Guiding Principle
Promoting more livable communities is key to maintaining the unique quality of life in the rural,
suburban, and urban communities in eastern Connecticut. Development pressures and sprawling
growth are currently threatening the historic, natural and economic resources of these cities, towns and
villages.

Goal
To promote regional cooperation in economic development and resource conservation to preserve the unique quality of life that makes eastern Connecticut a place where people want to live and work.

Ecological Landscaping Goal:
Partner with the CT Ecological Landscaping Network and others to assist landowners in creating
healthy, attractive and functional landscapes for themselves and their families. Ecological landscaping
practices can help to conserve water, provide habitat for birds and other animals, increase porous
surfaces for rainwater infiltration, create functional and attractive landscapes and require fewer fossil
fuels and less energy for maintenance.

Objective 1: Educate citizens, town commissions, landscape professionals and other s on the
importance of installing ecological landscaping practices.
Strategies:
1. Place information on the ecological landscaping initiative on the RC& D website.
2. Provide financial support for ecological landscaping projects at the Tolland Agricultural
Center.
3. Provide outreach support for ecological landscaping workshops.
4. Provide financial, technical and outreach assistance with implementation of a design for an
ethno-botanical edible vegetative buffer at the Tolland Agricultural Center demonstration
site.

Objective 2: Promote the importance of invasive plant control and the importance of encouraging
native plant populations.
Strategies:
1. Partner with the Ecological Landscaping Network and the CT Invasive Plant Working Group
to co-sponsor the biennial invasive plant workshop in 2012.
2. Provide workshop sponsorship.

Objective 3: Help educate the public on home‐scale organic vegetable production and support the
production and donation of organic vegetables to local community in need.
Strategies:
1. Promote the USDA People’s Garden Initiative by sponsoring The Organic Garden at the
Tolland Agricultural Center Ecological Landscaping demonstration site.
2. Provide 25% of the seedlings/seeds to plant the Organic garden.
3. Assist with outreach by including information about the garden on the RC&D website.

Objective 4: To develop public outreach materials targeting residents of lake and pond communities
across Connecticut, as well as municipal land use officials that will highlight the ecological significance
of natural buffers and shoreline best management practices.
Strategies:
1. Continue to administer the 319 Grant for the development of a shoreline BMP guide.
2. Assist with the project’s steering committee.
3. Assist with the final distribution and publicity of the guide through the RC&D website.

Farm to School Goal:
Assist the CT Department of Agriculture Farm‐to‐School Program in growing and reenergizing respect
and interest in farming support the resurgence in buying local and the reinvestments of good fresh food
for kids at their schools and to grow and expand the markets for farmers in Connecticut.

Objective 1: Educate citizens, school boards , School Wellness Committees, PTO/PTA’s and farmers
on the CT Farm to School Program.
Strategies:
1. Place Farm to School brochures and program information on the RC&D website.
2. Provide Farm to School Program information to statewide agricultural organizations.
3. Attend state and regional meetings concerning Farm to School.

Objective 2: Assist the CT Department of Agriculture Farm to School Program in studying and
evaluating several aspects of the CT Farm to School Program.
Strategies
1. Obtain a sub‐grant from the Franklin County Community Development Corporation to
conduct a baseline survey of school food service directors, farmers and wholesalers.

Urban Forestry Goal:
Support urban forestry initiatives that include community tree inventories, educational programs, rain
water management programs, tree warden programs, and tree plantings.

Objective 1: Promote successful America the Beautiful grant recipient’s projects.
Strategies:
1. Highlight with stories and photos successful projects in Eastern CT on the RC&D website.

Objective 2: Support and promote the CT Tree Warden’s Association and their training.
Strategies:
1. Provide funding and/or support for scholarships for tree warden certification training to the
CT Tree Warden’s Association for municipalities in Eastern CT.

Objective 3: Educate municipal agencies on the importance of including tree review in the site
review and permitting process as part of any Connecticut land use training program.
Strategies:
1. Partner with GVI to incorporate tree review and BMP standards during site reviews
concerning construction phase of development projects within their land use education
initiatives funded by ERT.

Objective 4: Promote and support municipal tree planting programs and their projects.
Strategies:
1. Annually support or fund (1) municipal tree planting project.

Brownfields Goal:
To assist the communities of Eastern Connecticut in understanding the challenges and opportunities
with remediating and redeveloping environmentally y impacted sites.

Objective 1: Foster intermunicipal brownfields initiatives involving multiple communities.
Strategies:
1. Convene quarterly meeting of the Brownfields Alliance of Northeast Connecticut
(BANC).Develop a website presence for BANC. Increase participation in BANC by
municipalities and non‐governmental organizations. Submit one funding application
through the Alliance.

Objective 2: Conduct outreach and education to brownfields property owners.
Strategies:
1. Convene one informational seminar on brownfields redevelopment. Assist municipal
economic/community development staff with informational mailings to property owners.

 

Livable Communities Updates: News & Events

*News* National Farm to School Month
October 16-22nd Connecticut Grown for Connecticut Kids Week. Governor Proclaimation (pdf)

Ecological Landscaping Network
The Ecological Landscaping Network has been focusing on the Tolland Agricultural Center (TAC) demonstration site. At TAC, a new committee called the TAC Grounds Management Committee has formed and they coordinate everything that goes on at the TAC grounds. New installations and any proposals for changes to the grounds are presented to this committee for approval.

Vivian Felton from NRCS created a flyer for a recent tree and shrub identification workshop held at TAC. One of the pages listed the practices on the ground and the other page describes the shrub rain garden at the main building. Brochure (pdf)

New projects may include the creation of a website that would help to increase the education value of the existing demonstration sites and place to consolidate historical and current information about TAC. The Tolland Ag Board of Trustees is committed to supporting the development and maintenance of a website.
The ELN did not receive the grant for an ethno-botanical buffer, but they plan on reapplying.
The organic vegetable garden will get a re-design this coming year. The entire TAC parcel is considered a People’s Garden and the produce that was grown was donated to a local food bank. They plan on promoting the People’s Garden Initiative in the coming year through video and the website.

*Event* Livable Communities - Farm to School
Elaine Sych, ERT Coordinator, attended the SNACT (School Nutrition Association of Connecticut) Industry and Commodity Food Processing Show with Jane Slupecki, the CT Department of Agriculture Farm-to-School coordinator on October 12, 2011. Elaine was able to meet and talk with school food service directors from across the state and to learn more about food procurement processes.

(From left to right: Elaine Sych, Jane Slupecki)