UrbanScapes Pollinator Event
November 17, 2021
On Saturday October 16th the Ecotype Project and our partner Geordie Elkins from Highstead and Deepika Saksena of the Darien Pollinator Pathway, joined the Urbanscapes Native Plant Nursery “All Things Pollinators” end of season celebration at their nursery in the Newhallville neighbrohood of New Haven, Connecticut.
The mayor of New Haven Justin Elicker joined founder Doreen Abubakar and Dennis Riordan of Menunkatuck Audubon Society in cutting the ribbon of their newly built greenhouse.
We demonstrated native seed cleaning techniques and discussed the importance of utilizing “truly local” native seed in establishing pollinator habitats “ecoregionally” to ensure we are putting “the right plants in the right place.”
Urbanscapes will be installing their first of three founder plots with White Wood Aster (Eurybia divaricata) from the project. The nursery educates local youth in native plant propagation and their founder plot will provide a great resource for producing and sharing ecotypic seed with their neighborhood supporters and the work they lead with the Pollinator Pathway of New Haven.
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CT NOFA Launches Equipment Share Program
CT NOFA is proud to announce the launch of our Equipment Share Program. In partnership with The Hickories in Ridgefield, Connecticut, this program aims to provide both commercial farmers and home gardeners free access to both specialized equipment and expertise in a shared environment. Equipment Share days at The Hickories will include free soil analysis, seed winnowing services, nut cleaning, compost tea brewing workshops, and much more.
Advocacy News: May 2026
The Good News: CT Senator Chris Murphy has introduced a bill (bipartisan and bicameral) to increase funding for Agricultural Management Assistance to $30 million and to expand the eligible uses for these funds to include “soil health improvements, composting, implementing organic farming, and food safety certification in addition to existing authorized uses such as water management structure and soil erosion control.” Let’s thank Senator Murphy for introducing this bill!
The Bad News: The Farm Bill passed the House of Representatives on April 30, despite 320 food, farm, and conservation organizations, including CT NOFA, voicing our opposition to a bill that does not fix SNAP, does not support new and beginning farmers, and does not adequately support conservation programs or organic agriculture. Now it goes to the Senate and we need to urge both of Connecticut’s Senators to reject this Farm Bill.