March 22, 2019
SWCS Southern New England Chapter 2019 Annual Winter Conference
Eversource
107 Selden Street
Berlin, CT 06037
A one day conference to earn professional development credits.
Visit swcssnec.org for updates.
Presenters
Scott Jackson, Extension Associate Professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst Department of Environmental Conservation, where he teaches courses on wetlands and wildlife conservation and management. His research interests include: amphibian and reptile ecology and conservation, wetland assessment and monitoring, impacts of roads and highways on wildlife and ecosystems, and landscape-based ecological assessment. Scott is a principal (along with Kevin McGarigal and Brad Compton) in the development of the Conservation Assessment and Prioritization System (CAPS) and serves as project leader for the North Atlantic Aquatic Connectivity Collaborative (NAACC).
Taylor M. Bell will be a presenter, representing the Army Corps of Engineers New England District, Regulatory District, where he is the Project Manager for Rhode Island, In-Lieu Fee Program Coordinator for Connecticut, and the Chair of the Stream Mitigation Project Development Team. He has 10 years’ experience with the Corps at the Mobile, Wilmington, Galveston, and now New England Districts. He attended Samford University where he received a Master’s in Environmental Management. Taylor is an avid college and pro-football fan. In his spare time he also coaches CrossFit at Hanscom Air Force Base.
James Turek, Restoration Ecologist of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Restoration Center stationed at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center Lab in Narragansett, Rhode Island.
Christine Odiaga of Friends of Herring River, will provide an overview of the Herring River Restoration Project, the largest wetland restoration project in the northeastern United States, Full Stream Ahead!
Tom Hennessey, Bridge Consultant at Contech Engineered Solutions LLC for MA, RI, and CT. Prior to this position, he was Sales Engineer responsible for the full Contech offering including drainage, stormwater, bridge and soil stabilization solutions. Prior to Contech, Tom worked for Rotondo Precast and Oldcastle Precast in Connecticut for 15 years. Tom is a graduate of Assumption College and has over 30 years of experience in the Precast Concrete industry.
ARE-AirShark will have a presentation on Environmental Monitoring and unmanned aircraft systems (UAS)/drones.
Tom Benjamin, Registered Landscape Architect (RLA), LEED-AP BD+C, of WELLNESSCAPES will have some great restoration projects to present. Tom has lectured at Harvard, MIT, and at many professional conferences. He teaches at Greenfield Community College, the University of Massachusetts-Amherst’s Sustainable Food & Farming Program, and the Conway School of Landscape Design. His classes tie the built environment to natural systems to advance less resource-intensive landscape design and maintenance approaches. He is a masterful educator and has inspired stakeholders from maintenance staff to top leadership.