Clean Ocean Access, launches the third installment of The Land to Sea Speaker Series, supported by the Southeast New England Program (SNEP).
The Land to Sea Speaker Series was created to inform and educate Rhode Island residents about water quality issues and how organizations, municipalities and governmental agencies are working together to improve watershed pollution. Speakers in this series will present on past, present and future work funded by the SNEP Watershed Grants Program. The primary goal of these virtually hosted presentations are two-fold: first to break down barriers that exist between environmental projects and the public; and second, to inspire and empower residents to advocate for watershed health issues in their own communities and take individual actions to reduce pollution in their own backyards. In this series, speakers will highlight projects that focus on stormwater remediation, green infrastructure, and water quality sampling/monitoring programs that all work to address local watershed and ocean health issues.
The third installment of the Land to Sea Speaker Series is sponsored by the Horsley Witten Group (HWG). Their mission is to address environmental and social challenges with sustainable solutions. Horsley Witten envisions a world where people and nature thrive together. Attend to learn more about HWG projects happening in the community.
The Land to Sea Speaker Series has an anticipated audience of ocean lovers, environmental enthusiasts, as well as local and state officials across Rhode Island and Massachusetts who wish to learn more about local projects within their communities and the overall health of their watershed. COA will virtually welcome three speakers focusing on different topics via Zoom January 31st, February 21st, and March 20th from 6:30-7:30 pm.
Register for The Land to Sea Speaker Series
January 31, 2023 | Mt. Hope Bay Water Quality Monitoring
The first of this three event series will feature a Researcher from the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography (GSO), Heather Stoffel. Working out of GSO’s Marine Ecosystems
Research Laboratory, Heather’s main focus is hypoxia and eutrophication issues within Narragansett Bay and the Northeast region. Heather’s talk will discuss the status and trends of water quality issues related to oxygen levels needed to support aquatic health within Narragansett Bay. Covering environmental and management changes over the past decade to address water quality issues within Narragansett Bay, she will touch upon her SNEP funded research addressing changes within Mt. Hope Bay.
February 21, 2023 | Stormwater Management at Public Boat Ramps
The second event in this series will be with Restoration Ecologist, Jordan Mora, of Association to Preserve Cape Cod (APCC). Jordan will elaborate on Stormwater Management at Public Boat Ramps. Jordan has roughly fifteen years of experience in aquatic systems research and monitoring. Jordan will provide a presentation focused on why humans and ecosystems benefit from improved stormwater management through green infrastructure practices. She will draw upon experiences and lessons learned from two green stormwater infrastructure projects that APCC has managed over the last six years on Cape Cod: one regional-scale project targeting public boat ramps and one watershed-scale project geared towards nutrient mitigation.
March 20, 2023 | Green Hill Stormwater Management Plan
The third and final event in this series will feature a presentation from Zach Henderson, Practice Leader at Woodard & Curran in partnership with Richard Bourbonnais from the Town of South Kingstown’s Department of Public Works & Utilities. Zach will discuss how they approached a watershed-scale assessment and stormwater management plan for Green Hill Pond, a valuable coastal pond, working closely with local stakeholders. Zach will give an overview of the Green Hill Pond Stormwater Management Plan with a focus on optimizing design to simplify permitting and
construction, residential raingarden program and program development. This presentation will focus on these technical aspects and how the town is complementing them with public outreach.
Click here to learn more about the initiatives of The Land to Sea Speaker Series, goals, and accomplishments.
Funders: SNEP (Southern New England Program)
Sponsored by: Horsley Witten Group