Tuesday, June 14, 2022
VIRTUAL
6:00 pm
$5.00 for CRM Members
$10.00 for Non-Members

“Things You Might Not Know about Connecticut’s New National Estuarine Research Reserve”
by: Ralph T. Wood, PhD

Some facts and figures about Connecticut’s National Estuarine Research Reserve and its promise.

Join us for a brief history, with some little-known facts and figures, of the extensive effort, by teams from the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the University of Connecticut, the Connecticut Audubon Society, and the Connecticut Sea Grant, that recently succeeded in the designation of a NOAA National Estuarine Research Reserve in southeastern Connecticut.

With a career in industrial R&D and in business consulting, Ralph is a volunteer to several non-profits and an environmentalist, business owner, teacher/mentor and bicyclist. He is chairman emeritus of the Connecticut Audubon Society, a board member of its Roger Tory Peterson Estuary Center in Old Lyme, a Board member of the Mentoring Corps for Community Development, and a member of the steering teams for the site selection and designation of Connecticut’s National Estuarine Research Reserve, which includes 52,000 acres of the Connecticut and Thames Rivers Estuaries and southeastern portions of Long Island Sound.

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Photos Courtesy of Ralph T. Wood

Tuesday, May 17, 2022
VIRTUAL
6:00 pm
$5.00 for CRM Members
$10.00 for Non-Members

Lucianne Lavin, Director of Research and Collections Emeritus,
The Institute for American Indian Studies

Dutch-Native American Relationships in Eastern New Netherland (That’s Connecticut, Folks!)

Examine the significant impact of Dutch traders and settlers on the history of the colony and state of Connecticut, and their relationships with its Indigenous peoples.

What is now the state of Connecticut was once part of the 17th century Dutch Empire. New Netherland extended from Cape Cod west to Delaware Bay from 1614 to 1650. At that time, the Dutch gave up much of their claim to Connecticut to the English at the Treaty of Hartford, but retained control of its southwestern portion. Dutch families continued to live in other parts of Connecticut as well.

Connecticut’s first documented European explorers AND settlers were the Dutch. The aim of this presentation is to introduce the audience to their significant impacts on our history, including the continuing strong Dutch presence in western Connecticut, Dutch relationships with local Indigenous communities, and the noteworthy, often long-term effects of those relationships on our state and regional histories. The Dutch deserve a more prominent position in future Connecticut history books and museum exhibits. Dutch-American history and Dutch contributions to American culture should be mandated topics in Connecticut’s school curriculum.

Lucianne Lavin is Director of Research and Collections at the Institute for American Indian Studies, a research museum and educational center in Washington, CT. She received her M.A. and Ph.D. in anthropology from New York University. Lavin is an archaeologist who has over 30 years of research and field experience in Northeastern archaeology and anthropology, including teaching, museum exhibits and curatorial work, cultural resource management, editorial work, and public relations.

Dr. Lavin has written over 100 professional publications and technical reports on the archaeology and ethnohistory of the Northeast. She was awarded the Russell award by the Archaeological Society of Connecticut and elected Fellow of the New York State Archaeological Association for exemplary archaeology work in their respective states.

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Photo Courtesy of Lucianne Lavin

Wednesday, September 14, 2022
Virtual Lecture
6:00 pm
$5.00 for CRM Members
$10.00 for Non-Members

Kelsey Wentling, River Steward, Connecticut River Conservancy
Water Quality in the CT River: what is it and how is it measured?

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The Connecticut River has a reputation for poor water quality —  does that still hold true?

Once known as the most beautifully landscaped sewer in America, the Connecticut River has been burdened by a reputation of poor water quality for decades. While the Connecticut was the archetypal polluted river of the time, much has changed in the 60 years since it was dubbed with this undesirable title. This lecture focuses on the basics of what good water quality means and how we measure it in the Connecticut River. We discuss what has changed in the last 60 years and the progress still to be made in the next 60 years.

Kelsey got started with CRC in 2019 as a volunteer and then as staff assisting with Source to Sea Cleanup. Prior to joining CRC, Kelsey analyzed how emerging markets might influence Massachusetts’ climate goals, taught a course on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and worked as an AmeriCorps volunteer and outdoor science educator. Kelsey holds an M.S. in Environmental Conservation from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her research explored the interface of science and policy in transboundary river basins, using case studies to identify ways to promote the use of science in management decisions.

Photo Courtesy of Kelsey Wentling