URBANWATERS A Partnership for Restoring Urban Waterways and Revitalizing Communities Save the Date! Next NWI Urban Waters Meeting October 27,2017,9:30-12 CST Location to be determined The tentative agenda features presentations from the Student Conservation Association Tree Team on their summer planting accomplishments and Save the Dunes on work to open the East Branch of the Little Calumet River to paddling. After the meeting, help us plant some trees and watch the SCA team in action! Can't wait that long to plant trees? Join the SCA Tree Team for a Community Tree Planting September 30, 9 am - noon at Turner Park & People's Park in Hammond. Work Underway to Reopen East Branch of Little Calumet River For years several partners, including the Northwest Indiana Paddling Association, Save the Dunes, National Park Service (NPS), and Shirley Heinze Land Trust, have been working to increase public access to the East Branch of the Little Calumet River for passive recreation. The East Branch begins in incorporated La Porte County and flows west through Porter County and the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore before discharging to Lake Michigan via Burns Waterway. Much work has been completed upstream of Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore to allow safe passage for paddlers by carefully removing some logs, while also minimizing harm to in- stream habitat. With the recent approval of the Final East Branch Little Calumet River Use Management Plan and Environmental Assessment paddlers will soon be able to access the river into the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. An inaugural paddle on the East Branch of the Little Calumet River is scheduled for October 7 as part of NPS's Outdoor Adventure Festival. Above: Photo of East Branch of the Little Calumet River courtesy ofGina Darnell. ------- Canoemobile Coming to Northwest Indiana Wilderness Inquiry's Canoemobile returns to Northwest Indiana in September and October! Many partners, including Dunes Learning Center, LaPorte County Soil & Water District, and National Park Service will connect hundreds of local youth to our urban waterways with this incredible experience. Canoemobile engages people in introductory outdoor experiences, enhances learning opportunities, cultivates a stewardship ethic, and creates pathways to pursue educational and career opportunities in the outdoors. Mark your calendars for these free Northwest Indiana community paddles: - Friday, October 6th at Marquette Park, 6:00pm-8:00pm - Saturday, October 7th at Wolf Lake, 10:00am-3:00pm - Sunday, October 8th at Marquette Park, 11:00am-4:00pm Inaugural Creekness Stakes Race to Support Trail Creek Week Show off your paddling skills while supporting Trail Creek in the first Creekness Stakes, a premier community team paddling event scheduled for September 30 in Michigan City. It's a super fun, competitive event for businesses, families, friends and neighbors of LaPorte County. All race entry fees ("the stakes") are donated to fund the annual Trail Creek Week outdoor education program. Partners in the Press Check out this recent media coverage of Urban Waters partners: • Michigan Citv awarded S650.000 to improve Trail Creek • East Chicago starts lead pipe replacement at Superfund site • Blind Northwest Indiana residents learn to kayak • Gary. Indiana: A Midwestern steel town making a slow comeback • NIPSCO's Luminary Awards honors four individuals for community work Above: Photo of students canoeing courtesy of Dunes Learning Center. Above: Creekness Stakes logo. ------- Funding Opportunities Marine Debris Grants Marine Debris Prevention Grants support activities to prevent introduction of debris into the marine and coastal environment. LOIs due September 28. Community-based Marine Debris Removal grants support projects that will create long-term, quantifiable ecological habitat improvements for NOAA trust resources through marine debris removal. Full proposals due November 1 Award range: $50,000 - $150,000 Captain Planet Foundation Small Grants Small grants fund environmental stewardship and service learning projects that engage children in critical thinking, research, inquiry investigations, and real- world environmental problem solving. Grants provide educators with the funding needed to purchase equipment and supplies. Up to $2,500 Proposals due September 30 FWS Coastal Program The USFWS announced funding to provide direct technical and financial assistance to coastal communities and landowners to restore and protect fish and wildlife habitat. Applications due September 30 Community Exposures to Contaminants Grants for projects using community- engaged research methods to investigate health risks of environmental exposures and implement a public health action plan. Applications due October 5 NSF Environmental Sustainabilitv Grants Grants to promote sustainable engineered systems that support human well-being, are compatible with sustaining natural systems, and provide ecological services vital for human survival. Research areas: industrial ecology, green engineering, ecological engineering, and earth systems engineering. Proposals due October 20 Nominations for Conservation Projects Conservation Alliance grants are awarded to non-profits in support of projects designed to secure permanent, quantifiable protection of a specific wild land or waterway with clear habitat and recreational benefits. Up to $50,000 Nominations due November 1 EPA Brownfields Program Grants Provides funds to empower states, communities, tribes, and nonprofits to prevent, inventory, assess, clean up, and reuse brownfield sites. Multiple grant programs are open for for Assessment. Revolving Loan Fund. Cleanup. Due November 16 Award range varies by program Kresge Foundation Healthy Housing and Neighborhoods Initiative Grant to address: policies, systems change, and communication to connect health and housing; policies that promote healthy housing and mitigate the impacts of substandard housing and/or; innovative investments that connect community development, health, and housing. Applications reviewed on an ongoing basis Upcoming Local Events IDNR Urban Forestry Symposium September 26, 2017 Urban Forest Basic Training Workshop September 27, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. ------- Martinsville, IN | Carpentersville, IL Healthv Forests on the Edge Conference ! September 28-30, register by Sept. 30 The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL ! National Public Lands Dav Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore September 30, 9 am to noon Trail Creek Creekness Stakes Race September 30 Michigan City, IN Community Tree Planting September 30, 9 am - noon I Turner Park & Peoole's Park in Hammond ! Outdoor Adventure Festival October 6-8 Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore i Canoemobile Community Paddles October 6-8 Various locations in Lake County, IN Shirlev Heinze Land Trust Fall Bus Tour October 14, 8 am - 3:30 pm Departs from Valparaiso : Indiana Watershed Leadershio Academv January-May 2018 (apply by Nov 3) Meetings throughout IN Grand Calumet Area of Concern Seminar j October 26 Gary, IN - Location TBA i State of Lake Michigan Conference November 7-10 Green Bay, Wisconsin Items of Interest CamDus RainWorks Challenge Student teams design an innovative green infrastructure project for their campus that effectively manages stormwater pollution while benefitting the campus community and the environment. Register through Seotember 30 Arbor Dav Award Nominations Each year, the Arbor Day Foundation honors top individuals and organizations involved in exemplary tree planting and environmental practices. Nominations due November 30 Promoting Green Streets Guide River Network and partners developed this guide to support city administrators, planners, designers and environmental advocates in determining the potential - and developing strategies - for green streets in their cities and watersheds. Irrmroving Public Health through Public Parks and Trails ReDort The National Park Service and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collaborated on a report that identifies eight measures that can be used to link parks and trails to public health goals. Integrating Smart Growth and Hazard Mitigation into Community Planning NOAA and EPA produced a report exploring strategies that communities across the nation are using to ensure that new development benefits the entire community and that limited public resources are used as efficiently as possible. Student-led PR firm seeks client Region Communication Solutions (RCS) is a non-profit public relations firm run by students from Purdue University Northwest. RCS is seeking local businesses and organizations to perform an audit on its communication culture. Read the NWI Times article Upcoming Webinars Anti-Litterina: Social Marketing for Behavior Change September 26, 1 - 2pm ------- Emerald Ash Borer University - Fall Webinar Series • EAB for Homeowners: Managing EAB, Individuals to Neighborhoods, Sept. 28 • EAB Management and Pollinator Safety, October 5 • After EAB: Encouraging Regrowth of a Healthy Forest, October 12 Teach. Learn. Grow: The Value of Green Infrastructure in Schoolyards October 11, 12:00 -1:30 pm Central Leveraging CWA 319 and SDWA Programs for Surface and Ground Water Quality Planning November 7, 1 -2:30 pm Online Course: Urban Forest Adaptation Planning and Practices November 7, 2017 - January 30, 2018 The Northwest Indiana Urban Waters Partnership focuses on the Lake Michigan watershed in Lake, LaPorte and Porter Counties, Indiana. Urban Waters works to connect urban communities, particularly those that are overburdened or economically distressed, with their waterways by improving coordination among federal agencies and state and local partners. The goals are to improve the Nation's water systems and to promote their economic, environmental and social benefits. ------- |