Nearly $100,000 Awarded to Improve the Health and Enjoyment of the Quinnipiac River
Grants support research into the sources and effects of River contaminants, an anti-pollution public education campaign, and the continued development of a recreational trail along the River's edge.
Grants Support Research into the Sources and Effects of River Contaminants, an Anti-Pollution Public Education Campaign, and the Continued Development of a Recreational Trail along the River's Edge.
New Haven, CT (May 29, 2015) – The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven is pleased to announce that $99,900 in grants has been awarded from the Quinnipiac River Fund to support 9 programs that study the river and surrounding ecosystem, educate the public and improve recreational access. The River flows 40 miles from west of New Britain southward to Plainville, Southington, west of Meriden, Cheshire, through Wallingford, Yalesville, North Haven and into New Haven Harbor.
Grants and distributions from the Quinnipiac River Fund are recommended each Spring by an Advisory Committee consisting of Nancy Alderman, President of Environment and Human Health, Gordon Geballe, Associate Dean of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and Roman Zajac, Professor, Department Chair of the University of New Haven's Department of Biology & Environmental Science. Committee recommendations are brought to The Community Foundation's Board of Directors for approval. Since being established in 1990, the Fund has distributed more than $1.9 million in grants.
Learn more about the Quinnipiac River and projects supported by the Quinnipiac River Fund at the recently updated website, www.thequinnipiacriver.com. The latest scientific research, the river's history, recreational opportunities, an events calendar and more are available on the newly redesigned online resource.
| 2015 Quinnipiac River Fund Grants | |||
| Organization | Description | Total Amount Awarded | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice | to support the "Be the Solution to Pollution" project, which raises awareness of how pollution threatens the health of humans, animals, and the environment along the Quinnipiac River. | $13,000 | |
| New Haven Land Trust Inc. | to support educational programming, installing educational signs, organizing volunteer events and beginning research into potential acquisition of land surrounding the Quinnipiac Meadows/Eugene B. Fargeorge Nature Preserve. |
$10,000 | |
| North Haven Trail Association | to support the improvement of public access to the Quinnipiac River by clearing, cleaning up, and maintaining the Blue Trail along the river's west bank in the Quinnipiac River State Park. | $10,000 | |
| Quinnipiac University | to support the study of phthalate and organotin plasticizers in an effort to characterize contamination from industrial and municipal sources in the Quinnipiac River and New Haven tidal basin. |
$18,000 | |
| River Advocates of Greater New Haven | to support training 3 municipal department of public works crews in storm water pollution prevention using Lunch and Learn sessions and to support investigating the lower Quinnipiac River public access potential at two locations: Lowe's on Route 80 in New Haven and behind Toelles Road businesses in Wallingford, adjacent to Quinnipiac River State Park. | $5,000 | |
| University of New Haven | to support the study of the effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals in wild fish within the freshwater regions of the Quinnipiac River watershed. | $10,600 | |
| University of New Haven | to support the study of the biodiversity of benthic algal communities and the potential for copper contamination in communities throughout the Quinnipiac River. | $10,000 | |
| University of New Haven | to support the study of several sites along the Quinnipiac River to determine whether endocrine disruptors are present and then to trace their source. | $11,000 | |
| Yale University | to support continued monitoring of sediment accretion and elevation change in the Quinnipiac marshes, and to support a marsh organ experiment to assess whether soil toxicity is contributing to marsh submergence. |
$12,300 | |
The Quinnipiac River Fund is a component fund of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven that was established in 1990 by a court settlement of litigation between the Connecticut Fund for the Environment, the Natural Resource Defense Council and the Upjohn Company concerning wastewater discharges from Upjohn's plant in New Haven. The settling parties agreed that distributions from the Fund were to be used "to improve the environmental quality of the Quinnipiac River and the New Haven Harbor and the watersheds of these water bodies, and otherwise to benefit the environment of these resources." For more information about the Fund, including projects and reports for which grants have been awarded, access points to the River and activities, visit www.thequinnipiacriver.com.
