Connecticut Fund for the Environment (CFE)'S Bi-State Program Save The

Home , Pleasure Beach

Easygrants ID: 39264 National Fish and Wildlife Foundation NFWF Project ID: 1401.13.039264 LI Sound Futures Fund 2013 - Education and Mini-Grants - Submit Final Programmatic Report (New Metrics) Grantee Organization: Connecticut Fund for the Environment Project Title: CFE/Save the Sound Coastal Cleanup Program (CT)

Project Period 11/01/2013 - 12/31/2014 Project Location Coastal areas and inland waterways within the boundaries of the Long Island Sound Watershed, CT. Description (from Proposal) Project Conduct fifty coastal cleanup activities along fifty miles of coastline, recruit forty cleanup captains, and Summary (from engaging and educating 2,000+ volunteers about the impact of floatable debris on Long Island Sound. Proposal) Summary of Connecticut Fund for the Environment (CFE)’s bi-state program Save the Sound came well Accomplishments within range of meeting its goals for its Coastal Cleanup project in Connecticut in 2014. National Fish and Wildlife Foundation funds during this grant cycle (11/01/2013 – 12/31/2014) supported the coordination of 48 beach cleanup events. Of those, we held 37 on or around International Coastal Cleanup Day (September 20) and National Estuaries Day (September 27.) This figure is slightly less than reported in our interim report because three cleanups had to be cancelled because of bad weather. At 48 cleanup events, however, we came well within our benchmark of 50 events. 2014 marked Save the Sound’s 12th consecutive year serving as the Connecticut Coordinator for the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup, which mobilizes volunteers around the world to remove trash from beaches and waterways. In all, Save the Sound’s Coastal Cleanup program has brought together thousands of volunteers to remove nearly 140,000 pounds of debris from Connecticut’s coastline. Trash data is provided to the Ocean Conservancy to assist them in their planning and communications.

Lessons Learned We learned to encourage Cleanup Captains to actively plan ahead with their volunteers for rain dates. Rainy weather was a factor in cancelling 3 cleanups and resulted in reduced volunteer turnout at additional cleanups. On the positive side, although we don’t benchmark the amount of trash collected for grant purposes, we observed a trend in less trash available to collect at many of our beach cleanup events. We learned that beach cleanups have become more popular in Connecticut and are being held at other times of the year, in addition to the ICC cleanups that we sponsor in September. A growing number of towns have asked us to conduct spring beach cleanups, but our resources do not allow that at this time. Some of those towns, however, have indicated that they may conduct spring cleanups of their own, suggesting that our effort is widely valued in the coastal towns where we have maintained a presence. We also learned about a possible collaboration opportunity for next year with Clean Water Resources Council based in Massachusetts, which is conducting some river cleanups in Connecticut.

Activities and Outcomes

Funding Strategy: Capacity, Outreach, Incentives Activity / Outcome: LISFF - Outreach/ Education/ Technical Assistance - # of schools participating Description: Enter the number of elementary, middle, and high schools participating in the project Required: Recommended # of schools participating - Current: 10.00 # of schools participating - Grant Completion: 7.00 Notes: The slightly smaller number of schools we worked with was more than offset by the larger number of community organizations we engaged. A different staff coordinator took on the program in 2014 and his outreach focus may have differed slightly from that of his predecessor.

Funding Strategy: Capacity, Outreach, Incentives Activity / Outcome: LISFF - Outreach/ Education/ Technical Assistance - # people targeted Description: Enter the number of people targeted by outreach, training, or technical assistance activities Required: Recommended # people targeted - Current: 1000000.00 # people targeted - Grant Completion: 1000000.00 Notes: No change in the number of people impacted by the program.

Funding Strategy: Capacity, Outreach, Incentives Activity / Outcome: LISFF - Outreach/ Education/ Technical Assistance - # websites, social media tools Description: Enter the number of websites and other social media tools used to disseminate information about the project Required: Recommended # websites, social media tools - Current: 7.00 # websites, social media tools - Grant Completion: 7.00 Notes: No change in the number of media and social media outlets associated with the program.

Funding Strategy: Capacity, Outreach, Incentives Activity / Outcome: LISFF - Outreach/ Education/ Technical Assistance - # workshops, webinars, meetings Description: Enter the number of workshops, webinars, and meetings held to address project activity Required: Recommended # workshops, webinars, meetings - Current: 1.00 # workshops, webinars, meetings - Grant Completion: 2.00 Notes: We added one additional workshop for Cleanup Captains to meet busy schedules.

Funding Strategy: Capacity, Outreach, Incentives Activity / Outcome: LISFF - Volunteer participation - # volunteers participating Description: Enter the number of volunteers participating in projects Required: Recommended # volunteers participating - Current: 2000.00 # volunteers participating - Grant Completion: 1375.00 Notes: Weather cancelled three cleanups and several that went ahead in poor weather conditions attracted fewer volunteers than expected, resulting in a reduction in the overall number of volunteers.

Funding Strategy: Habitat Restoration Activity / Outcome: LISFF - Beach habitat quality improvements - Miles restored Description: Enter the number of miles restored Required: Recommended Miles restored - Current: 50.00 Miles restored - Grant Completion: 50.00 Notes: The number of miles cleaned remained constant despite the cancellation of several cleanup events because we added three new kayak cleanups, adding mileage at island beaches to our overall number for miles cleaned.

The following pages contain the uploaded documents, in the order shown below, as provided by the grantee:

Photos - Jpeg Photos - Jpeg Final Report Narrative - Standard

The following uploads do not have the same headers and footers as the previous sections of this document in order to preserve the integrity of the actual files uploaded.

Final Programmatic Report Narrative

Instructions: Save this document on your computer and complete the narrative in the format provided. The final narrative should not exceed ten (10) pages; do not delete the text provided below. Once complete, upload this document into the on-line final programmatic report task as instructed.

1. Summary of Accomplishments In four to five sentences, provide a brief summary of the project’s key accomplishments and outcomes that were observed or measured. Connecticut Fund for the Environment (CFE)’s bi-state program Save the Sound came well within range of meeting its goals for its Coastal Cleanup project in Connecticut in 2014. National Fish and Wildlife Foundation funds during this grant cycle (11/01/2013 – 12/31/2014) supported the coordination of 48 beach cleanup events. Of those 48, we held 37 on or around International Coastal Cleanup Day (September 20) and National Estuaries Day (September 27.) This figure is slightly less than reported in our interim report because three cleanups had to be cancelled because of bad weather. At 48 cleanup events, however, we came well within our benchmark of 50 events and our volunteers, despite their reduced numbers, met our benchmark of 50 miles cleaned. 2014 marked Save the Sound’s 12th consecutive year serving as the Connecticut Coordinator for the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup, which mobilizes volunteers around the world to remove trash from beaches and waterways. In all, Save the Sound’s Coastal Cleanup program has brought together thousands of volunteers to remove nearly 140,000 pounds of debris from Connecticut’s coastline. Trash data is provided to the Ocean Conservancy to assist them in their planning and communications.

2. Project Activities & Outcomes

Activities  Describe and quantify (using the approved metrics referenced in your grant agreement) the primary activities conducted during this grant.  Briefly explain discrepancies between the activities conducted during the grant and the activities agreed upon in your grant agreement. Our primary goals were:  Schedule and coordinate a minimum of 50 cleanup events, including at least 35 on or around International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) Day and National Estuaries Day 2014. We successfully coordinated a total of 48 cleanup events across Connecticut, 37 of which were held on or around ICC Day (September 20) or National Estuaries Day (September 27), with the remainder held in October, meeting or coming well within range of our target goals.  Recruit a minimum of 40 Cleanup Captains to lead a minimum of 2,000 volunteers: We recruited 47 Cleanup Captains who led a total of 1,375 volunteers. The weather was rainy on many of our scheduled cleanup dates. Poor weather cancelled some cleanups and for those that went forward on poor weather days, our volunteer turnout was lower than anticipated.  Engage three to five corporate partners: We met our benchmark, working with four corporate partners that led cleanups in the area of their businesses, encouraged their employees to attend and helped build community around the issue of clean beaches. Those businesses were: United Technologies Corporation, Zotos International, WinnCompanies, and Diageo.  Motivate a diverse segment of volunteers, including student groups, businesses and community organizations: We met our goal by engaging with a diverse segment of volunteers, including 4 high school groups, 3 college groups, 4 businesses, 2 family groups, 1 diving club and 35 community organizations, including charity leagues, junior leagues, boys & girls clubs, land trusts, non-profits and environmental organizations. Three of our cleanups were conducted by kayak and one (in New London) engaged a diving club that brought submerged debris to the surface to be recycled or discarded as appropriate. Through their participation, our cleanup volunteers were exposed to a better understanding about their connection to Long Island Sound and how everyone can help protect the Sound and its watershed by recycling, reducing their use of plastic bags and disposing of trash properly.

Outcomes  Describe and quantify progress towards achieving the project outcomes described in your grant agreement. (Quantify using the approved metrics referenced in your grant agreement or by using more relevant metrics not included in the application.)  Briefly explain discrepancies between what actually happened compared to what was anticipated to happen.  Provide any further information (such as unexpected outcomes) important for understanding project activities and outcome results.

Proposed Project Outcomes Actual Project Outcomes Coordinate 50 beach and waterfront cleanup events Coordinated 48 beach and waterfront cleanup events Recruit 40 cleanup captains Recruited 47 cleanup captains Engage 2000 volunteers Engaged 1,375 volunteers Engage 3-5 corporate partners Engaged 4 corporate partners Motivate a diverse segment of volunteers, including student Volunteers included 4 high school groups, 3 college groups, groups, businesses and community organizations 4 businesses, 2 family groups, 1 diving club and 35 community organizations Distribute press releases and calendar listings Wrote and distributed 3 press releases and 2 press advisories, generating 11 press hits, including calendar listings Communicate with members and constituents via a website Communicated via our new website and 8 Facebook posts, and social media 23 Twitter posts, 6 blog posts, and 6 email communications to members and constituents

The locations of our beach cleanups were as follows:

Connecticut > Fairfield County Burying Hill Beach Connecticut > Fairfield County Chimon Island Connecticut > Fairfield County Compo Beach Connecticut > Fairfield County Cove Island Park Connecticut > Fairfield County Cummings Beach - Cleanup #1 Connecticut > Fairfield County Cummings Beach - Cleanup #2 Connecticut > Fairfield County Jennings Beach Connecticut > Fairfield County Long Beach West Connecticut > Fairfield County Norwalk River Connecticut > Fairfield County Oyster Shell Park Connecticut > Fairfield County Penfield Beach Connecticut > Fairfield County Pine Creek Beach Connecticut > Fairfield County Riverside Park (Saugatuck River) Connecticut > Fairfield County Sheffield Island Connecticut > Fairfield County Sherwood Island State Park Connecticut > Fairfield County Short Beach Connecticut > Fairfield County Veteran's Park Connecticut > Fairfield County Weed Beach Park Connecticut > Hartford County Scantic River Park Connecticut > Middlesex County Clinton Town Beach Connecticut > Middlesex County Harvey's Beach Connecticut > Middlesex County Old Saybrook Town Beach Connecticut > New Haven County Anchor Beach Connecticut > New Haven County East Haven Town Beach Connecticut > New Haven County Farm River State Park - Branford Connecticut > New Haven County Fort Hale Park Connecticut > New Haven County Hammonasset West Beach 2

Connecticut > New Haven County Hammonassett State Park - East Connecticut > New Haven County Lighthouse Point Park Connecticut > New Haven County Long Wharf Nature Preserve Connecticut > New Haven County Madison Surf Club Connecticut > New Haven County Morse Beach Connecticut > New Haven County Salt Meadow Park - Madison Connecticut > New Haven County Sandy Point (West Haven) Connecticut > New Haven County Silver Sands State Park Connecticut > New Haven County Walnut Beach - Milford Connecticut > New London County Bluff Point State Park Connecticut > New London County Green's Harbor Beach Connecticut > New London County Harkness Park Beach Connecticut > New London County Hole in the Wall Beach Connecticut > New London County Mago Point Connecticut > New London County Mitchell Beach Connecticut > New London County New London Custom House Connecticut > New London County Ocean Beach Park Connecticut > New London County Pleasure Beach Connecticut > New London County Riley's Creek Cleanup Connecticut > New London County Rocky Neck State Park Connecticut > New London County Waterford Beach

3. Lessons Learned Describe the key lessons learned from this project, such as the least and most effective conservation practices or notable aspects of the project’s methods, monitoring, or results. How could other conservation organizations adapt their projects to build upon some of these key lessons about what worked best and what did not? We learned to encourage Cleanup Captains to actively plan ahead with their volunteers for rain dates. Rainy weather was a factor in cancelling several cleanups and resulted in reduced volunteer turnout at additional cleanups. On the positive side, however, although we don’t benchmark the amount of trash collected for grant purposes, we observed a trend in less trash available to collect at many of our beach cleanup events. We learned that beach cleanups have become more popular in Connecticut and are being held at other times of the year, in addition to the ICC cleanups that we sponsor in September. A growing number of towns have asked us to conduct spring beach cleanups, but our resources do not allow that at this time. Some of those towns, however, have indicated that they may conduct spring cleanups of their own, suggesting that our effort is widely valued in the coastal towns where we have maintained a presence. We believe the growing popularity of beach cleanups statewide is at least partly attributable to knowledge gained by our more than 12 years’ worth of volunteers who have found our beach cleanups to be a great way to make a difference for the environment. This year, while we focused primarily on beach cleanups, the Connecticut River Watershed Council (CRWC) focused on river cleanups, some of which were in Connecticut. Together, the two groups conducted 65 beach and waterway cleanups in Connecticut, with 2,292 volunteers who cleaned a total of 67 miles and collected 33,761 pounds of trash. We were informed that Massachusetts-based CRWC was doing Connecticut river cleanups late in the season, so we will work to further a more collaborative partnership with them in the future.

4. Dissemination Briefly identify any dissemination of lessons learned or other project results to external audiences, such as the public or other conservation organizations. We shared our beach cleanup results with the Ocean Conservancy, which publishes the results of all ICC coordinators in their Trash Free Seas Report available on their website at http://www.oceanconservancy.org/our-work/marine-debris/2014-by-the-numbers.html. We partially reported our results in our blog post: https://greencitiesbluewaters.wordpress.com/2014/10/08/international-coastal-cleanup-44-cleanups-with- more-to-come/. We reported our results on Save the Sound and CFE Facebook and Twitter accounts, with a total of six posts, and on the Coastal Cleanup section of our website at www.ctenvironment.org.

5. Project Documents Include in your final programmatic report, via the Uploads section of this task, the following: 3

 2-10 representative photos from the project. Photos need to have a minimum resolution of 300 dpi and must be accompanied with a legend or caption describing the file name and content of the photos;  report publications, GIS data, brochures, videos, outreach tools, press releases, media coverage;  any project deliverables per the terms of your grant agreement.

POSTING OF FINAL REPORT: This report and attached project documents may be shared by the Foundation and any Funding Source for the Project via their respective websites. In the event that the Recipient intends to claim that its final report or project documents contains material that does not have to be posted on such websites because it is protected from disclosure by statutory or regulatory provisions, the Recipient shall clearly mark all such potentially protected materials as “PROTECTED” and provide an explanation and complete citation to the statutory or regulatory source for such protection.