CT Numbers

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has honored eight Connecticut individuals, businesses and state and municipal agencies for their work to protect and sustain the region's natural resources. Hartford's Betsey Wingfield, who works in the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection; Anthony Leiserowitz, of the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies in New Haven; and Kevin Taylor of the Waterbury Development Corp., were individual honorees.

In the environmental, community, academia and nonprofit category, among those honored were:

Long Island Sound Study Citizens Advisory Committee (Curt Johnson and Nancy Seligson, co-chairs): The volunteers of the Long Island Sound Study Citizens Advisory Committee have helped bring together a unified group of people dedicated to improving water quality in the sound. This group includes volunteers from community organizations, businesses, educational organizations, environmental groups and local government. Together these groups developed “SoundVision,” a community blueprint for clean water, healthy habitats, and economically strong communities.

Goodwin College: In 2005, Goodwin College announced dramatic plans to build a riverfront campus along Riverside Drive in East Hartford. With the help of EPA and other agencies, Goodwin created a new campus community with educational, economic, and environmental benefits for the region and beyond. The effort involved demolishing more than 30 above-ground oil tanks and other defunct industrial installations before redeveloping a formerly unusable industrial area. Late 2008, the college opened the 109,000 square-foot academic center. A year later, it rolled out its environmental studies degree program, which took advantage of access to the river and undeveloped flood plains for study of river ecology. In 2010, the Connecticut River Academy, an environmentally-themed magnet high school, also opened at the River Campus in a temporary space.

Other honorees were the Connecticut Department of Public Health's Drinking Water Section, Danbury's Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. and Greenwich Hospital (Thomas Lazzaro, John Huber).

Norwalk hotel operator HEI Hospitality LLC received an Energy Star Award.

In the spirit of Earth Day, the Connecticut Forest and Park Association (CFPA) is highlighting Connecticut's progress through the years to preserve the environment. CFPA has been a longstanding voice urging the state to set a national example for successful forest conservation and reverse the damage to Connecticut's natural resources. The impact - a century in the making - is worth noting: when the organization began its work (in 1895), Connecticut was 20% forested: today it is 60% forested. CFPA remains vigilant and involved in the sound management and protection of land, water and wildlife resources.

In addition to protecting land for public enjoyment, CFPA's leaders established the Blue-Blazed Hiking Trail System in 1929 which traverses public and private lands throughout 88 towns in Connecticut and is enjoyed by thousands of citizens each year. Today, approximately 825 miles of trails are maintained by hundreds of CFPA volunteers working in cooperation with many public and private landowners, contributing approximately 15,000 hours to trail work every year.