and 2,600 high school students to manually remove Phragmites and replant native vegetation in the low marsh (smooth cordgrass) and high marsh (salt marsh hay).

SUSTAINABLE AND RESILIENT COMMUNITIES

Design and Permitting of Flood Reduction Plans in the City of Groton

Grantee: The Nature Conservancy

Grant Amount: $360,060
Matching Funds: $185,469
Total Project Amount: $545,529

Develop technical designs and secure permits for nature-based solutions and Best Management Practices to address stormwater flooding in the City of Groton, Connecticut. Project will continue to work in partnership with stakeholders in the area, and advance a series of conceptual designs that were developed following an intensive stormwater modeling and community effort.

INFORMED AND ENGAGED PUBLIC

Hands-on Watershed Science Programs for the Health of Long Island Sound

Grantee: Earthplace – The Nature Discovery Center, Inc.

Grant Amount: $162,569
Matching Funds: $81,284
Total Project Amount: $243,853

Provide high school and college students with educational opportunities to use the Long Island Sound watershed as their classroom, and train them on how to solve current water quality issues in Connecticut. The project will engage over 300 students in a variety of programs designed to provide hands-on experience in the field and laboratory.

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